Gecko Feet Inspire Sticky Tape

Makarand writes "Geckos have the remarkable ability to climb the most smooth surfaces and hang from glass ceilings with a single toe. Their feet are covered with millions of nanoscopic keratin hairs that can exert an intermolecular force - called van der Waals force - producing an adhesive effect on surfaces they walk on. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have been able to mimic the adhesive ability of Gecko feet with a synthetic material that could find applications in new types of vehicle tires or allowing robots to climb walls. The material is made by using a mould created by a lithographic process and consists of a flexibile and strong substrate covered with 100 million nanoscopic hair each centimetre square. It might take several more years before Gecko tape is made commercially available to the wanna-be Spiderman, but he will have to thank the Gecko for that, not the spider."

Comments

Sweet, velcro obsolete?

[zakezuke]

While I have not studied the domestic gecho, I can already see an application releasing existing things we have from postit notes (you can't really clean them) to velcro. Not to speak of velvet padding based on the gecho material to help anchor something in the event of earthquake... this fall under the catagory of cool beans.

Presently, with the exception of that 3m postit stuff, the only thing we have close to a reuseable adheasive that I know about is spray glue. Per the instructions on the can you apply, let dry, and it in theory stays sticky. As long as you don't mind running the risk of having green goo stuck to places. Double stick tape is also a current product i've used to mount stuff with the intent of having it removable. It's only a soso solution.

I'd be hip to a gecho solution.

Greptile...

[jpellino]

3M make a tape called 'Greptile" that Pearl Izumi made into a set of matching handlebar tape and cycling glove. Each has lots of microscopic protrusions that make the things stick like crazy to each other - not sure how microscopic, but the ads always had EM photos of the surface. 3M also sells the raw tape. Reviews are great, but it never really caught on. For most cyclists, increased padding is prolly preferred over increased grip - you can always squeeze harder.

Re:But . . .

[kiravuo]

Tire design is not as easy, Gecko tires would most likely stick to dirt, not the road. It would be like braking on ball bearings.

Unless you attach a lint roller on the top of each tire to pick up the dirt...

Seriously, my rock climbing shoes use sticky rubber and if I walk on sand or dirt I have to clean the shoes before I climb.

kiravuo

Re:But . . .

[jedinite]

Not every tire produced is a commercial tire for use on the highway.

If this technology can be used to create stickier rubber, it would probably first be applied to r-compound tires, i.e. racing slicks. For example, these Hoosier R3S03 tires that we run on our race car.

The behavior that you describe, your climbing shoes picking up sand/dirt is already typical behavior of existing track rubber - it also picks up small rocks, bits of rubber, small children or pets, etc...

If this technology pans out for tire use, you will probably see it in Formula One followed by trickle down in to less-advanced racing series followed by eventual trickle down to consumer r-compound tires.