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Scooped by Miguel Prazeres
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Geckos, The Superstars of Bioinspired Adhesion

Geckos, The Superstars of Bioinspired Adhesion | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.scoop.it - August 5, 2016 6:25 AM
Photo details: Tokay gecko by Aparajita Datta (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Miguel Prazeres's insight:
When it comes to adhesion, the gecko is the superstar of bioinspiration. Check out the fantastic examples in this collection of scoops (click on photo).
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Ford Looks to Make its Cars Easier to Recycle with Gecko Inspired Adhesive

Ford Looks to Make its Cars Easier to Recycle with Gecko Inspired Adhesive | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From waste-management-world.com - October 31, 2015 2:34 AM

"Dearborn, Michigan based car maker, Ford Motor Company, is working with Procter & Gamble to develop an adhesive inspired by geckos to improve the recyclability of its cars. Ford said that its researchers have considered ways to make auto manufacturing more sustainable for years. A key challenge is glue used to adhere foams to plastics and metals can make disassembling parts for recycling nearly impossible.

Enter the gecko. The company explained that the lizard’s toe pads allow it to stick to most surfaces without liquids or surface tension. The reptile can then easily release itself, leaving no residue.  [...] According to Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader for plastics and sustainability research, the gecko could inspire a host of adhesive innovations for global applications at Ford."

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Flypaper for Elephants: A New Adhesive is Based on Geckos' Feet

Flypaper for Elephants: A New Adhesive is Based on Geckos' Feet | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.theguardian.com - March 28, 2014 4:50 AM

"A team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts has developed a new, reusable adhesive based on the feet of the gecko – the lizard that licks its own eyeballs and climbs up walls. Around 60% of gecko species have adhesive toe pads and these pads were the inspiration for Geckskin – a device that can attach and detach from materials and surfaces repeatedly."

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Here's to Hoping Geckskin (Biomimetic Gecko-Based Tape) Sticks Around

Here's to Hoping Geckskin (Biomimetic Gecko-Based Tape) Sticks Around | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.core77.com - October 17, 2012 3:52 AM

More than five years ago we first wrote about Geckel, a biomimetic adhesive based on geckos' and mussels' ability to stick to things. But as of this year the material was still "under development." Perhaps Duncan Irschick and Alfred Crosby, from UMass Amherst, will have better luck. The pair of scientists--one from Biology, the other from Polymer Science & Engineering--have devised "Geckskin," a reusable tape that can reportedly stick something weighing 700 pounds to a flat wall. Manufacturers of wall mounts for flatscreen TVs ought to be worried.

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Robot Has Roach-Like Reflexes

Robot Has Roach-Like Reflexes | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.designnews.com - June 28, 2012 9:23 AM
A fast-moving robot can perform acrobat-like flips mimicking the movements of cockroaches and geckos, which could help it become a model for small, highly mobile search-and-rescue robots to assist first responders.
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'Gecko Grippers' Head to Space Station

'Gecko Grippers' Head to Space Station | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.reuters.com - March 28, 2016 8:04 AM
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket loaded with supplies and science experiments blasted off from Florida on Tuesday, boosting an Orbital ATK cargo capsule toward the International Space Station.[...] Perched on top of the rocket was a Cygnus capsule loaded with nearly 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg) of food, science experiments and equipment including a 3-D printer to build tools for astronauts and non-stick grippers modeled after gecko feet.[...] The experimental Gecko Gripper is a new kind of adhesive that mimics the way gecko lizards cling to surfaces without falling. It aims to test a method of attaching things in the weightless environment of space. NASA is looking at robotic versions of gecko feet to attach sensors and other instruments onto and inside satellites.

Photo details: Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), George Chernilevsky,2009. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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Scientists Figure Out How To Scale Walls Like Spider-Man

Scientists Figure Out How To Scale Walls Like Spider-Man | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.huffingtonpost.com - November 29, 2014 3:38 AM

"A team of researchers at Stanford has developed a way to scale glass walls using pads that attach to a person's hands. [...] The inspiration behind the design was not actually Spider-Man, but the gecko, which is able to climb up a variety of surfaces using what are known as van der Waals forces. To replicate these electric forces, the Stanford team created hexagon-shaped pads about the size of pingpong paddles. They then covered them in tiny tiles made from polydimethylsiloxane -- a silicon material commonly found in water-repellant coatings. The material itself isn't actually sticky like tape or glue. Like a gecko's toes, the tiles have tiny nanofibers that make the pads strong enough to cling to glass surfaces. Flexible springs behind the tiles help to distribute the weight."

 

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Space Lizard Robots Designed as Cosmic Cleaners

Space Lizard Robots Designed as Cosmic Cleaners | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.ibtimes.co.uk - January 4, 2014 12:56 PM

"Space lizards with sticky feet have been created to act as cosmic cleaners by the European Space Agency. The robots have been designed to mimic gecko lizards in order to help clean the outside of spacecrafts. Researchers at ESA and the Simon Fraser University in Canada believe their 'dry adhesive' materials inspired by geckos could lead to hull-crawling automatons that look after future spaceships."

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University of Akron's Research into Geckos' Natural Stickiness may Pay Off in Companies and Products

University of Akron's Research into Geckos' Natural Stickiness may Pay Off in Companies and Products | Biomimicry | Scoop.it
From www.cleveland.com - September 29, 2012 2:46 AM

The University of Akron's research into what makes geckos' feet stick to almost anything -- part of an emerging field called bio-inspiration -- could have big payoffs in industrial adhesives, electronics, robotics and other fields.

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Carl Messenger-Lehmann's curator insight, December 30, 2014 1:41 AM

We Know gecko's are cool - we just didn't realize they were this cool!
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