This robot was developed to assess the novel adhesive effects of magnetorheological fluid for use in climbing robotics. Performance was experimentally measured and compared to existing theoretical models.

The robot was capable of adhering to ceilings and demonstrated the ability to hold 7.3 kPa of adhesive stress, both in shear force on rough vertical surfaces and normal force on glass sheets, demonstrating a novel form of adhesion on a wide range of surface roughnesses and orientations.

Contrary to theoretical models, the fluid thickness between two parallel plates was found to have little effect on the adhesive failure strength and a positive effect on time to failure. Target surface roughness was found to have a detrimental effect on pull-off adhesion and a positive effect on shearing loads.