climbing

Race your car up a hill in Hill Climb Racing

This physics game gives you all the fun of a bumpy ride without any skull fractures and will definitely quench your thirst for off-road driving. Hill Climb Racing becomes a little boring if you get stuck at the same level, but loads of customization and upgrade options will keep you coming back.

The game's Super Nintendo-style graphics makes it run incredibly smooth and won't tax your phone's processor. You will hear some goofy laughs whenever you flip your car and crush the redneck behind the wheel, which you'll do often. Though it's funny when you … Read more

iPhone-controlled art doubles as climbing wall

Climbing walls have come a long way since phys ed lecturer Don Robinson glued real rocks to a hallway wall at Leeds University in 1964. Just down the street from my office, walls made of plywood reinforced with steel frames sport dozens of different types of holds and graded "problems" -- perfect for staying in shape during the rainy winter months in Portland.

But not everyone lives within walking distance of an indoor climbing hub, so Munich-based design studio Lunar Europe thought up a pretty sleek art piece that doubles as a climbing wall and syncs up with an iPhone app.… Read more

This iPhone-controlled RC car climbs walls

Recently, we did a short post on Dexim's mini iOS-controlled Monster Truck. Well, we've now come across a gravity-defying iOS-controlled car aptly called the iPhone Controlled Wall Climbing Car iW500.

What's the trick? Or should we say, what makes it stick?

Apparently, this RC car actually has an integrated vacuum that lets it hug walls and even drive upside-down on ceilings.

Like Dexim's App Speed Monster Truck, the car comes bundled with a transmitter that you plug into the bottom of your iPhone or iPod Touch (it should work with an iPad as well) and you download a free app to control the car. … Read more

Excellent ninja climbing game

NinJump Deluxe HD is the souped-up version of the free, popular NinJump, an infinitely scrolling vertical-climbing game with a super-simple one-tap interface.

As with other games in this genre (whether vertically or horizontally oriented), the goal is to get as far as you can without dying. You play an ultranimble ninja, jumping between two walls on the left and right of the screen to avoid obstacles and enemies. You're always moving up--quickly!--and you tap anywhere on the screen to leap between the two walls. In the game's classic version, you scale generically pagoda-like structures and fight ninja-esque … Read more

Beaver-tailed robot mimics tree-climbing insects

Here's another offering from Boston Dynamics' zoomorphic line: the RiSE V3, a multi-legged, beaver-tailed robot that can skitter along the ground, shimmy up a pole, and then quietly cling there and stare at you.

The legs are powered by a pair of electric motors and equipped with small surgical needle micro-claws, which allow the unit to dig into and climb up textured, convex, cylindrical structures at a rate of 21 centimeters per second, or just under a half a mile an hour (PDF).

"RiSE V3 is the first general-purpose legged machine to achieve this vertical climbing speed," … Read more

Sticky robot scales walls

SRI International has announced the development of a wall-climbing robot that uses a new electrical adhesive technology called "compliant electroadhesion" that can stick to anything from brick to glass--even damp, dirty glass.

Electroadhesion, or electrically controlled electrostatic attraction, is an electrically controlled adhesion technology that induces an electrostatic charge using a power supply connected to pads placed on the robot allowing it to scale walls, even those covered with dust or moisture, SRI says.

"Recent events such as natural disasters, military actions, and public safety threats have led to an increased need for robust robots--especially ones that … Read more

Wall-climbing robot sucks it up

Just how desperate is that housewife next door? If those down-looking satellites just don't do it for you any more, here's another way to keep an eye on your neighbor.

The Vortex Regenerative Air Movement Mobile Robot Platform (VRAMMRP) uses a patented "tornado in a cup" sucking technology to stick to walls and ceilings, then uses six wheels to position itself on the window ledge or other strategic location. Remote controlled by joy stick, the unit can send video and audio via secure Bluetooth. This equipment should be included in any self-respecting paparazzi's toolkit.

No more rope burns with this device

If only we had one of these in high school gym. This nifty invention by some enterprising MIT students can climb a rope all by itself at the astonishing rate of 10 feet per second--carrying 250 pounds all the while.

The success of the "Rope Ascender" apparently hinges on the concept of strength derived from winding the rope around a cylinder multiple times. The students' efforts, which led to the formulation of a company called Atlas Devices, have reportedly been rewarded already with a U.S. Army contract.

As an example of its very practical uses, Coolest-Gadgets notes … Read more

A gadget for kinder, gentler weather

The country is experiencing record swings in temperature this winter and $1 billion in failed citrus crops due to freezing temperatures in California.

What a great time to think about pool sports.

The AquaClimb is a rock climbing wall for your pool. And who knows, you may not have to wait until summer to use it if temperatures swing back into the 70s, as they did on January 7 in the northeast.

There is no limit to the weight that the wall--a stainless steel frame with fiberglass panels and nonslip coating--can hold, according to the company. AquaClimb's base screws … Read more