NASA Sticky technology for phones, factories, and space

Written By Rosa I Diaz

Image Credit -NASA

From NASA’s innovative sticky technology, a world of possibilities unfolds. Smartphone accessories, factory equipment, and future space garbage collectors. Its versatility is truly awe-inspiring.

The original research and Geckos

Geckos can cling to walls thanks to their microscopic hairs, called setae, at the bottom of their feet. These are rough, can flex independently, and create a contact surface at the microscopic scale.

The stickiness that geckos use to cling to walls is due to a physical and chemical phenomenon called the Van Der Waals force. This force, arising from the slight electric field generated by unevenly spaced electrons, results in positive and negative sides in a neutral molecule. The attraction from opposed charge sides of these molecules creates stickiness, even in extreme temperature, pressure, and radiation conditions[1].

Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, explored the potential of this adhesiveness for the space program. The team developed a synthetic setae that mimicked the properties of the Gecko feet.

Thinking about the possibilities this adhesiveness had for the space program, a team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California developed a synthetic setae that mimicked the properties of the Gecko feet.

How far can the stickiness get?

Just like the gecko, the grip of the synthetic setae has limits, so its applicability on Earth is limited to lightweight objects. However, in the unique conditions of microgravity, such as in the vacuum of space and with no gravity, the grip can be applied to larger objects.

By 2015, NASA had developed grippers that can support more than 150 Newtons of force, the equivalent of 35 pounds. In a microgravity flight test the previous year, this technology was used to grapple a 20-pound cube and a 250-pound person. The gecko material stayed strong after more than 30,000 cycles of turning the stickiness “on” and “off” [1].

NASA also continues to investigate the viability of “astronaut anchors” for use at the International Space Station (ISS). This will avoid the need to have handrails currently used to enable crew mobility, which sometimes could be a trip hazard. The material could be integrated within astronauts’ uniforms at specific anchoring points of the body, like boots and gloves. However, gecko anchors can also be a practical way for astronauts to attach clipboards, pictures, and other handheld items to the station’s interior walls[2].

Robots that can climb and clean

Artist’s concept of LEMUR (Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot) a future robot that could inspect and maintain installations on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Another use NASA is exploring is for climbing robots in microgravity. Aron Parness, a JPL engineer, and his team are testing the Lemur 3 climbing robot, which is equipped with synthetic setae and could eventually conduct inspections and make repairs on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) [1].

Standford engineers had a different use for this stickiness. Collaborating with NASA’s JPL, they designed a new robotic gripper that could be used to grab and dispose of the debris. The goal is to help remove the +500,000 pieces of human-made debris in space, orbiting our planet at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour

Debris poses a threat to satellites, space vehicles, and astronauts aboard those vehicles.

Their adhesive also has a neat capability; it only works when applying loads in the direction along the surface, and it releases when the pulling force is removed. The group tested a smaller version of their gripper in their lab and in multiple zero-gravity experimental spaces, including the ISS [3].

The gripper has the additional advantage of activating and deactivating adhesion using tiny fibers that stick out at an angle, so they only adhere if pulled in the right direction. Pulled the other way, they’ll release their hold.

The entrepreneurs

Flipstick for a phone. Credit: Flipstik Inc.

Nick Wettels, a researcher in Standford who worked on the original project, later licensed this technology and founded Perception Robotics. The company gained some contracts with JPL and later merged with Hungarian and Danish robotic companies. The new company, OnRobot, has come a long way in developing these technologies. In the most recent devices, the gripper has an ultrasonic sensor to locate its target and a load sensor to determine its weight.

An example of its application is a gripper now available for manufacturing facilities, where it can move circuit boards, solar panels, and many other smooth objects more efficiently than traditional grippers [4].

Another application of this technology was brought up by Akeem Shannon, a salesman looking for new opportunities. He got inspired after a conversation with his uncle, a systems engineer for the Space Launch System at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Their discussion about the technologies developed at NASA motivated Akeem to look at published research work.

While doing that, he came across the sticky invention. He explored his options and eventually came up with an accessory for a smartphone. The Flipstick, with the sticky material, gets fixed to the case. It allows you to attach the phone to surfaces like a mirror or the back of an airplane seat. Akeem Shannon has now sold more than a million units[5].

References:

Rosa I Diaz
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