US engineers have developed a robotic gecko that - like the reptile - uses dry, adhesive feet to climb walls.
Dubbed 'Stickybot', the robot was described as having feet the "size of a child's hand" with 20-micrometre-wide hairs that attract molecules of the climbing surface using van der Waals forces.
Molecular interaction between the hairs and walls allowed the hairs to act as a dry, one-way adhesive that allows Stickybot to climb wood panelling, painted metal and glass.
The team, which was led by Stanford University professor Mark Cutkosky, planned to scale up the adhesive material and is building a technology called "Z-man" to allow humans to climb with gecko adhesive.
Copyright © iTnews.com.au . All rights reserved.
A confirmation email has been sent to your email address - SUPPLIED GOES EMAIL HERE. Please click on the link in the email to verify your email address. You need to verify your email before you can start posting.
If you do not receive your confirmation email within the next few minutes, it may be because the email has been captured by a junk mail filter. Please ensure you add the domain @itnews.com.au to your white-listed senders.