Beware, arachnophobes, the robots are coming for you!
What else would you be expected to think if you watched a hexapod robot display its best Transformers impression by turning into a wheel and pushing itself in your direction? The BionicWheelBot — developed by [Festo] — should rightly remind you of the cartwheeling Flic-Flac spider, the main inspiration for the robot. Of course, Star Wars fans might justifiably see a Droideka.
The BionicWheelBot can — almost — seamlessly transition between crawling around on six legs, to literally rolling away. To do so, its three pairs of legs sequentially fold up into a shape befitting its namesake and then pauses for a moment — almost for dramatic effect — before the real fun begins.
Once it’s balled up, it deploys two hitherto vestigial legs which push the BionicWheelBot on its merry way every rotation, steering all the while. These dual forms grant it the adaptive capacity to traverse multiple terrain types in a single outing. While not the first transforming robot — or rover, earthbound though some may be — we’ve seen, we certainly hope it isn’t the last!
[Thanks for the tip, Itay!]
“While not the first transforming robot — or rover, earthbound though some may be — we’ve seen, we certainly hope it isn’t the last!”
Oh, I’m looking forward to a future of robotic spiders!
B^)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_8KKe0i5xA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebrennus_rechenbergi
“The BionicWheelBot — developed by [Festo] — should rightly remind you of the cartwheeling Flic-Flac spider, the main inspiration for the robot. Of course, Star Wars fans might justifiably see a Droideka.”
You just know future political rallies are going to be a lot more interesting.
QUI-GON: Don’t center on your anxieties, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.
OBI-WAN: But Master Yoda said I should be mindful of the future.
specially a future full of these
Festo does some really neat things, and they make it look easy.
I HAD to laugh!!! So cool and so… out there. And also think – Tooo much time on someone’s hands. ????
Nah, MorpHex did it first!