Boy Builds Wall-Climbing Machine Using Recycled Vacuums 96
Joe McIntosh writes "Hibiki Kono just might be a boy genius. The 13-year-old decided he wanted to climb vertical surfaces like his hero, Spiderman. So, he used two 1,400-watt recycled vacuum cleaners and a little bit of elbow grease to make a machine that allows him to scale walls. Kono has been scaling the walls of his UK school and has told the media that he hopes his invention will help window washers eliminate clumsy ladders from their daily routine."
Impressive? Sure, but it's a rip-off... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Oh no he didn't! (Score:4, Interesting)
http://mythbustersresults.com/episode54 [mythbustersresults.com]
A suction cup system can be used to scale a (23-story) skyscraper.
plausible
The concept worked but Adam did not have the stamina to scale the entire building. Making the climb would require significant physical training.
Re:Oh no he didn't! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:No more ladders? (Score:2, Interesting)
Or one of the tubes come loose or otherwise gets a leak.
Cool fun project but totally impracticable for real-life use (you think no one thought of this before?).
For climbing walls I personally I like those nanofiber pads that the military has. Basically the same design as a gecko's feet pads. Lets you climb anything string enough to support your weight. Doesn't work well on crumbly surfaces though.
Re:Impressive? Sure, but it's a rip-off... (Score:5, Interesting)
A kid building a wall-climbing machine out of spare vacuum cleaner parts? It reminds me of something you'd read in a Cory Doctorow novel.
Kids are great. They give me hope. My kid just got a job as a research assistant in a genetics lab at her university, and though she's working like a slave for next to nothing, the experience has lit her up like a neon sign. Every night I get to hear about stuff about which I understand very little, but her excitement is just ambrosia for this proud papa. I usually only get about five minutes of thrilling reportage before she dashes out, probably to some hormone-fueled assignation with a pierced and pimply male, but knowing that her intellect, her future, her life is just exploding with the new sustains me.
That, and the fantasy of gelding the grabby boy who dares lay an insincere hand on her.
Re:Oh no he didn't! (Score:4, Interesting)
But like my sig says....
The question isn't "can you?" But rather "why would you want to?" So much power and effort when much easier and more importantly, simpler systems have been developed. But that's not to say it might not have an application some day right? Say like, having to venture outside of the international space station a`la R2D2 to fix a power coupling or something. Just saying!
Re:Impressive? Sure, but it's a rip-off... (Score:2, Interesting)