SRI International has plans to unveil the design of a wall-climbing robot at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Pasadena, California later this week. “The principle of operation is similar to electrostatic chucks used to hold silicon wafers, or other specialized grippers for robotic handling of materials,” senior researcher Harsha Prahlad explained to Popular Mechanics in an email last week. “The technology uses a very small amount of power ... and shows the ability to repeatedly clamp to wall substrates that are heavily covered in dust or other debris.” Check out this video!
