Yes, you heard that right. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed a four-legged robot that can climb up iron and steel walls and ceilings, as described a study published in the journal Science Robotics on Wednesday. They call it MARVEL, short for Magnetically Adhesive Robot for Versatile and Expeditious Locomotion, and it only weighs about 18 pounds and isn't any larger than a tiny puppy at roughly 13 in long. MARVEL isn't the first robot that can climb walls, but unlike most others, it makes use of magnetic legs rather than wheels, grippers, suction cups, or propellers. It's also seriously dexterous, its designers say, adroitly navigating curved surfaces like that of a rusted metal storage tank, in part thanks to its innovative feet that use electro-magnets and a cutting edge, rubber-like smart material known as magnetorheological elastomers.

Yes, you heard that right. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed a four-legged robot that can climb up iron and steel walls and ceilings, as described a study published in the journal Science Robotics on Wednesday. They call it MARVEL, short for Magnetically Adhesive Robot for Versatile and Expeditious Locomotion, and it only weighs about 18 pounds and isn't any larger than a tiny puppy at roughly 13 in long. MARVEL isn't the first robot that can climb walls, but unlike most others, it makes use of magnetic legs rather than wheels, grippers, suction cups, or propellers. It's also seriously dexterous, its designers say, adroitly navigating curved surfaces like that of a rusted metal storage tank, in part thanks to its innovative feet that use electro-magnets and a cutting edge, rubber-like smart material known as magnetorheological elastomers.

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.

As far as practical applications, SCAMP is designed for outdoor work in places like earthquake zones, where there's no usable flat surface on which a drone could land. It's not uncommon for walls to remain standing amid rubble in disaster areas, and an appropriately equipped SCAMP could perch on one to track seismic activity, for example, or to serve as a link in an emergency communications network. Its climbing capability would also allow it to get to an optimal location, rather than attempting to reposition itself through flying--which can be especially difficult in inclement weather.

Look at it just sitting there on a wall. South Korea's robots are future-proof. A rescue drone by the Korean Advanced Institute Of Science and Technology is a flying wall-climbing fireproof building inspection machine. Named CAROS, for Climbing Aerial RObot System, looks like a normal quadcopter. It flies to and fro like a quadcopter, then turns perpendicular to the ground and attaches itself to surfaces it needs to inspect.