The flic-flac spider is a very real creature that dwells in the Sahara Desert. It can maneuver its way out of sketchy situations with predators by performing cartwheels and flips.
That by itself is a bit unsettling, but what if we told you a robot spider capable of doing the same thing was in the works?
German automation company Festo is developing a bionic spider with eight legs and 15 motors that can roll around and somersault with ease.
And in order to ensure the robotic spider is as realistic as possible, Festo is collaborating with the man who first discovered the flic-flac spider, bionics professor Ingo Rechenberg.
An integrated inertial sensor within the bionic spider is behind the bot’s flawless movements, enabling it to tuck in six of its eight legs during each rotation while the remaining two thrust off the ground.
