Name: Learning from the gecko's tail
Uploaded: 2009-06-11T01:00:00Z
Duration: 11 min 34 s
Description: Biologist Robert Full studies the amazing gecko, with its supersticky feet and tenacious climbing skill. But high-speed footage reveals that the gecko's tail harbors perhaps the most surprising talents of all.

Biologist Robert Full studies the amazing gecko, with its supersticky feet and tenacious climbing skill. But high-speed footage reveals that the gecko's tail harbors perhaps the most surprising talents of all.

Learning from the gecko's tail

Collaboration between biologists and engineers inspired breakthroughs by studying gecko toes and tails. Gecko feet, covered in billions of nano-sized split ends, led to the invention of a synthetic dry adhesive strong enough for humans to climb walls. High-speed cameras revealed the gecko’s tail acts as a fifth leg and a midair stabilizer, enabling agile landings and glides. These insights are fueling new generations of robots that move and balance in ways nature perfected over millions of years.