Engineers MARVEL at high-speed quadrupedal walking robot

Led by Professor Hae-Won Parkat from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), the team developed a foot sole that quickly turns the magnetic adhesive force on and off while retaining high adhesive force, even on an uneven surface.

The team achieved this using an Electro-Permanent Magnet (EPM) and a Magneto-Rheological Elastomer (MRE), a material made by mixing a magnetic response factor such as iron powder with an elastic material such as rubber, which they mounted on a small quadrupedal robot made by the team.

According to KAIST, the EPM can turn electromagnetic force on and off with a short current pulse and, unlike general electromagnets, it does not require energy to maintain magnetic force. The research team proposed a new EPM with a rectangular structure arrangement, enabling faster switching while lowering the voltage required for switching compared to existing electromagnets.

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MRE allowed the team to increase the frictional force without significantly reducing the magnetic force of the sole. The proposed sole weighs 169g but provides a vertical gripping force of about 535N and a frictional force of 445N, which KAIST said is sufficient gripping force for a quadrupedal robot weighing 8kg.