Spider inspired robot tracks hazardous information in real time

The eight legged prototype was created using a 3D printing process and is modelled on the same principle that moves spider legs. According to the team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, it can be used to go into areas rendered off limits to humans after chemical accidents, tracking and relaying vital information in real time with an image of the situation, along with any data about poisonous substances. "As a real spider would, our robot keeps four legs on the ground at all times while the other four turn and ready themselves for the next step," explained Fraunhofer's Ralf Becker. "With its long extremities, the spider has a range of ways to get around. Some models can even jump. This is possible using hydraulically operated bellows drives that serve as joints and keep limbs mobile." Becker and his team took a biologically inspired approach to create the robot, mimicking the way a spider builds up high levels of body pressure to pump fluid into their limbs to extend them. "We took this mobility principle and applied it to our lightweight robot," he noted. "Its eight legs and body are also fitted with elastic drive bellows that operate pneumatically to bend and extend its artificial limbs. The components required for locomotion, such as the control unit, valves and compressor pump, are located in the robot's body; the body can also carry various measuring devices and sensors, depending on the application at hand." According to Becker, the robot's hinges can interoperate with the bellows drives so that the legs can move forward and turn as needed. Diagonally opposed members can also move simultaneously. "Bending the front pairs of legs pulls the robotic spider's body along, while stretching the rear extremities pushes it," he explained. As well as being very light, the robot combines rigid and elastic shapes in a single component, meaning it can be constructed in just a few construction steps. "It can also be constructed at a very low cost," Becker concluded. "Our robot is so cheap to produce that it can be discarded after being used only once – just like a disposable rubber glove."