---
title: "Watch a Dog-Like Robot Climb Straight up a Ladder"
description: "Japanese researchers have unveiled a quadruped robot that uses a combination of sensors and AI to climb straight up a ladder."
date: "2019-11-27"
modified: "2019-11-27"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-dog-like-robot-climb-ladder"
categories:
  - "Robot Dogs"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "climbing robot"
  - "neural network"
  - "quadruped robot"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch a Dog-Like Robot Climb Straight up a Ladder

![Japanese researchers have unveiled a quadruped robot that uses a combination of sensors and AI to climb straight up a ladder.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/watch-dog-like-robot-climb-ladder.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Tokyo Metropolitan University\</em\>*

## Higher Learning

We've seen four-legged robots [dance](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boston-dynamics-robodog-twerk-moonwalk>), [crank out some push-ups](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/robodog-virginia-tech-touchdown>), and even [backflip through autumn leaves](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mit-mini-robots-cheetahs-field>).

But now, *IEEE Spectrum* [reports](<https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/quadruped-robots-can-climb-ladders-now>) that a team of Japanese roboticists has taught a dog-like robot a new trick: how to autonomously climb a vertical ladder.

## Thumbs Up

The team from Tokyo Metropolitan University and Okayama University presented their quadruped robot at the 2019 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems on November 5.

The bot has four legs, each with five degrees of freedom and — this is key — an opposable thumb of sorts that it can use to grip the ladder's rungs. The robot also features an array of sensors that work with a recurrent neural network to guide it up the ladder.

https://youtu.be/k-SdJ1clNMQ

## Slow and Steady

The team has yet to publish a paper on its robot, but the released video of the machine in action is remarkable.

It's not hard to imagine a future version of the bot helping humans in disaster scenarios, climbing into dangerous environments as easily as it might walk across level ground.

**READ MORE:** [Quadruped Robots Can Climb Ladders Now](<https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/quadruped-robots-can-climb-ladders-now>) \[*IEEE Spectrum*\]

**More on robots:** *[Watch a Pack of MIT’s Mini Robots Cavort in Autumn Leaves](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mit-mini-robots-cheetahs-field>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)