Two rectangular yellow patches extend like butterfly wings from a device attached to a floating platform at the European Space Agency’s Orbital Robotics Laboratory.

Within the framework of his PhD research activities, Riccardo Mazzotti, PhD candidate at the University of Bologna and engineer at the Italian startup Adaptronics, is testing an innovative device developed by the company.

The device employs two Electro Active Adhesive Layers (EAAL), each about the size of two credit cards, to approach a non-cooperative object and adhere to it without any mechanical force, glue, or suction.

“The EAAL relies solely on electrostatic force,” explains Riccardo. “Imagine rubbing a balloon on your hair. When you do that, the two remain attached thanks to electrostatic forces – the balloon becomes negatively charged, and your hair gains a positive charge. Because opposite charges attract, your hair will stick to the balloon. Our device exploits the same principle of operation, resulting in an adhesive force between the device and the target object.”

Of course, no balloons or hair are involved in the device Riccardo is testing. Instead, the EAAL is sporting thin and flexible multi-layer devices based on Kapton material, manufactured through high-precision printed electronics processes, which can become adhesive on command.

“The device operates in two distinct modes: a sensing mode, with a reduced applied voltage to monitor proximity and contact, and an active adhesion mode, where electrostatic forces are generated to create the grip. This ensures continuous readiness while minimising power consumption when adhesion is not required,” says Riccardo.

“When activated, the device uses about 1 watt of electricity, a thousand times less than a microwave oven does. Activation requires just 10 milliseconds and, after that, only 10 milliwatts of power are required to maintain the grip.”

Jules Noirant, ESA’s automation and robotics engineer, comments: “To manage the growing number of satellites in space, we need to be able to approach those in need of repair or refuelling, as well as remove those that are beyond repair.”

Adaptronics’ EAAL relies on principles and materials that are compatible with vacuum and microgravity conditions, making it well suited for space applications like in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing, and active debris removal.

A key advantage of the technology is that it does not require any pre-installed fixtures and can safely interact with both cooperative and non-cooperative targets, enabling more flexible operations in space.

To test Adaptronics’ invention under conditions resembling space, Riccardo made us of ESA’s ORBIT facility.

ORBIT is part of ESA’s Orbital Robotic Laboratory and consists of a 43 m² ultra-flat floor – the height difference between its lowest and highest points is less than a millimetre.

The facility operates similarly to an air hockey table – its testing platforms are equipped with air bearings, which create a stable air gap between the platforms and the floor.

This air gap, thinner than a strand of hair and so hardly visible to the human eye, allows the platforms to move across the floor without any friction, reproducing the state of weightless free-floating in two dimensions.

In Earth gravity conditions, an EAAL the size of a credit card can lift several kilograms of almost any material, both conductors (which allow electricity to flow through them) and dielectrics (non-conducting materials that can hold an electric charge without allowing it to flow through).

Attached to one of ORBIT’s floating platforms – in a simulated two-dimensional microgravity – the device Riccardo is testing was able to pull one of the other platforms (simulating a target satellite), which weighs more than 200 kg.

“The test campaign at ESA’s ORBIT facility represents an important step in the validation of Adaptronics’ electroadhesive technology for space applications. The results confirm the robustness, efficiency and versatility of the EAAL, strengthening its potential as an enabling solution for future in-orbit operations,” concludes Riccardo.

“On a personal level, this campaign was also a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in validating the systems I am developing, and to work within ESA’s Orbital Robotics Laboratory at ESTEC, where many of Europe’s future space technologies take shape: I am truly grateful for this experience.”

Adaptronics are alumni of ESA’s Business Incubation Centre (BIC) in Turin, one of many centres supporting space-related startups throughout Europe. The company’s involvement in the BIC network made this test campaign possible.

[Image description: A close-up of a technical laboratory setup with two flat, rectangular yellow panels mounted horizontally on either side of a central black part. Each yellow panel is about the size of two credit cards and features evenly spaced, narrow rectangular markings across its surface. Above the panels, small spherical grey parts are attached to a vertical structural support. The whole setup is secured to a frame made of silver-coloured columns. A red cable is connected to the lower part of the device. The background is dark and out of focus, which highlights the bright yellow colour of the panels.]