# SCALER: A Tough Versatile Quadruped Free-Climber Robot

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.01180 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.01180/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Jul 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Real-to-Sim: Predicting Residual Errors of Robotic Systems with Sparse Data using a Learning-based Unscented Kalman Filter](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.03210/) (2022)
- [Mechanical Intelligence-Aware Curriculum Reinforcement Learning for Humanoids with Parallel Actuation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.00273/) (2025)
- [OptiState: State Estimation of Legged Robots using Gated Networks with Transformer-based Vision and Kalman Filtering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.16719/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper introduces SCALER, a quadrupedal robot that demonstrates climbing on bouldering walls, overhangs, ceilings and trotting on the ground. SCALER is one of the first high-degrees of freedom four-limbed robots that can free-climb under the Earth's gravity and one of the most mechanically efficient quadrupeds on the ground. Where other state-of-the-art climbers specialize in climbing, SCALER promises practical free-climbing with payload textitand ground locomotion, which realizes true versatile mobility. A new climbing gait, SKATE gait, increases the payload by utilizing the SCALER body linkage mechanism. SCALER achieves a maximum normalized locomotion speed of 1.87 /s, or 0.56 m/s on the ground and 1.0 /min, or 0.35 m/min in bouldering wall climbing. Payload capacity reaches 233 % of the SCALER weight on the ground and 35 % on the vertical wall. Our GOAT gripper, a mechanically adaptable underactuated two-finger gripper, successfully grasps convex and non-convex objects and supports SCALER.