Magnecko

Magnecko is a quadrupedal climbing robot developed by students at ETH Zurich that is designed to climb ferrous surfaces in any orientation — including vertical walls, overhangs, and ceilings — using electromagnetic adhesion. Its insect-inspired leg topology (three actuated DOF per leg, plus passive ankle joints) yields a large range of motion and high manipulability, while electro-permanent magnetic feet provide strong, power-safe adhesion even under payload. The robot is lightweight (≈ 11.3 kg including battery) yet sufficiently strong: with custom high-torque actuators and magnetic feet, it has demonstrated crawling on ground, walls, overhangs and ceilings, including transitions across 90° concave corners.

In my role, I supervised the project and guided the students on bridging the sim-to-real gap: I advised them on building accurate actuator models; on learning control design; and on how to safely transfer simulated climbing behaviors to the physical robot hardware. I helped structure validation experiments.

Check-out the full robot here and the project page.