Switchable adhesive gripper pads for delicate robotic handling
This technology is a tiny, flexible gripping element that can switch between sticking and releasing on demand. Each element is a tapered, flexible stalk with a specially shaped curved tip covered by a thin membrane, which can be inflated or deflated using air or fluid pumped through a channel inside the stalk. When deflated, the membrane conforms to a surface and grips via dry adhesion similar to gecko feet; when pressurized, it peels away cleanly. Arrays of these elements could form a controllable gripper pad that attaches and detaches from objects without any sticky residue or mechanical clamping.
What you could build
An end-effector pad for industrial or surgical robots built from arrays of these switchable adhesive elements, sold to robotics integrators and medical device manufacturers who need gentle, residue-free, on-demand gripping of fragile or curved surfaces.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and logistics robotics contractors in Northern Virginia, or biomedical device companies in the Richmond and Charlottesville corridors, would have plausible interest in controllable gripping end-effectors.
Readiness: Concept
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Michael D. Bartlett, Chanhong Lee, Ravi Tej Anand Tutika
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed September 17, 2025
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20260078869A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.