"The science behind gecko toes holds the answer to a dry adhesive
that provides an ideal grip for robot feet. Stanford mechanical
engineer Mark Cutkosky is using the new material, based on the structure
of a gecko foot, to keep his robots climbing."
Extract from the PhysOrg Article:
The toe of a gecko's foot contains hundreds of flap-like ridges called
lamellae. On each ridge are millions of hairs called setae, which are 10
times thinner than a human's. Under a microscope, you can see that each
hair divides into smaller strands called spatulae, making it look like a
bundle of split ends. These split ends are so tiny (a few hundred
nanometers) that they interact with the molecules of the climbing
surface.
Anonymous commented on 31-Aug-2010 04:57 PM
