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Springs bring gecko stickiness to human scale

Climbing glass walls, grabbing space junk get easier with aid from alloy

WALL WALKER  Stanford researcher Elliot W. Hawkes, at 70 kilograms, scales a 3.6-meter-high glass wall with gecko-inspired adhesive pads rigged with special stretchy tendons. 

Eric Eason

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

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Little springs made of a metal alloy found in fancy eyewear can scale up gecko-style sticky power and enable a human to climb a glass wall.