Spider-Soldiers of the Future Ascend Buildings With Ease

During testing, an operator climbed 25 feet vertically on a glass surface using no climbing equipment other than a pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles. The climber wore, but did not require, the use of a safety belay. (Credit: DARPA)  Gaining the high ground in the throes of battle can mean the difference between victory and defeat, but getting to the top can be a challenge. To give United States soldiers the upper hand, DARPA is taking a cue from one of the animal kingdom’s best climbers: the gecko. With a name befitting a spy film, DARPA’s Z-Man program successfully demonstrated technology that allowed a full-grown man to scale a glass wall with no climbing equipment other than gecko-inspired paddles. The Z-Man program was created with the sole purpose of discovering a bioengineered wall-climbing method that trumped ropes.