Soft Electroadhesive Feet for Micro Aerial Robots Perching on Smooth and Curved Surfaces

2026-04-10

AI Summary

Reliable and reversible perching of micro aerial robots on smooth and curved surfaces remains a significant challenge. This work proposes a soft, stretchable electrostatic adhesion footpad featuring a hybrid electrode architecture that combines sinusoidal and concentric circular patterns, fabricated via an efficient multiscale manufacturing process. For the first time, stable perching on curved surfaces is demonstrated on a Crazyflie micro quadrotor platform. Leveraging soft electrostatic adhesion, the design generates approximately 3 N of shear adhesion force under partial contact conditions and enables instantaneous detachment upon power disconnection. Experimental results confirm its capability for repeatable attachment and rapid release on both smooth planar and curved plastic surfaces, substantially enhancing the perching performance of micro drones in complex environments.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Multiagent Systems: Adversarial Agents
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

Electroadhesion (EA) provides electrically switchable adhesion and is a promising mechanism for perching micro aerial robots on smooth surfaces. However, practical implementations of soft and stretchable EA pads for aerial perching remain limited. This work presents (i) an efficient workflow for fabricating soft, stretchable electroadhesive pads with sinusoidal wave and concentric-circle electrodes in multiple sizes, (ii) a controlled experimental comparison of normal and shear adhesion under inactive (0 kV) and active (4.8 kV) conditions using an Instron-based setup, and (iii) a perching demonstration using a Crazyflie quadrotor equipped with electroadhesive feet on flat and curved substrates. Experimental results show that shear adhesion dominates, reaching forces on the order of 3 N with partial pad contact, while normal adhesion is comparatively small and strongly dependent on substrate properties. The Crazyflie prototype demonstrates repeatable attachment on smooth plastic surfaces, including curved geometries, as well as rapid detachment when the voltage is removed. These results highlight the potential of soft electroadhesive feet for lightweight and reliable perching in micro aerial vehicles (MAVs).

Problem

• electroadhesion
• micro aerial robots
• perching
• soft electroadhesive pads
• smooth and curved surfaces

Innovation

• soft electroadhesion
• stretchable electrodes
• micro aerial robots
• perching mechanism
• shear adhesion