Stick to it!  The US military is in the early stages of developing a type of glove that will allow our soldiers to climb vertical surfaces.

Yes, that’s right, mission impossible has now been made possible. The gloves our favorite spy used to climb up glass buildings could now be used by our own soldiers and special agents to catch bad guys and gain the upper hand in war.

The gloves are designed to recreate the effect that a gecko’s skin has when climbing, allowing them to climb slippery surfaces. With a reversible adhesive elastomer, they cling to surfaces the same way that the gecko’s feet do.

“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 Dr. Matt Goodman, the Darpa program manager for Z-Man.

The gecko uses physical forces, mainly the Van Der Waal inter-molecular forces between the spatulae and the surface to adhere reversibly, which allows for the easy removals and replacements of the gecko’s feet. Because of the fact that the Van Der Waal mechanism is implied, it is the size and shape of the spatulae tips that affect adhesive performance, not specific surface chemistry.

This means it is possible for scientists to recreate the effect that a gecko’s skin has when it climbs; the gecko’s ability to climb over a variety of surfaces can prove to be a very important advantage in a war and in other jobs such as firefighting, the police force, and even mundane jobs such as window cleaning or utility services.

“Geckskin” is one output of the Z-Man program.  It is a synthetically-fabricated reversible adhesive inspired by the gecko’s ability to climb surfaces of various materials and roughness, including smooth surfaces like glass.  Performers on Z-Man designed adhesive pads to mimic the gecko foot over multiple length scales, from the macroscopic foot tendons to the microscopic setae and spatulae, to maximize reversible Van Der Waals interactions with the surface.

The project having been dubbed the Z-Man project, demonstrated its advancements during its early testing by sticking to the glass while holding up 600 pounds worth of weights, proving its potential in the near future.