July 23, 2008 Scientists in the US have developed robots that are capable of climbing walls.

BBC News has reported a team in SRI's Mobile Robotics and Transducers Programme have used the same principles behind electrostaticcharges to develop machines about the size of a remote-controlled car that can scale a range of surfaces including brick, wood, steel and glass. The robots have caterpillartracks that have materials with electro-adhesiveproperties inside them. When a current is applied to the tracks, they are attracted to the wall in the same way that balloonsstick to ceilings after being rubbed.

"What we've invented is a way to induce charges on the wall using a power supply located on the robot," research engineer Harsha Prahlad told BBC WorldService's Digital Planet programme.