Watch This Spider-Like Flying Robot Take Off With Its 16 Thrusters
Researchers from the University of Tokyo have come up with a spider-like robot that can fly and crawl.?The SPIDAR robot stands for "SPherIcally vectorable and Distributed rotors assisted Air-ground amphibious quadruped Robot."?
This robot is reminiscent of Spider Drones that were seen in the video game Fallout 3 and employs the power of lightweight servo motors. In addition, it weighs about 15 kilograms but its limbs do not allow it to stand on its own. In fact, this lightness lets SPIDAR achieve a lift without a jet engine. As Gizmodo pointed out, this means that the spider robot needs to have a constant bounce to stay upright.
How this spider robot takes off
The robot's leg movements are controlled by 16 thrusters - four on each leg that may be used to move the robot's legs. When the alignment is optimal, this robot can actually stand up and walk, although it's quite slow at the moment.
When its thrusters are facing downwards, it can liftoff to fly for about 9 minutes before its batteries run out. When walking, its batteries last for 18 minutes.
Also read:?Researchers Create AI Robot That Paints Art From Simple Text Prompts
For real world use value, it would need a lot more power. For now, SPIDAR is a prototype that is still being worked on.
For this exact robot, there could be many applications within the drone form factor. Robots are expected to replace humans in many labour-intensive jobs in the near-future.?
One of the companies at the forefront of robotics development is Boston Dynamics. In a recent video, the company showed off the capabilities of Atlas - a robot that can now grip things. This might be extremely useful in industries like construction.
Also read:?Italian Company's New Robot Carves Sculptures Out Of Marble Just Like Michelangelo
There's still time before robots can take on tasks performed by humans without supervision. What do you think about this inevitable change that is to come? Let us know in the comments below.?
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