Coming soon, Spiderman suit to scale skyscrapers sans equipment

Italian scientists at the Polytechnic of Turin are working towards developing a suit that would allow the wearer to scale vertical inclines or hang upside down from walls and ceilings just like Spiderman.

London, Aug 29 : Italian scientists at the Polytechnic of Turin are working towards developing a suit that would allow the wearer to scale vertical inclines or hang upside down from walls and ceilings just like Spiderman.

Their invention - still at the drawing-board stage - is based on the natural technology that enables spiders and gecko lizards to cling to concrete, metal or glass.

According to research leader Prof. Nicola Pugno, the suit's gloves and boots, coated with microscopic carbon nanotubes will provide the adequate adhesion.

Shaped like miniature hooks and loops that function in the same way as Velcro, these mimic the billions of hairs on the foot of a gecko, which allow the creature to scuttle effortlessly up walls.

During his study, Prof. Pugno found that bigger surface area of a man's gloves and boots would require lower adhesion strength compared to a gecko.

"Some researchers were able to measure a [theoretical] adhesion strength 200 times higher than the adhesion strength in the gecko. But between theory and practical applications there is a large gap," said Prof. Pugno.

"If we are able to make a surface a little bit stronger, so that the size effect vanishes, we might be able to make a suit with the same adhesion as a gecko," he said.

He said a real Spiderman suit must demonstrate three qualities.

Firstly, and most obviously, it must be able to demonstrate strong adhesive properties; Secondly, the suit must be able to detach easily from a surface after it has stuck, and thirdly, the suit must, to some degree, be able to clean itself.

He said it is essential that the suit is made washable, as dirt particles could get in the way, interfering with the adhesive properties of the suit.

He said one way to do it would be to make the suit "superhydrophobic", so that it strongly repels water. As water droplets are forced away from the contact areas of the outfit, they should wash away particles of dirt, he said.

He said this property could be achieved simply by altering the geometrical properties, or topology, of the surface.

"To have all these mechanisms working together is difficult, because they are in competition with one another. But geckos and spiders provide a natural demonstration that this can be done," he said.

Prof. Pugno said the suit could be used in anything from space exploration to cleaning skyscrapers.

"It may not be long before we are seeing people climbing the Empire State Building with nothing but sticky shoes and gloves to support them," the Daily Mail quoted Prof. Pugno as saying.

The study appears in the Journal of Physics, reports the BBC.

ANI