Summary The Stanford students have patents pending and have already begun negotiations with toy companies.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Stanford University students have created paddles that help humans scale glass walls like a gecko.
The "gecko gloves" use the same scientific principles employed by the sticky feet of nature s most impressive climber, the San Jose Mercury News reported on Monday.
"One of the most important attributes of their adhesive is that it s controllable, like tape that you can turn on when you want it to stick, and turn off when you don t," said Elliot Hawkes, a member of the research team.
The Stanford students have patents pending and have already begun negotiations with toy companies.
A Swiss entrepreneur has scheduled a meeting with the team in January to discuss possible rock-climbing applications. There is also a project in the works with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to use a version of the gloves to grab things in space.
"It turns out that gecko-inspired adhesives are one of the very few technologies that will work in space, where you ve got a vacuum and very low temperatures," said Mark Cutkowsky, a member of the mechanical engineering faculty who was part of the four-man team.
