Gecko Toes Inspire Self-Cleaning Adhesive Tape

Feb-23-14 Gecko feet have once again inspired a useful new technology—this time in the form of self-cleaning, reusable adhesive tape.

The gecko’s sticky feet are the result of millions of setae (microscopic hair particles) that temporarily bond with surfaces. When the gecko’s toes drag across a surface, the friction causes the dirt to be removed and deposited instead among the setae on its sole and the folds of its skin, cleaning the feet.

Inspired by this action, the teams at Carnegie Mellon University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology created three sizes of tiny mushroom-shaped, elastic microhairs. They then covered a piece of tape with the microhairs and pressed it upon a plate of tiny glass spheres, slid it laterally, and then pulled it off—mimicking the gait of the gecko. They learned that the smaller microhairs performed best at self-cleaning, with the tape regaining 80 to 100 percent of its adhesive qualities after eight to ten applications. The team is now working to replicate the skin folds of the gecko, which could add to the self-cleaning capabilities, and plan to test the tape on actual dirt in the future.

More Info about this Invention:

[GIZMAG.COM]

---