The spider-like robot, called Lemur was developed by engineers at Stanford University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California to one day play a vital role in locating victims trapped in buildings after an earthquake.  More ambitious missions for Lemur would be to travel to Mars and access the sides of cliffs to look at the geology.

Lemur’s movement resembles that of a human rock climber as it maneuver up an indoor climbing wall without using suction cups or magnets for grip.  Lemur’s four triple-jointed limbs combined with claws at the end of each limb aid in hooking into a foothold.  After Lemur moves one of its limbs to a new foothold, it must simultaneously shift its weight by repositioning the other three limbs to maintain balance.