In addition to Geckskin™, he leads a research group focused on learning and using lessons from nature to influence structure–property–function relationships in synthetic materials. The end result is an adhesive device that is powerful, easily removed, and leaves no residue.Īl is a materials scientist and engineer interested in the mechanics of soft materials and biological systems and the leader of the initial project that developed Geckskin™.
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Further, as in natural gecko feet, the skin is woven into a synthetic tendon, yielding a design that plays a key role in maintaining stiffness and rotational freedom. The key innovation of Geckskin™ was the integration of a soft elastomer (the pad) with a stiff fabric (the skin), allowing the pad to drape over a surface to maximize contact. It uses commodity materials, not nanotechnology. Geckskin™ is composed of stiff fabrics-such as carbon fiber or Kevlar-with soft elastomers, such as polyurethane or polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This design enables adhesive loads to be more evenly distributed across the pad surface, while also allowing for a rapid and low-energy transition between attachment and detachment. Draping adhesion is created with materials that can drape to create conformal contact with a surface while still maintaining high, elastic stiffness in directions where forces will be applied. Unlike traditional pressure-sensitive adhesives, which rely on viscoelasticity for adhering to surfaces, Geckskin™ relies on a concept known as draping adhesion.