Materials Properties and the Fibrillar Adhesion System of the Gecko (original) (raw)
Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 2012
Several mechanisms have been proposed in the literature to explain the robust attachment and rapid, controllable detachment of geckos' feet on vertical walls or ceilings, yet, it is still debatable, which one is ultimately responsible for geckos' extraordinary capabilities for robust and reversible adhesion. In this paper, we re-examine some of the key movements of geckos' spatula pads and seta hairs during attachment and detachment, and propose a sequence of simple mechanical steps that would lead to the extraordinary properties of geckos observed in experiments. The central subject under study here is a linear distribution of pre-tension along the spatula pad induced by its sliding motion with respect to a surface. The resulting pre-tension, together with a control of setae's pulling force and angle, not only allows for robust and strong attachment, but also enables rapid and controllable detachment. We perform computational modelling and simulations to validate th...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2005
The hairy attachment system on a gecko's toes, consisting of one billion spatulae in the case of Gekko gecko [Ruibal, R. & Ernst, V. (1965) J. Morphol. 117, 271–294], allows it to adhere to nearly all surface topographies. The mechanistic basis for gecko adhesion has been intensely investigated, but the lowest hierarchical level, that of the spatula, has become experimentally accessible only recently. This report details measurements of the adhesion force exerted by a single gecko spatula for various atmospheric conditions and surface chemistries. Through judicious choice and modification of substrates, the short- and long-range adhesive forces are separated. In contrast to previous work [Autumn, K., Sitti, M., Liang, Y. C. A., Peattie, A. M., Hansen, W. R., Sponberg, S., Kenny, T. W., Fearing, R., Israelachvili, J. N. & Full, R. J. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99, 12252–12256 ], our measurements clearly show that humidity contributes significantly to gecko adhesion on a na...