Researchers design robo-roaches that can climb walls

Cockroaches don't swerve when they see a wall - they crash into it. The force from the collision is used by the clever insects to launch themselves up vertical surfaces. Now, scientists have taken inspiration from the humble cockroach to create a terrifying robot that can climb up walls. 'Cockroaches running at over 1 metre (3.28 feet) or 50 body lengths per second transition from the floor to a vertical wall within 75 milliseconds by using their head like a car bumper, mechanically mediating the manoeuvre,' researchers at the University of California, Berkeley wrote in their study published today. Inspired by this cockroach movement, the researchers developed their own model robotic cockroaches.