Taking inspiration from the velvet worm, the magnetically adhesive, untethered robot ejects sticky secretions, which makes it possible to grasp a wide range of objects.

The velvet worm-inspired robotic system uses a structured magnetorheological material. Source: (Representational image) Atelopus/ adventtr

To create the robot, the team used magnetic micro- and nanoparticles called magnetorheological elastomers. This new X-shaped robot can reportedly cling to objects regardless of the stiffness or roughness of their surfaces.

Making it possible to steer the robot to accomplish an assortment of tasks, the team applied external magnetic fields and adjusted the strength of its adhesion, shape and grasping technique.

During a variety of tests, the robot removed a tumor from a mouse leg and grasped replicas of pig tissue, moist soft tofu, wet salmon roe and organs. The robot also unscrewed a nut from a bolt.

“Results suggest the potential for adhesive robots to serve as cellular grippers for surgery within the body, initiating the possibility of remote surgeries in difficult-to-access internal spaces where tethered devices struggle to enter,” said Metin Setti from Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems.

The study, "Stiffness-tunable velvet worm–inspired soft adhesive robot,” was published in the journal Science Advances.