Smooth vertical surface climbing with directional adhesion

Stickybot is a bioinspired robot that climbs smooth vertical surfaces such as those made of glass, plastic, and ceramic tile at 4 cm/s. The robot employs several design principles adapted from the gecko, including a hierarchy of compliant structures and directional adhesion. At the finest scale, the undersides of Stickybot’s toes are covered with arrays of small, angled polymer stalks.