Suction Climbing System
2014 - 2016 at Draper
The Suction Climbing System (SCS) is a pair of paddles that allows its user to scale smooth surfaces including glass, drywall, and metal. To use the system, the user applies the suction cup array to the wall, then applies their weight to an array of pneumatic cylinders via a flexible stirrup. These actions cause the suction cups, each one connected to a cylinder, to evacuate and attach to the wall. The user repeats this process, alternating between paddles, to climb the wall. The surface of each suction cup is enhanced with gecko-inspired, microfabricated material called Z-man; this feature prevents the cups from slipping down the wall. Four prototypes of the system were produced before the fifth and final version was delivered to the customer, DARPA. The product was tested by users from the military, was written about in Popular Mechanics, and was employed to scale a ten-story building in a BBC television series.
Beyond Bionic, BBC
My Role
I was responsible for the mechanical design aspects of the system. I was the sole designer of the first two prototypes of the system, and then worked with a team to produce the third, fourth and fifth versions. My day-to-day tasks included brainstorming, prototyping, designing and testing systems, subsystems and parts. For the fourth and fifth versions, I worked with a team of industrial designers to improve usability and aesthetics.
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