20 cm long legs and elasic bellows for the joints support the high-tech robot spider built by the Fraunhofer IPA. Picture: Fraunhofer

Silicon.de recently reported on a new robot for hazardous missions: The high-tech spider developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart (Germany). The spider is built using a 3-D printing technique and is extremely lightweight. The Fraunhofer IPA reports in its research news:

“As a real spider would, it keeps four legs on the ground at all times while the other four turn and ready themselves for the next step. Even in its appearance, this artificial articulate creature resembles an octopod. And no wonder – the natural specimen provided the model for researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. This high-tech assistant is still a prototype, but future plans envision its use as an exploratory tool in environments that are too hazardous for humans, or too difficult to get to. After natural catastrophes and industrial or reactor accidents, or in fire department sorties, it can help responders, for instance by broadcasting live images or tracking down hazards or leaking gas.

Fraunhofer IPA in Stuttgart

“Enviably agile and purposeful, the mobile robot makes its way through grounds rendered off-limits to humans as the result of a chemical accident. Depressions, ruts and other obstacles are no match for this eight-legged high-tech journeyman. Its mission: with a camera and measurement equipment on board, it will provide emergency responders with an image of the situation on the ground, along with any data about poisonous substances.”

Read the entire article: High-tech spider for hazardous missions

The next time a giant spider crawls towards you don’t step on it–you might be in trouble in hazardous (corporate) environment and it is coming to rescue you.

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