CBNNews.com - HERZLIYA, Israel - Robots of every shape and size displayed their capabilities Wednesday at a conference in Herzliya.

Among the robots performing at the conference were a "cat-bot," which can scale walls and a "dog-droid," named Aibo, which can mimic the body language of its live counterpart and follow instructions via a camera attached to its nose.

In addition to climbing walls, the cat-bot, developed by researchers at Ben Gurion University in the Negev, can turn corners and make its way around obstacles in its path.

The robotics project at Ben Gurion began in 1994, following an unsuccessful attempt by the IDF to rescue Nachshon Wachsman and Nir Poraz, two captured soldiers being held on the second floor of a building. Both soldiers were killed during the operation.

"They held Nachshon Wachsman on the second floor of the building, but the forces on the ground who carried out the rescue didn't know that," Ben Gurion researcher Dr. Amir Shapira said.

"After the operation, the army came to us and requested that we build something that would allow it to peek inside the second floor, so we looked for a robot that could stick to the wall," he said.

"The robot with claws climbs the wall like a cat climbs a rough-textured wall," he said. "Another robot has wheels with glue and it can move on completely smooth surfaces, even glass," Shapira said.

The Ben Gurion team has also developed robot snakes, which can make their way through pipes and narrow passages.

Source: Haaretz