Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : June 28, 2023 - July 01, 2023
In recent years, many social infrastructure structures have been aging, and there is a need to automate inspections using robots. One of the wall suction mechanisms is a vacuum suction cup. However, the suction mechanism becomes large to increase the suction force. To solve this problem, a previous study proposed the Universal Vacuum Gecko (UVGecko). UVGecko is a two-layer vacuum suction cup. The outer layer seals the inner layer to the target surface. This has been confirmed to improve the suction force in the shear direction. In this study, we focused on the microstructure and the hardness of the inner layer of UVGecko to search for conditions that would improve the adhesion force. Experimental results showed that the more irregular the shape of the microstructure, the higher the adhesion force. We also found that there is a hardness at which the adhesion force peaks.
