New octopus-inspired adhesive’s gripping power holds anything underwater

Inspired by octopus suckers, researchers have created a new adhesive that can grip and release objects underwater with incredible precision.

“I am fascinated with how an octopus in one moment can hold something strongly, then release it instantly. It does this underwater, on objects that are rough, curved, and irregular – that is quite a feat,” said Michael Bartlett from Virginia Tech who led the development.

This new technology has potential applications in underwater salvage, and rescue operations. Moreover, this new tool can help divers to hold slippery objects without squeezing hard.

Inspired by octopus’s sucker

For this study, the researchers examined the outermost part of the octopus’s sucker called the infundibulum. Octopus suckers are like stretchy hands that can hold onto anything.

These are made of living tissue, allowing them to adjust their shape and strength to suit the object they’re handling. This means they can hold onto things of various textures and shapes really well.

The researchers have developed a multi-surface adhesive using an elastic, curved stalk and a deformable membrane.

Interestingly, the adhesive can attach to rough, curved, irregular surfaces and different fluids with exceptional strength.

“This resulted in octopus-inspired adhesives that are 1,000 times stronger when activated compared to the easy release state. Importantly, this switch occurs within a fraction of a second, about 30 milliseconds,” the press release noted.

Can grasp various kinds of objects

The team showed how well the sticky stuff worked by building an “underwater cairn.”

It was carefully constructed using a pile of rocks with varying sizes, shapes, and textures. To maintain the balance of the structure, the rocks were picked up and released with precision. Additionally, the adhesive can also handle delicate, jelly-like beads with ease, demonstrating its versatility and adaptability.

“These types of manipulations are performed by an octopus as they arrange objects around their den. This demonstration highlights the ability of the octopus-inspired adhesive to precisely manipulate difficult underwater objects,” said Chanhong Lee, the first author of the paper.

As per the press release , the adhesive demonstrated “reliable attachment” over multiple uses and extended periods. In one test, it maintained its strength through 100 cycles. Moreover, it held a rough rock underwater for over seven days and was released on command.

This durability is especially important in situations where there is a need to hold something underwater for a long time, like when the workers are trying to salvage a sunken object.

Professor Bartlett previously developed an octopus-inspired adhesive glove called Octa-Glove. It was equipped with LIDAR sensors to detect and gently attach to objects underwater.

Potential applications for Octa-Glove include rescue diving, underwater archaeology, user-assisted technologies, and healthcare.

“We hope to utilize our new adhesive design to further improve Octa-Glove,” said Bartlett.

“Underwater environments present a long list of challenges, and this advance gets us over another hurdle. We’re now closer than ever to replicating the incredible ability of an octopus to grip and manipulate objects with precision, opening up new possibilities for exploration and manipulation of wet or underwater environments.”

The findings were published in the journal Advanced Science.