There is a
video on New Scientist that shows a robot climbing a tree and other vertical surfaces. This is from the RiSE initiative, a descendent of the BR MURI project.
The RiSE platform runs QNX 6.1.0 on a Geode 266MHz processor. The body (v1.0) contains 12 Maxon RE motors and a 4-bar linkage connected through a differential (v1.2 uses a belt drive system) that reveals 2 DOF (wing and crank angle) per leg. The leg position is controlled by RMCs (RiSE motor controller) that use PD control. Currently the body uses LSANs (leg sensing and actuation node) to collect sensor info (accelerometer, potentiometer on 4-bar joint) for feedback.
Stay tuned to GoRobotics for a peek back at the robots of BR MURI.