A new report has surfaced this week saying that Disney has created a wall-climbing robot called the "Vertigo." The newly created robot was a product of collaboration and research by Disney Research Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), a report from iDigital Times said on Monday.
In a statement, Disney Research said that the robot can actually flip 90 degrees and at the same, climb up walls.
"VertiGo is a wall-climbing robot that is capable of transitioning from the ground to the wall, created in collaboration between Disney Research Zurich and ETH. The robot has two tiltable propellers that provide thrust onto the wall, and four wheels. One pair of wheels is steerable, and each propeller has two degrees of freedom for adjusting the direction of thrust. By transitioning from the ground to a wall and back again, VertiGo extends the ability of robots to travel through urban and indoor environments. The robot is able to move on a wall quickly and with agility," the company said.
"The use of propellers to provide thrust onto the wall ensures that the robot is able to traverse over indentations such as masonry. The choice of two propellers rather than one enables a floor-to-wall transition - thrust is applied both towards the wall using the rear propeller, and in an upward direction using the front propeller, resulting in a flip onto the wall."
iDigital Times said that "VertiGo" can also travel over grass and uneven, hard surfaces without "slowing down."
"There is no plan for a production version for the public at the moment," Dr Paul Beardsley of Disney Research Zurich said as quoted in the report. He further noted that the wall climbing robot can be used in the entertainment industry specifically for visual effects.
"It's also a general technology for locomotion on walls with possible other uses such as industrial inspection," he quipped.