Tag Archives: TBCP-11

Simon Fraser University’s (Canada) gecko-type robots and the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands has tested Simon Fraser University researchers’ (MENRVA group) robots for potential use in space according to a Jan. 2, 2014 news item on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) News online website,

Canadian engineers, along with researchers from the European Space Agency, have developed lizard-inspired robots that could one day be crawling across the hulls of spacecrafts, doing research and repair work.

The science-fiction scenario is a step closer to reality after engineers from B.C.’s Simon Fraser University created a dry adhesive material that mimics the sticky footpads of gecko lizards.

“This approach is an example of ‘biomimicry,’ taking engineering solutions from the natural world,” said Michael Henrey of Simon Fraser

I have written about an earlier version (so I assume) of this called a Tailless Timing Belt Climbing Platform (TBCP-11) robot in a Nov. 2, 2011 posting, which features a video. As for Abigaille as the robot is currently named, here’s more from the CBC news item,

“Experimental success means deployment in space might one day be possible,” said Laurent Pambaguian of the ESA.

The adhesive was placed on the footpads of six-legged crawling robots, nicknamed Abigaille. Each leg has four degrees of motion, Henrey said, meaning these crawling robots should be able to handle environments that a wheeled robot can’t.

“For example, it can transition from the vertical to horizontal, which might be useful for going around a satellite or overcoming obstacles on the way,” he said.

The Jan. 2, 2014 European Space Agency news release, which originated the news item, describes the gecko’s special abilities and why those abilities could be useful in space,

A gecko’s feet are sticky due to a bunch of little hairs with ends just 100–200 nanometres across – around the scale of individual bacteria. This is sufficiently tiny that atomic interactions between the ends of the hairs and the surface come into play.

“We’ve borrowed techniques from the microelectronics industry to make our own footpad terminators,” he [Michael Henrey of Simon Fraser University] said. “Technical limitations mean these are around 100 times larger than a gecko’s hairs, but they are sufficient to support our robot’s weight.”

Interested in assessing the adhesive’s suitability for space, Michael tested it in ESA’s Electrical Materials and Process Labs, based in the Agency’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, with additional support from ESA’s Automation and Robotics Lab.

“The reason we’re interested in dry adhesives is that other adhesive methods wouldn’t suit the space environment,” Michael notes.

“Scotch, duct or pressure-sensitive tape would collect dust, reducing their stickiness over time. They would also give off fumes in vacuum conditions, which is a big no-no because it might affect delicate spacecraft systems.

“Velcro requires a mating surface, and broken hooks could contaminate the robot’s working environment. Magnets can’t stick to composites, for example, and magnetic fields might affect sensitive instruments.”

Here’s what one of these robots looks like,

‘Abigaille’ wall-crawler robot Courtesy: European Space Agency

‘Abigaille’ wall-crawler robot Courtesy: European Space Agency

You can find out more about Simon Fraser University’s (located in Vancouver, Canada) climbing robots here on the Menrva Group webpage. which features both the gecko-type (also called Tank-style robots) and spider-inspired robots.

Gecko-type robots and Simon Fraser University

I had to watch the (40 sec.) video a couple times to better marvel at the ‘gecko robot’ that a team of researchers at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) have developed.

Here’s a little more information from the Nov. 2, 2011 posting by GrrlScientist on her Punctuated Equilibrium blog at the Guardian science blogs site,

Geckos are amazing animals for so many reasons, but their ability to climb glass windows is especially amazing since their sticky toes are not at all moist, as one would expect. Instead, gecko toes are dry, their adhesive ability the result of van der Waals forces. These are very weak, attractive forces that occur between molecules. For this reason, the gecko’s dry but sticky toe pads have long inspired scientists and engineers, especially mechanical engineers trying to design wall-climbing robots.

It looks like someone has finally succeeded. According to a hot-off-the-presses paper, a group of researchers from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, have finally developed a robot – nowhere near as elegant in form as a gecko – that has the gecko’s ability to scale smooth walls and shuffle across ceilings without crashing down onto anyone’s head.

Here are some more details about the technology and the researchers (from the Nov. 1, 2011 SFU media release),

Known as the Tailless Timing Belt Climbing Platform (TBCP-11), the robot can transfer from a flat surface to a wall over both inside and outside corners at speeds of up to 3.4 cm per second. It is fitted with sensors that allow it to detect its surroundings and change direction.

Researchers mimicked the “dry, sticky toe pads” of the gecko by creating an adhesive using a material called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), manufactured as tiny mushroom cap-like shapes that are 17 micrometres wide by 10 micrometres high.

Meanwhile, tiny belts drive the robot’s tank-like moves, providing optimum mobility and expandability.

Lead author Jeff Krahn’s work on getting the robot to climb formed the bulk of his master’s thesis. The research was carried out together with engineering science assistant professor Carlo Menon.

This is the smoothest, most efficient climbing robot (stickybot) that I’ve seen. My August 26, 2011 posting featured  stickybots (with video) from  researchers at Stanford University.