Force of a single gecko hair
Autumn and colleagues measured the adhesive force of a single gecko foot hair.
As reported in: Autumn, Liang, Hsieh et al. (2000). Adhesive force of a single gecko foot-hair. Nature. doi:10.1038/35015073
Abstract only
Gecko adhesion: uses in research
Also: gecko setae, dry adhesive, gecko tape
Geckos climb walls using millions of tiny hairs that stick by weak molecular forces. This inspired dry, reusable adhesives.
Readiness: lab lab studies · prototype demonstrated objects · commercial products or buildings in real use · review summaries of other studies.
biology
Van der Waals adhesion in geckos
Autumn and colleagues showed gecko adhesion relies mainly on van der Waals forces.
As reported in: Autumn, Sitti, Liang et al. (2002). Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.192252799
materials science
Gecko tape
Geim and colleagues made a microfabricated adhesive copying gecko foot hairs.
Built / tested: gecko tape
As reported in: Geim, Dubonos, Grigorieva et al. (2003). Microfabricated adhesive mimicking gecko foot-hair. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat917
Abstract only