All,
The following news item is courtesy of Wes von Papineau.
Neil Meister
>
>
>PRESS ASSOCIATION (London, UK) 17 May 01 Man can now climb walls like a
>lizard
> A German inventor has developed vacuum pads that let a climber scale a
>vertical wall of glass.
> He has named the device Gekkomat after the tiny lizards which cling to
>smooth surfaces.
> The climber wears four pads, one on each limb, and a canister on a backpack
>which sucks out air from between the pad and the surface.
> Gerald Winkler hopes to sell the system to the emergency services to help
>with rescues from high-rise buildings.
> He says unlike previous devices it works on any type of surface - even
>those made from porous materials like plaster and concrete.
> The climber or, 'geckonaut', moves one pad at a time after a green light on
>the back of each one indicates it is safe to do so.
> The system was tested by the BBC which managed to send a stuntman 65-feet
>up the outside of a glass building
>(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1334000/1334582.stm).
> Its main problem is that it weighs nearly 70 pounds.
> http://www.ananova.co.uk/news/story/sm_296387.html
> Photo: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1330000/images/_1334582_liz300b.jpg
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