[papad]

Yea I thought the most interesting thing was the very brief mention of "Future models might use one of the gecko-inspired materials that let people climb up walls using Van der Waals attractive forces."

I think there have been attempts at trying to create Gecko-like adhesives like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geckel. But I am pretty sure there are a lot of details that Geckos have evolved/optimized for - surface area/shape of their setae/legs, angle of contact from their hyperextended toes, ability to stick in different humidities etc. - that would be difficult to recreate for football receivers on the field to actually take advantage of Van der Waals forces.

[ChikkaChiChi]

This stuff: https://www.inventables.com/technologies/suction-cup-tape was first "widely" used on the bottom of the Palm Pre charger. It's great to have around, provided you can keep the surface somewhat clean.