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Bavarian 'Spider-Man' builds a working climbing suit

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Katrin Küx
July 30, 2025

To climb walls like a superhero, a 15-year-old designed and built a system out of vacuum pumps, suction cups, sensors and mini-computers — and it works!

Fifteen-year-old Vincent Weigl has built a working Spider-Man-style climbing suit for Germany's Jugend forscht science competition. Using 3D-printed parts, vacuum pumps, sensors, and microcomputers, he created a system that lets him scale walls. His third prototype finally succeeded, and now he plans to launch a start-up to market the suit to climbers, rescue teams, and thrill-seekers.

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