Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Gecko Feet Inspire Hand-Held Spider-Man Paddles

Posted by samzenpus on from the wall-crawler dept.

ygslash (893445) writes DARPA is developing hand-held paddles that can be used to scale vertical walls. The adhesion technology employed in the paddles is based on Van der Waals force, inspired by the feet of certain species of geckos known for their excellent climbing ability. In a recent test, a man weighing almost 100 kg (220 lbs) and carrying a heavy pack that added about 23 kg (50 lbs) of additional weight, was able to scale a vertical glass wall almost 8 m (25 ft) high using the paddles. However, the paddles are reported to be 'not battlefield-ready yet.'

43 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by statemachine · · Score: 1

    *Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

    Didn't Mythbusters have an episode on this?

    1. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by mark-t · · Score: 1

      I dunno.... did they ever test anything based on Van der Waals force? I remember one where they tested various magnets and suction mechanisms, but did they do another one?

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    2. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by Adriax · · Score: 2

      "Thor, the god of thunder, is trying to enter my building!"
      -Adam Savage, Season 4 Episode 11

      --
      I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
    3. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by cheater512 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There was also walking on water like some lizards and insects do, but no not quite similar.

      Van der Waals force isn't exactly a myth though, just a job for materials science.

    4. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by mark-t · · Score: 1

      A show like mythbusters would examine the general viability of something like a spiderman suit or some other portable wall-scaling device that the average tv watcher is going to understand, not about testing the Van der Waals force specifically.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    5. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by kenwd0elq · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The problem with trying to USE Van der Waals forces for anything is that in order to stick together, both surfaces must be microscopically smooth; the sort of "smooth" that would make plate glass or mirrors look like "volcanic rock under a magnifying glass". "Reflecting telescope mirror" smooth. Making materials that smooth - and KEEPING them that smooth - is going to be a challenge.

      As physics, it's pretty neat. From an engineering perspective, it's going to be a problem.

    6. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      does anyone else see the irony of using a Van Der Waals force to climb, wait for it, walls?

    7. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by dbIII · · Score: 3, Informative

      both surfaces must be microscopically smooth

      Not as such - as seen in the summary where geckos are mentioned. One side is made up of a LOT of very smooth surfaces of microscopic size which gets around the problem.

      From an engineering perspective, it's going to be a problem

      Which has been worked on for decades and is paying off now with a few different things - I think another is called "gecko tape".

    8. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      does anyone else see the irony of using a Van Der Waals force to climb, wait for it, walls?

      Van Der Waals? Isn't that just the German translation of an Oasis song?

    9. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by GrahamCox · · Score: 3, Funny

      The problem with trying to USE Van der Waals forces for anything is that in order to stick together, both surfaces must be microscopically smooth

      Better not tell Geckos about that, they'll die out once they hear.

    10. Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man by necro81 · · Score: 1

      Better not tell Geckos about that, they'll die out once they hear.

      There's a Wile E Coyote reference to be made somewhere...

  2. Re:DARPA=bullshit by Cryacin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you sure you want to stick to that story?

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  3. wow so they stuck it on another trhing by maliqua · · Score: 1

    or rather its the first thing they stuck it on and the reason they designed it but the articles are coming out in reverse order

    http://science.slashdot.org/st...
    http://hardware.slashdot.org/s...
    http://hardware.slashdot.org/s...

  4. Breaking Glass by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    I doubt that it is safe to count on most glass not failing under such stress. Climbing concrete or sheet rock might be a better notion.

  5. Glass is incredibly hydrophilic by TrollstonButterbeans · · Score: 1

    So glass loves water and anything else prone to Van der Waals forces.

    Good luck with scaling rock or wood or metal.

    --
    Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
    1. Re:Glass is incredibly hydrophilic by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Once again, watch a gecko or see some video footage of one for an example of this idea in action on wood and metal.

    2. Re:Glass is incredibly hydrophilic by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2

      My understanding is that the technology works poorly on dusty surfaces, due to the setae sticking to the dust rather than the surface, but the only surface that absolutely won't work is Teflon.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    3. Re:Glass is incredibly hydrophilic by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      I guess we are lucky that none of the places that our military fights in are dusty....

    4. Re:Glass is incredibly hydrophilic by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      Holy crap, it doesn't work RIGHT NOW! In CERTAIN SITUATIONS! Abandon all development!

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    5. Re:Glass is incredibly hydrophilic by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      Holy crap, some things become usable after development! EVERYTHING must become usable after development!

