A bionic adhesive disc for torrent immune locomotion inspired by the Guizhou Gastromyzontidae

The Guizhou Gastromyzontidae showed extraordinary normal adhesion and anisotropic friction on wet and slippery surfaces in the torrential stream. In this study, the surface microstructures of adhesive disc of the Guizhou Gastromyzontidae were characterized firstly by using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It had been found that the fin rays of the fish were composed of the hexagonal pad-like unculi, setae arrays and micro-pores. Then, inspired by the surface structures of the adhesive disc of Guizhou Gastromyzontidae, the artificial adhesive discs with surface microstructures were designed and fabricated by using the 3D printing and molding technology. The regular disc with no surface microstructures was also fabricated for comparison study. The adhesion properties of two different disc samples were investigated in water condition on substrates with various roughnesses. The results show that the bionic adhesive discs with composite microstructures have good adhesion properties in water condition. The proposed adhesive disc could have potential applications for underwater robotics.