CAI and Politecnico di Milano together for the Climbing Lab: a sensor-equipped wall that “reads” the climber’s movement is born

Milan, 21 September 2026 – A climbing wall capable of measuring the forces exerted by athletes, reconstructing their movements in three dimensions and contributing to the study of technique and muscle fatigue. This is the core of the new space of the Climbing Lab of Politecnico di Milano, created at the Giuriati Gym with the support of the Club Alpino Italiano, which made a concrete contribution to the creation of the new infrastructure dedicated to research applied to climbing: the central element of the laboratory is, in fact, an instrumented bouldering wall of approximately 29 square metres, equipped with instrumented holds with sensors capable of detecting the intensity and direction of the forces exerted during climbing. Alongside the main wall there is a second, smaller experimental space, approximately 2.20 x 1.20 metres, intended for research activities on the individual technical movement and for testing further technologies.

The project brings together the field experience gained by CAI with the scientific and technological expertise of DEIB – Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano and the School of Exercise and Sport Sciences of the University of Milan, creating a space in which research, sporting practice and training can develop together. The distinctive feature of the structure lies in the possibility of transforming the climber’s movement into quantitative information, which can be analysed by researchers. Depending on the experimental activities, electromyographs (EMG) may be used to study the activation of the different muscle groups, as well as markerless motion capture systems, capable of reconstructing in three dimensions the position and movement of the body without applying physical markers to the athlete, thus avoiding any interference with the sporting movement. The Climbing Lab, coordinated by Alessandro Colombo, Associate Professor of Automatic Control at Politecnico di Milano, develops advanced technologies, sensing systems and mathematical models to study climbing and, more generally, activities that take place in vertical environments. The analyses concern human movement, the forces and loads exerted, interaction with equipment and the different strategies used during climbing.

The location of the Climbing Lab inside the Giuriati Gym makes it possible for research and ordinary sports practice to coexist. The wall can be used as infrastructure for climbing and, at the same time, become an experimental space in which data can be acquired and new analysis tools developed. With the Climbing Lab, climbing thus also becomes a research tool: the athlete’s experience is translated into data, and the data can in turn help improve knowledge, techniques and safety, taking scientific research outside traditional laboratories.

“The new space allows us to study climbing in conditions much closer to real practice, bringing together sensors, movement analysis and mathematical models” - explains Alessandro Colombo, coordinator of the Climbing Lab of Politecnico di Milano. “The aim is to gain an ever better understanding of human movement, forces and loads, interaction with equipment and the strategies used in vertical environments. Possible applications range from technologies for sport to the use of climbing in rehabilitation, through to workplace safety. The support of the Club Alpino Italiano was fundamental in creating a space where engineering, research and climbing practice can meet and generate new solutions”.

One objective will be to understand climbing biomechanics in ever greater detail: which muscle groups are most involved in different movements, how forces are distributed across the holds, how muscle activation and the quality of the movement change as fatigue progresses. Information that may contribute, over time, not only to performance analysis, but also to the study of training methodologies, injury prevention and training.

In this process, the contribution of CAI may go beyond support for the creation of the facility. Athletes, technicians and instructors of the Club Alpino Italiano will in fact be able to make available to researchers the knowledge and experience gained in climbing practice, helping to identify research questions, experimental methods and the aspects of the movement on which to focus the analyses.

“For the Club Alpino Italiano, this project represents an investment in knowledge and in the future of climbing, but also a concrete way to bring new people closer to the mountains” - adds Antonio Montani, General President of the Club Alpino Italiano. “We believe that indoor climbing can be an important gateway: one can start in the gym, learning technique, attention and awareness, and then go on to experience the natural environment with greater responsibility. The mountains are going through a delicate phase and need prepared, respectful and aware people, able to practise sport while taking care of the places they pass through. To face these challenges, different skills and all available intelligences are needed. This is also why we consider the collaboration with Politecnico particularly valuable; CAI is already carrying out numerous initiatives with it, not only in Milan but also in other areas and directly in the mountains. Here, in particular, the sporting experience is integrated with scientific and technological research: bringing together the expertise of our athletes, instructors and technicians with that of researchers means creating new tools to better understand the climber’s movement, improve training, explore issues such as fatigue, injury prevention and safety in greater depth, and build an increasingly aware way of experiencing the mountains”.

The new laboratory is part of the wider structure of Politecnico di Milano’s Giuriati Gym, a building with approximately 1,700 square metres of indoor space, to which approximately 1,500 square metres of outdoor sports areas are added, comprising a fitness centre and new multipurpose sports fields. The overall investment for the Giuriati Gym amounts to EUR 4.8 million, of which EUR 3.9 million is funded by Regione Lombardia and EUR 900,000 by Politecnico di Milano.