It's a Tree-Climbing Robot!

This may seem a bit off-topic, but you'll see me tying this into medicine and technology. This photo on the right is of a tree-climbing robot developed by engineers at the University of Pennsylvania. RiSE is a four-legged robot that can both scamper along the ground and rapidly climb a tree or a pole. RiSE V3 was designed and built at Boston Dynamics (they make the four-legged military robot BigDog).

So how is this robotic technology relevant to medicine and technology? It's relevant because robotic technology has been used to help disabled people walk (ReWalk Exoskeleton). As engineers develop more sophisticated robots, this type of technology may translate over to the healthcare field and help people who are physically disabled. Image source: Technology Review.