birgitt

We're commercializing highly repellent, nature-inspired, liquid-infused coatings here: We're also commercializing one of them here: https://spotlessmaterials.com/

Our tech: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0421-0

What types of pricing do you think would make sense to the robotics community and what types of materials do you typically work with?

This is so cool! Liquid-infused coatings and materials often are more slippery than Teflon.

I wrote a book chapter with my colleagues about nature-inspired repellent materials: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Y7H2DwAAQBAJ&oi=f...

We're also commercializing one of them here: https://spotlessmaterials.com/

I think we had a few copies of this in my high school's jazz band (the director of the movie Whiplash was from the same band). I played the flute so had inch thick folders of handwritten music transposed from the tenor sax or trumpet parts.

I used to think rhetorical devices were just ways to sound fancy, but they can be effective tools for transferring emotion or conveying nuanced concepts from author to reader.

E.g., analogy can be more efficient at this than plain description.

Groundhogs are wonderful too! I had one for 4 years before she passed away. Best pet I've ever had.

https://instagram.com/winniethewoodchuck

Hi Everyone! Birgitt here from spotLESS Materials -- we are commercializing this technology and some of the authors of the Nature Sustainability paper are part of our team. I'll try answering some of the questions I'm seeing. Would love to hear your feedback!

Check out our products at: https://www.spotlessmaterials.com/shop

Check out the full research article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0421-0#citeas

Edit: Let me answer a few of the common questions here:

1. Is it easy to apply? We designed our coatings to be applied in minutes with just a spray bottle and a paper towel/cloth.

2. Regarding durability: Our coating consists of two parts - the first part is the formation of a nanohair layer, which is permanently bonded to a substrate (e.g., toilet surface or glass). This layer itself is very liquid-repellent and sludge-repellent and does not require replenishment as it is permanently attached onto the underlying substrate.

The second part is the lubricant, which is infused into the nanohair layer (like a nanoscale sponge absorbing the lubricant). The combination of the lubricant and the nanohair make LESS coating super slippery against liquid and sludge-like substances. The lubricant layer will wear off over time depending on the frequency of use. For typical use in a toilet environment, the lubricant will need to be replenished after ~500 toilet flushes and can be reapplied by a simple spray process.

3. Regarding the environmental friendliness of our coatings: Our product is based on silicone. It has been shown in the scientific literature that silicone can be decomposed naturally in soil within 4-7 days. It breaks down in silica, water, and carbon dioxide.

Ref.: Graiver, D., Farminer, K. & Narayan, R. A review of the fate and effects of silicones in the environment. J. Polym. Environ. 11, 129–136 (2003).