Researchers from the University of Bristol have created a flexible pocket robot made of artificial leather, able to climb walls and other vertical surfaces due to electro-adhesion.

Traditional robots are usually made of rigid materials that do not allow them to adapt to the terrain. At the same time, soft robots can stretch and bend to adapt to the environment.

Existing soft robots in the vast majority of cases rely on the ability to clutch at bumps on the surface - this limits their ability to move. To solve this problem, the researchers created a robot made of artificial leather, which moves like a snail, contracting artificial muscles.

The robot is called ElectroSkin - it relies on electrostatic forces (electro-adhesion), which allow it to stay on the surface, as well as body contractions, compression and tension to move along it, hightech.fm reports. 

The robot's elasticity allows you to roll it up and put it in your pocket, and then use it to perform various tasks. The developer of ElectroSkin believes that the robot can come in handy when cleaning walls from various types of pollution, and also be used as a portable computer.