Will Phoenix writes that the new tools, called Geckskin, helped a 218-pound man with 50 pounds of additional weights attached to him to use the paddles to climb two-and-a-half stories high on a glass surface without needing the safety harness attached to him.
The technology is a part of the Draper Laboratory and University of Massachusetts Z-Man project, for which a grant was given in 2009.
DARPA believes the paddles could help soldiers in the battlefield gain an advantage over others who rely solely on ladders and rope to get to high ground, ALW reports.