Sure, sure, we've seen climbers before--most notably the City College of New York's City Climber. But where that robot resembled a modified pool cleaner, RiSE looks more buglike. Using six legs and micro claws (or sticky material, depending on the surface), the robot methodically walks up virtually any vertical surface. It has a long tail, ostensibly for stabilization (though I think it's there just to make the robot look that much scarier), as well as two motors, and an on-board computer that works with inertial, joint position, and foot contact sensors. All allow RiSE to autonomously climb trees, walls, and vertical carpeting (something typically found only in robot laboratories).

The possibilities for such a robot are endless. It could climb a high-rise building to report on smoke conditions on the 36th floor, traverse barriers to crawl its way behind enemy lines, or skitter up you home's exterior walls to check if you iRobot Looj need to clean out your gutters again.

There's a lengthy video on the Boston Dynamics site that you have to see to believe. No wires, no tethers, and no problem--RiSe climbs all over the place. I'd suggest locking all your second-story (and 16th-story) windows from now on.