I found this on Chewie in Miguel's folder:

Superglue Foot Concept

by Kevin Hufford and Miguel Piedrahita

A possible approach to climbing adhesion is to use a chemical adhesive. Superglue (cyanoacrylate) is a good candidate, as it cures in approx. 1 sec when combined with an accelerant. This "foot" prototype uses a shaped piece of foam cutter wire as the contact to the substrate. A drop of glue and accelerant are deposited on the wire, which quickly fuses to the substrate. By running current through the wire, it quickly heats up and vaporizes the superglue. Detatchment occurs in a fraction of a second.

We are currently exploring the use of inkjet print head technology to deposit controlled amounts of glue and accelerant.

Notes on Superglue:

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

• "Cyanoacrylate glue has a low shearing strength, which has also led to its use as a temporary adhesive in cases where the piece can easily be sheared off at a later time. Common examples include mounting a workpiece to a sacrificial glue block on a lathe and also tightening pins and bolts."

• "Generally, cyanoacrylate is an acrylic resin which rapidly polymerises in the presence of water (specifically hydroxide ions), forming long, strong chains, joining the bonded surfaces together. Because the presence of moisture causes the glue to set, exposure to moisture in the air can cause a tube or bottle of glue to become unusable over time. To prevent an opened container of glue from setting before use, it must be stored in an airtight jar or bottle with a package of silica gel."

• "Low temperatures cause cured cyanoacrylate to become brittle. Cyanoacrylate's bonds can be weakened (allowing disassembly) by placing a glued object in a household freezer for several hours. Opened containers of cyanoacrylate glue can also be delayed from prematurely setting by storing the containers in the household refrigerator."

-- AlanAsbeck - 09 Dec 2008