Embedded Files
Analysis Video
Introduction:
Introduction:
In this scene Ethan has to scale the Burj Khalifa in order to gain access to a server that controls systems in the building. He does this buy using a sort of gecko glove that sticks to the glass and allows him to climb up the outside face of the tower. Although this technology seems outlandish, a form of this has been developed by Stanford Engineers. The goal of this analysis was to check for realism in this scene.
In this scene Ethan has to scale the Burj Khalifa in order to gain access to a server that controls systems in the building. He does this buy using a sort of gecko glove that sticks to the glass and allows him to climb up the outside face of the tower. Although this technology seems outlandish, a form of this has been developed by Stanford Engineers. The goal of this analysis was to check for realism in this scene.
The technology is definitely more than just science fiction. Scientists have created an adhesive that replicates the gecko's setae (Setae are the gecko hairs which have artificially created by the scientists) using a mixture of silicone, plastics and carbon nanotube. The adhesive pads were then tested on a smooth glass wall and a 70 kg Ph.D. student was able to climb up 3.6 meters.
What the scientists realized is that although the technology can be used in a small scale, it is difficult to scale up the product. When the pads get larger than a few centimetres, the weight gets unevenly distributed throughout and the effectiveness of both the artificial setae and actual gecko setae decreases severely.
Key Differences Between the Scientists Experiment and Mission Impossible:
In the scientists demo they used 2 pads that both were larger than Ethan's gloves
The surface was not completely smooth all the way up
One of Ethan's gloves malfunctions during his climb causing him to hang for a second with only one glove
Since the pads scalability is limited because of the weight distribution, even though Ethan's gloves are visibly smaller, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
For the second difference, although the surface might not have been clean and smooth all the way up, if some sort of self cleaning agent was used, it is still possible for the synthetic setae to retain their adhesive nature even if on a dirty surface.
For the final difference, If the glove had somehow improved the weigh distribution along its contact surface with the wall, using even one glove would make this scene possible.
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