FURI | Spring 2019

A Friction/Adhesion Characterization Setup for Bio-Inspired Robotic Applications

The friction/adhesion project’s focus is to test a variety of gripper designs under high loading to improve robotic climbing abilities. This has been achieved through the development of a high-load testing structure which can translate gripper samples, while under loads well above 20 Newtons, in three dimensions and while recording friction properties of the sample. Through the comparison of these friction properties, an optimal design can be selected for use in various arenas such as: utilizing robots to inspect pipes in hard to reach areas or in places dangerous for humans, like nuclear power plants.