You’re going to find this both cute and probably slightly disturbing at the same time:

So what we have here is yet another demo of a walking robot, this one ant-like with its six legs (if it were spider-like it would have eight).

When you start to see this thing walking, then running, that’s when it gets creepy. If I saw this thing coming at me and didn’t know what it was, I’d either be running for cover or smashing it with a sledgehammer, whichever was easier and more convenient.

As for why smaller walking robots like this are insect-like in appearance and movement, the answer to that is fairly simple.

First, a robot that can walk can cover more terrain compared to one on wheels because it can adjust its height when walking.

Second, things like leaning to one side or the other are accomplished much easier with legs than with wheels.

Third, Mother Nature does in fact provide a darned good template for how things are supposed to walk. Robot designers do purposely use insects as their templates because it allows the robot to use the least height but at the same time have the most articulation.

However this doesn’t take away from the fact that the robot above and like robots are still just plain creepy. It doesn’t matter if it were painted white and had little bunny slippers on it – it would still be creepy.

On a final note, no, a robot like the above really wouldn’t have any use in the home, but it would in the industrial field. For example, the above robot would be quite good at crawling through tight ducts with some brushes mounted in front of it to clean them out. I know your next question: “What if it got stuck?” Keep a loose tether attached to the back of the robot. If it gets stuck in the duct, pull it back.

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