  6. Yeah yeah DARPA by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    We know about the "research" leading to this - we all saw "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" too.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  7. Taking inspiration from the movies by Camael · · Score: 1

    I see someone at DARPA is a fan of Mission: Impossible.

    Cool concept though, and pretty useful for firefighters I'd imagine.

    1. Re:Taking inspiration from the movies by aevan · · Score: 1

      For fighting an actual fire, I wouldn't want to be so precarious. For rescue work though...and how would it hold up under wet conditions, say, a boat?

    2. Re:Taking inspiration from the movies by dbIII · · Score: 2

      Probably not well at all. A relative sprays geckos with insect spray to make them fall off the ceiling. Since the poison is unlikely to act quickly (or probably not at all on a reptile), it's likely to be the propellant getting under their feet. It's not much good sticking to a liquid instead of the wall under the liquid.

    3. Re:Taking inspiration from the movies by aevan · · Score: 1

      Ah, figured. There goes that idea. Still, likely some unconventional uses for them out there.

    4. Re:Taking inspiration from the movies by dbIII · · Score: 1

      On the other hand in combination with something that drives liquid away from where you want the stuff to stick may deliver possibilities. Since it's on a microscopic scale combining the fibres that stick on the ends with fibres that wick stuff up, channels for air to flow or whatever may not be hard to do.

      It will be good to get some use out of the force that makes the conventional idea of nanomachines difficult or impossible (eg. tiny little gears will stick together instead of working like gears above the micro scale so Drexler's dream isn't happening - it has to be done in a different way which will not look like conventional mechanical devices).

    5. Re:Taking inspiration from the movies by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      I was thinking of the surviving victums of the Twin Towers Event. Could this device be useful to those above the crash site? How about a cable that allows folks to hold on to? I'm not a soldier, but I don't think that climbing glass walls is a typical combat mission; maybe for the specialty missions?

  8. On belay by tchdab1 · · Score: 1

    Despite the purported difficulty with rock and this technology, I believe rock climbing will never be the same.

    1. Re:On belay by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

      It sounds like you are caught between a rock and a hard place to me!

      --
      Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
    2. Re:On belay by Smallpond · · Score: 1

      Weight goes up as the cube of size while area goes up as the square, which is one reason there are no 2 meter geckos.

    3. Re:On belay by necro81 · · Score: 1

      which is one reason there are no 2 meter geckos

      Only in my nightmares...

    4. Re:On belay by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      well, not any more, since i shot them all in the eyes.

  9. 'not battlefield-ready yet' by jasontheking · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does 'not battlefield-ready yet' mean that grenades stick to the hand and won't let go? or mortar rounds, plane wings, tank tracks, pants...

    1. Re:'not battlefield-ready yet' by peragrin · · Score: 1

      my first thought was along the lines of so not battlefield ready is it thief ready? will some thieves use these to break into buildings?i there a movie about it yet?

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    2. Re:'not battlefield-ready yet' by pastafazou · · Score: 1

      I think the real problem will be finding a battlefield full of glass walls in order to make these really useful...

    3. Re:'not battlefield-ready yet' by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      not a problem at all, the US government has decided its biggest enemy is The People

  10. Re:But can you by Neil+Boekend · · Score: 2

    I can save much more than that on car insurance by not having a car.

    --
    Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
  11. Gecko feet? Does it create webs? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    If yes, it's probably just Tim Berners-Lee in disguise.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  12. Only 100kg by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    "In a recent test, a man weighing almost 100 kg (220 lbs) "

    They've got a way to go before it can support your average fat american then. But then I suppose if you need to get one of those land whales up the side of a building you'd use a crane anyway.

    1. Re:Only 100kg by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      reading comprehension fail, 270lbs. 100 kg + 50lbs of gear.

      learn to do math, or did they not educate you in the numbers?

  13. Gecko Paddles?? by zildgulf · · Score: 1

    Can these Gecko Paddles save us 15% on our car insurance in 15 minutes?

    Oh wait, this is not how any of this works! I can save more in half the time.

    "You are never too old, too wacky, too wild
    to pick up a book and read to a child" - Dr. Seuss

  14. possible dupe from 2001 by WhiteDragon · · Score: 1

    tech.slashdot.org/story/01/05/17/1452217/scaling-walls-with-suction-cups

    --
    Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
  15. Re:How do they keep clean? by OneAhead · · Score: 1

    I suspect the paddles will be 'battle-field ready' once they figure that out...