Gecko-Bots
June 10th, 2009More Biomimacry

Speaking of geckos, it appears the Pentagon has found applications for imitating the gecko’s vertical wall climbing capabilities. The Pentagon’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, has developed a “Stickybot” which looks and climbs exactly like a gecko, using friction to adhere to smooth surfaces. The six-legged devices developed by the RiSE project, which is presided over by Professor Mark Cutkosky of Stanford University, are based on insects and reptiles. The aim is to develop machines capable of walking both along the ground and up walls and other surfaces. They also have a “DynoClimber”, which scuttles up walls like a cockroach, at speeds of 66cm a second (or 1.5 times its body length every second).
With these lizardbots go,you can get up close and personal against an enemy in a building, without risking any of your soldiers. Who knows what other applications they can have. For more information see http://robotbling.gametrailers.com/gamepad/index.php?action=viewblog&id=326110.






