This amazing climbing robot comes with claws
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By
Trevor Mogg Published September 2, 2025 |
What’s happened? Led by robotics Ph.D. student Paul Nadan, a team at Carnegie Mellon University has been developing the extraordinary Loris robot for several years. The latest version of the robot, which can scale steep surfaces, features in a new video (top) released by IEEE Spectrum. Loris uses bio-inspired microspine grippers that latch onto small surface protrusions with a powerful grip, mimicking the climbing abilities of insects and reptiles. Nadan describes the microspines as “lots of sharp little hooks [that] catch all of the microscopic bumps in the rock surface.” The video shows Loris climbing various vertical surfaces, some far bumpier than others.
Why is this important?
Why should I care? The Loris robot is one of the most advanced climbing robots out there, with its impressive technology potentially serving a myriad of uses. Discoveries made during its development could also inspire other robotics engineers to take the technology further, pushing the boundaries of what robots can do in real-world emergency and inspection scenarios, as well as in operations beyond Earth.
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