Web instead of Kevlar
The Pentagon ordered the armor from the web
The US Army has signed a contract with the private company Kraig Biocraft for $ 100,000 to develop a genetically modified web suitable for use in bulletproof vests. This will be reported by Gizmodo (The Army Wants to Make Body Armor Out of Genetically Engineered Spider Silk).
Scientists have known about the advantages of spider silk for a long time. It is water-resistant, five times stronger than steel, and its fibers can be stretched by 40 percent without risking breaking them. However, it is not easy to establish mass production of this material: spiders are cannibalistic, they do not get along well with each other, and it is difficult to make them spin a web. Kraig Biocraft is trying to work around this problem by transplanting spider DNA to silkworms.
The firm will start by testing its web for wear and tension resistance. If the tests are successful, the Pentagon will allocate another 900 thousand dollars. However, spider web armor will not be stronger than Kevlar, which is usually used in the manufacture of armor protection products. Its advantage is its lightness and flexibility, allowing you to protect not only the trunk, but also the limbs.
In April 2016, Festo introduced a robot capable of making giant cocoons from a spider web that easily hold a person. The web of the 3D Cocooner robot consists of flexible soft threads covered with plastic "resin". As the ultra-violet radiation from the head of the built-in printer is printed, the substance hardens, eliminating the need for additional reinforcing structures for cocoons and webs.
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14.07.2016