Humans Gain Spider-Man Climbing Abilities with Gecko-Tech Device

Spiderman isn't the only one who can scatter the walls with his superhuman capabilities. Thanks to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), now humans can, too.

They've concocted a pair of paddles that replicate the superhero's wall-climbing abilities with a device that allows U.S. troops to do something similar. This superhuman feat was actually inspired by geckos, according to DARPA officials.

"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," said Matt Goodman, the program manager for Z-Man, in a news release. "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."

With the help of the Z-Man program, much like a gecko, a 218-pound man with a 50 pound load on his back could master a 25-foot vertical glass wall without any assistance from ropes or hooks. The polymer microstructure technology formed in the paddles was developed for DARPA by Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, Mass.

Small fibers are stuck to each pad, which allow climbers to stick to surfaces of many kinds. The creators looked to nature for inspiration in ways to improve both the safety and effectiveness of how warfighters perform combat in urban environments.

"Historically, gaining the high ground has always been an operational advantage for warfighters, but the climbing instruments on which they're frequently forced to rely - tools such as ropes and ladders - have not advanced significantly for millennia," the release stated.

Though the paddles may not stick and unstick quite as easily as gecko feet, climbers using the device can easily push up and away from climbing surfaces.

The first successful climb was in Feb. 2012, but tests are still ongoing.