The artificial spider web, constructed by covering elastic gel with silicon rubber. /SNU

A Korean research team has developed an artificial spider web that automatically detects and captures an object, and cleans itself.

The research, led by Professors Ho-Young Kim (Mechanical Engineering) and Jeong-Yun Sun (Materials Science and Engineering) of Seoul National University, was published international journal Science Robotics July 15^th. According to the research team, the artificial spider web is as thin as 6 pieces of human hair, with a density similar to water.

Prof. Ho-Young Kim explained that “the artificial spider web containing static electricity can perform a variety of functions.” In static electricity, unlike current electricity, the electric charges are at rest. For example, rubbing hair against a plastic surface causes it to stick together. This is because of static electricity. The plastic surface attracts more electrons, becoming negatively charged; the hair loses electrons and becomes positively charged.

When an object with static electricity touches the artificial spider web, changes occur in the electrical field. This allows the web to detect the object. Also, it can grab the object with electricity, such as our example above with hair and the plastic surface. When current electricity is made to flow through the web, it vibrates by attracting and repelling neighboring threads, dropping any contaminant substances from it.

“The technology of grabbing and dropping an object can be used in many different fields,” said Prof. Kim. For instance, it can be used to develop a robot that detects fabrics. The current robot tongs have difficulty picking them up. He added: “The artificial spider web can transform large-scale textile processing into a smart factory.”

Research team led by SNU Professors Ho-Young Kim (Mechanical Engineering) and Jeong-Yun Sun (Materials Science and Engineering) develops artificial spider web that detects and captures an object, and cleans itself by shaking off contaminants. /SNU

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