After all, there aren't too many robots that are hard to catch. The real excitement attaches to the idea of replicating the gecko's own attractive force. Kenny noted, though, that in other species of geckos, some of the structures are not the same, suggesting the possibility of different dynamics of adhesion in those cases. In fact, said Autumn, there are 850 species of gecko, mostly living in the tropics, where extinction is rampant. Many have yet to be carefully studied.
Biodiversity represents a library of potential engineering principles.
But extinction is taking the books off the shelf before we get a chance to read them. Mechanical forces cause molecules and cells to stick to each other, or not to stick. There are molecules that generate large forces, and mechanical structures at the molecular level, operating by mechanical means for mechanical purposes. This means there is an opportunity to use modern mechanical engineering tools in this field, helping biologists perform measurements and custom-developing and microfabricating tools to aid them in their research.