Gecko Feet Inspire Hand-Held Spider-Man Paddles 64
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.'
Re:DARPA=bullshit (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Uh Oh! Here comes Iron Man (Score:4, 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.