VID: The cutest thing to come out of the department of defense since....

 

The cutest thing to come out of the DoD since anti missile defense--THE STICKYBOT 3. This absolutely adorable robot that can climb up surfaces kinda like a gecko--using rubber bands made of  microscopic hairs on it's feet. It can climb wood, metal, concrete, and glass without changing settings. The original Stickybot was featured on the Science Channel and in Nat Geo in 2008. This third generation version has much greater dexterity.

So what! you say--why not put some slightly wet suction cups on this guy's feet instead and achieve the same vertical walking effect? The Stanford scientists say this: "Stickybot is an embodiment of our hypotheses about the requirements for mobility on vertical surfaces using dry adhesion." --BDML lab website (emphasis mine.) The Department of Defense might say this: because when humans are trying to climb up buildings, they can't use suctions cups, can they?

HOLEY SPIDERMAN!

Evan Ackerman at BotJunkie makes it mysterious:
"Nobody’s allowed to talk about what exactly the Z-Man program is, but it may or may not involve creating a system that will allow a soldier in full combat load to scale a 25 foot wall in 15 seconds or less. It also may or may not be gobbling up a significant portion of the gecko adhesive material that Stanford is creating for Stickybot."

STICKYBOT 3, not to be confused with the SPINYBOT with claws, or RiSE the climbing bat seen here...

So who's gonna become the first Peter Parker? Gen Stanley McChrystal just missed his chance...


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