Zero Gravity Robotic Mobility Experiments with Electrostatic and Gecko-Like Adhesives Aboard NASA's Zero Gravity Airplane

摘要

This paper presents the results of zero gravity adhesion and mobility experiments from two campaigns of flights aboard NASA's C9B zero-gravity airplane, totalling more than 300 parabolas. Two primary adhesion technologies were tested independently and as a hybrid system: gecko-like adhesives and electrostatic adhesives. Gecko-like adhesives use van der Waals forces generated by microscopic fibers or hairs to stick to surfaces; electrostatic adhesives create an electric field that both polarizes non-conductive surfaces to create adhesion and creates a capacitive clamping force on conductive surfaces where electrons are free to move. In zero gravity, grappling experiments were performed using a robotic gripper and a 10 kg target piece of debris to verify the performance of the adhesive materials. Based on these initial results, mobility experiments were devised for the second campaign of flights the following year. Experimental results from two mobile robots are presented. The first robot uses an inchworm style gait with two pairs of opposed gecko adhesive pads. The second robot uses adhesive wheels that contain flaps of the hybridized electro-gecko material. This robot can make transitions between perpendicular planes, and adheres to a much broader range of surface materials. Each robot weighs less than 200 grams and serves as a representative platform that was more easily deployed during the zero-gravity experiments. The technology can scale to much larger systems of 10s or even 100s of kg. Robots that can inch, roll, or crawl across surfaces in zero gravity could be used for inspection, repair, assembly, and photo/video documentation on satellites, space stations, and future long duration human spacecraft.