Grip, suction & adhesion

How animals stick and grip, and the robots and adhesives they inspired. Each topic lists only known properties from the cited papers.

• Bio-inspired grippers
  3 studies · Robot hands that borrow sticking tricks from geckos and other animals.
• Chameleon feet and ballistic tongue
  3 studies · Chameleons grip branches with hairy feet and catch prey with a sticky, catapulted tongue.
• Clingfish and remora suction discs
  2 studies · Fish with discs that stick to rough, slimy rocks or to sharks.
• Gecko adhesion
  3 studies · Geckos climb walls using millions of tiny hairs that stick by weak molecular forces. This inspired dry, reusable adhesives.
• Mussel adhesive proteins (DOPA)
  4 studies · Mussels glue themselves to wet rocks with proteins rich in the amino acid DOPA. These inspired underwater adhesives and the universal coating polydopamine.
• Octopus suckers and octopus-inspired adhesives
  4 studies · Octopus suckers grip wet surfaces, inspiring patches and soft robots.
• Tree frog toe pads and insect adhesive pads
  3 studies · Soft, fluid-coated pads let frogs, ants and beetles stick to smooth surfaces.