Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 14.2
A hierarchy of structures on a gecko's foot helps it navigate a wide variety of surfaces. A tokay gecko
(
G. gecko
) climbs vertical glass (a); the adhesive lamellae on this gecko's foot (b) serve as overlapping pads. Each seta in this
array (c) is approximately 5
μ
m in diameter; a single seta (d) with branched structure terminates in hundreds of spatular
tips (e). Adapted from Ref.
3
. Copyright (2005) National Academy of Sciences, USA.
bonding forces, but because of the large surface
area of contact between the spatulae and a sur-
face, the forces are strong enough to hold up a
gecko—upside down or otherwise. Researchers
are actively pursuing materials that could mimic
this behavior for use in fabrics and adhesive
tapes and for the feet of robots and unmanned
vehicles
[5]
.
The colorful world of insects, birds, and
marine animals demonstrates myriad hues of
color and optical effects and provides another
example of the elaborate architectures found in
