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Gecko-Inspired Dry Adhesive Set For Space
AndreV writes "Biomimetic adhesives aren't new, but a PhD graduate in British Columbia has developed a new method of creating microscopic, mushroom-like plastic structures in order to produce a dry adhesive that mimics the stickiness of gecko feet—and is prepping his glue-free innovation for outer space. A research group at his university, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, is engineering a spider-like, sticky-footed climbing robot destined to explore Mars, and it is also developing reusable attaching systems for astronauts to use where magnetic and suction systems generally fail. In the future, he says, single-use versions could be used in any number of medical applications as well as for replacements for everyday sticky needs, such as Post-It notes and Scotch tape."
We all know that Geico is secretly behind this.
+1 for spider robot technology
If you RTFA you will see that this new adhesive is not based on the nano-scale properties of gecko feet, but is the first space adhesive that doubles as a delightful gecko-flavored paste in emergencies.
You know, I hate it when my fingers feel sticky, even if they really aren't "sticky" in that stuff that I pick up stays stuck. You touch the backside of a post-it, and then for a little while they are sticky afterward. Or you touch scotch tape, and same thing - the fingers are just tacky and it feels weird in a fingers-down-the-blackboard sort of way.
There is no way I'd want to be in Space and have to touch this stuff, and then not be able to get it off by washing my hands. I prefer to get my fingers sticky another way, thank you very much!
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It's obvious that suction wouldn't work in space, but why would magnetic stickers fail?
A "sticky-footed climbing robot destined to explore Mars" makes it sound like this thing may see use on the ground. I'm curious how they plan to deal with dust and debris collecting on the pads.
They say "dirt particles can easily fall off the edge of the fibres", but I don't understand how a solution like this can be selective about what it sticks to.
A spider monkey inspired car horn set for space? A webkit inspired grapling hook set for space? Oh, the joy of open source browsers.
For those that need a monetary reason to save the environment, this is a poster child. We can learn a huge amount of useful things from studying nature. If that nature is allowed to die out, then we will miss out on the hidden knowledge.
Think Deeply.
What sort of medical applications make use of post-it notes? Maybe it will hold an incision closed, but that floppy tag of paper is just too much for most prople to ignore.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
So easy, a caveman could do it!
Ever since some years ago we read on /. that they had discovered the secret behind geckos' amazing abilities, I've been waiting for practical applications of this in the form of gecko tape and the soon-to-follow gecko shoes and gloves.
Glad to see that they'll be using it in space soon, guess that means it'll only be a matter of time before I can get it at Home Depot. In the meantime, whenever I want something stuck to the wall, I just tie it to a gecko and then let the gecko do the sticking for me. Tough part is keeping them in one place, but ironically a little traditional glue does the job nicely. The other problem is I can only put things out of the reach of my cat...
The enemies of Democracy are
The next innovation required would be Gecko tongue to clean the dirty feet, else it won't go far.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Do the current synthetic "gecko feet" self-clean like the real geckos?
Mars is probably quite a dusty place.