Animal-like agility for arboreal robot locomotion

Develop robots with agility comparable to that of animals when leaping and bounding in trees.

Background

The paper presents an untethered robot that climbs vertical surfaces by bounding with an aerial phase, achieving continuous jump-climbing on flat and cylindrical walls. However, the demonstrated behavior is limited to controlled vertical surfaces and does not achieve the broader agility exhibited by squirrels and bears while leaping and bounding through trees, along branches, or between footholds. The authors identify the development of robots with comparable arboreal agility as an unresolved challenge.