NEW YORK: Now, to climb or cling over tall building like Spiderman is not a dream as researchers at Stanford University in California have made a glove-like device, inspired by the tiny gecko. It allowed a 154-pound man to scale a glass wall just like the super hero.
It also allows a man to scale a glass wall not only once, but hundreds of times. A lot of research time and dollars have been spent trying to open the secret of the gecko’s unique feet, which securely take the little creature up sheer surfaces and upside down on ceilings.
According to a report by BBC News, the hand-sized silicone pads created by a team at Stanford University with the help of the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to keep their adhesive strength at all
Scientists of the Stanford University accomplished this by making tiny tiles called microwedges that are able to harness van der Waals forces. The scientists said they were able to make a dry adhesive more effective as compared with gecko feet.
In experiments, a 154-pound graduate student was able to scaled a vertical glass wall about 12 feet high (3.6 meters) wearing the silicone pads on every hand. Without any accident and mishap the task was accomplished hundreds of times.