P4 8 Spider-Man or Gecko Man

Abstract

In several cinematic portrayals, the character Spider-Man adheres to moving surfaces at extreme
speeds. This paper estimates the coefficient of friction and adhesive forces required for a human
of mass 75 kg to remain attached to the exterior of an aircraft travelling at 150 ms−1. Using
aerodynamic drag models, published estimates of gecko-inspired adhesive stress, and reasonable
assumptions about body orientation and exposed area, we compute forces generated by biological-
style adhesion and the resulting frictional demands. Results indicate that, depending on adhesive
stress and contact area, the required friction coefficient ranges from 0.10–1.72, with realistic ad-
hesion parameters bringing the requirement within the performance range of high-performance
synthetic adhesives.