QinetiQ helps people rapidly climb to the top

UPSTART is a unique man-usable/portable powered rope climbing device

UPSTART, a mechanised and fully self-contained rapid ascender originally developed by QinetiQ for Special Forces operations, shortly to be released into service, will be demonstrated at scheduled intervals throughout the day at DSEi.

UPSTART has been designed to enable a person carrying equipment with a total weight of up to 200kg to safely ascend a free-hanging rope at over 10 feet per second. The watertight unit, which weighs less than 15kg, is designed for effortless single handed use and operates in temperatures between -18°C to +50°C. The system can 'climb' over 600ft on a single charge and recharging takes between 60-90 minutes.

"The time and effort required to manually ascend a rope could compromise an operation and invariably results in fatigue - so being able to ascend without effort is advantageous in both military and rescue scenarios," explained Ade Scott of Technical Rescue, an independent company involved in the assessment and demonstration of the system. "Upstart is all about effectively meeting operational needs, usually under adverse conditions, and potentially hundreds of units of this life saver could be required."

In addition to meeting the needs of UK and international armed forces and law enforcement, other key potential users could include deployment with mountain search and rescue teams or fire and rescue services. Specialist companies, that need to obtain access to buildings or work where conventional equipment is impractical and where 'climbing a rope' is the only option, are also potential users as are scientific and broadcast production operations working in difficult to access areas like the canopy of a tropical rain forest.