Crack-Controlled Adhesive Interface for Payload-Bearing Robotic Manipulation with Directional Release
摘要
Robotic manipulation requires interfaces that can sustain payload-bearing attachment during lifting and transport while enabling controlled release without bulky release mechanisms or complicated actuation. Here, we present a crack-controlled adhesive interface that achieves this combination by leveraging structurally programmed crack propagation to enable payload-bearing robotic manipulation with controlled directional release. The interface integrates hexagonal micropillars with a directional nonlinear open-cut architecture, thereby combining strong normal adhesion with direction-selective release. It exhibits a pull-off strength of 249.7 kPa and maintains stable adhesion over more than 100 attachment-detachment cycles. In 90° peel tests, it reaches a maximum peel capacity of 209.5 N m⁻¹ with a directionality ratio of 10.7, providing high resistance to detachment in the load-bearing direction while enabling facile release in the programmed direction. When mounted on a robotic end-effector, the interface supports a 1 kg payload up to a tilt angle of 30.2° in the load-bearing direction, yet releases at only 6.3° in the release direction. It also enables repeatable pick-and-place manipulation with stable payload support during transport and predictable release by simple directional tilting. These results establish the interface as an effective platform for repeatable robotic manipulation, in which robust attachment and predictable directional release are achieved through structurally encoded crack propagation.