The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as DARPA, has developed paddles for soldiers to help them climb vertical walls without requiring ropes or ladders. The design was created for the Z-man program; it is intended to develop equipment for human beings to help them climb vertical walls and mountains with ease.

A prototype set of sticky handheld paddles has been developed by researchers who took part in a project funded by the DoD's DARPA research agency. The researcher took inspiration from the lizard's feet, which have rows of adhesive pads.

A new model of advanced climbing gloves empowers a wearer to climb up vertical walls without using any other equipment. The agency has showed that a man weighing about 215 pounds with an extra 50 pounds or so on his back successfully climbed 25 feet up and down a glass structure.

The agency wanted to allow soldiers to climb up walls with the full weight of their combat equipment without risking theirsafety. Traditionally, ropes are used by soldiers to climb walls or mountains, but the first climber always face the risk of an injury or death. However, the researchers at DARPA studied how the gecko is able to climb up difficult surfaces in a bid to develop the paddles that stick to the surface and gets free to climb easily like the lizard.

"The gecko is one of the champion climbers in the animal kingdom, so it was natural for DARPA to look to it for inspiration in overcoming some of the maneuver challenges that U. S. forces face in urban environments", said Dr. Matt Goodman, the DARPA program manager for Z-Man, said in a press release.