The U.S. Department of Defense recently finished a design that allows soldiers to climb walls using paddles inspired by the gecko's natural climbing techniques.
The federal department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) created the design for the Z-Man program. Initial testing for the paddles reflected a successful climb of a 218-pound climber over 25 feet of glass. The climber also carried a 50-pound load using only the paddles as climbing tools. The Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass., designed the polymer incorporated into the paddles' design.
The successful introduction of these paddles into the field would allow the military to overcome most of climbing's challenges. For instance, although gaining the higher ground was preferable in battle, soldiers found it difficult to climb since most tools used for climbing such as ropes, gloves, and ladders were not suitable for a modern setting. Also, the use of these tools compromised a hidden operation and made up for a heavier payload, decreasing the unit's speed.
DARPA created the paddles to address these concerns and help soldiers climb buildings and different infrastructures safely and efficiently.
"The gecko is one of the champion climbers in the animal kingdom, so it was natural for DARPA to look to it for inspiration in overcoming some of the maneuver challenges that U.S. forces face in urban environments," said Dr. Matt Goodman, the DARPA program manager for Z-Man, said in a press release.
"Like many of the capabilities that the Department of Defense pursues, we saw with vertical climbing that nature had long since evolved the means to efficiently achieve it. The challenge to our performer team was to understand the biology and physics in play when geckos climb and then reverse-engineer those dynamics into an artificial system for use by humans."
The gecko is known to have the ability to climb almost all types of surface including glass. It also registers adhesive pressures as high as 15-30 pounds per square inch, which means that a gecko lizard can support its whole body by just one toe.
