Bio-Inspired “Strider” with Controllable Directional Motion Property

摘要

Water strider is a type of famous insect that can stand and run effortlessly on the water surface at room temperature. This fantastic skill has received considerable attention to make an in-depth research about the standing and locomotion mechanism behind its remarkable capability. Studies have revealed that the water strider legs possess thousands of fine setae with helical nanogroove structure (as shown in Figure 1 a–c), which can endow the legs with superhydrophobicity and provide the body a strong supporting force to float on water. During the process of marching, by taking advantage of the momentum of swirling vortices, the superhydrophobic legs can push the body forward. This unique hierarchical structure gives scientists abundant inspirations to design the artificial “strider legs” and mimic the behavior of water strider on water.