Speed-controlled adhesive gripper

Adhesion systems with dynamically adjustable adhesion states have broad application prospects. In this work, for the first time, strong adhesion and easy detachment are achieved solely through the movement speed of the gripper without the use of any external stimulation. The flexible gripper based on the core–shell structure with a corn-starch suspension encapsulated by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) achieved a grasping ability of 33.71 g/cm², a ratio of adhesion to detachment of 203.78, and a response time of only 0.11 s. The rheological properties of non-Newtonian fluid (NNF) provide the regulatory ability of adhesion states. The designed speed-control method is superior to the strategies of changing the temperature through photothermal and Joule heating, applying an external magnetic field, and adjusting the stiffness of the backplate. This scheme not only breaks through the traditional external field-driving mode, successfully resolving the inherent contradiction between strong adhesion and easy detachment of the flexible adhesion gripper, but also enables universal grasping and rapid release of various materials and various target shapes. The gripper shows significant application potential in scenarios such as rapid transfer of electronic components, nondestructive picking of flexible materials, climbing and adhesion of small robots, and transportation of biomedical samples.