An adhesive system for attachment to a contact surface of an object comprises a backing, carbon nanotubes, charged nanoparticles, and an electrical source. The carbon nanotubes each have a first end region and a second end region, opposite the first end region. Each of the charged nanoparticles is coupled to the second end region of at least one of the carbon nanotubes. The electrical source is configured to selectively electrically charge the backing to cause an electrical repulsion force between the backing and the charged nanoparticles. The first end region of each of the carbon nanotubes is coupled to the backing. The second end region of each of a number of the carbon nanotubes is coupled to none of the charged nanoparticles.