DARPA Develops Spider-Man Tech

DARPA or Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency recently demonstrated gecko-like equipment capable of making a soldier climb walls like Spider-Man. Financed by a 2009 grant, the new tools, called Geckskin, are part of the Draper Laboratory and University of Massachusetts’ Z-Man project.

Matt Goodman, the program manager for Z-Man, stated 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. 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.”

DARPA develops Spider-Man climbing tech/Image: DTOrg

DARPA equipped a 218-pound subject with an additional 50 pounds of weight and had him climb two-and-a-half stories up a glass surface utilizing the new gecko-inspired paddles. The man was also equipped with a safety belt but did not need it.

Goodman and company explained that a gecko’s toes are equipped with often millions of microscopic hairs named setae. Molecular interactions dubbed “van der Waals forces” are multiplied and provide an incredibly strong hold. The UMass Amherst investigators believed it was more than the creature’s toes at work but the entire foot. So they duplicated it.

Goodman noted: “This allows the pad to drape over a surface to maximize contact. Further, as in natural gecko feet, the fabric is woven into a synthetic tendon yielding a design that maintains stiffness and rotational freedom.”

DARPA believes these paddles could be a boon to soldiers in the field because they generally try for “the high ground” but ladders and rope have not significantly developed over the years. Goodman concluded: “They also only allow for sequential climbing whereby the first climber often takes on the highest risk.” And that their research on climbing is ongoing.