Some people are afraid of spiders. Others are afraid of robots. Heaven help the person afraid of both who stumbles upon this creepy-crawly 3D-printed robotic spider from Robugtix.
The T8 is made nightmare-inducing not only by its 3D-printed and somewhat realistic-looking skin but by the preternatural movements that mimic living eight-leggers. According to Robugtix, that’s thanks largely to the company’s “Bigfoot” inverse kinematics engine, which uses math calculations to figure out how the robot-arachnid should move.
Using 26 servo motors and a wireless RF-based connected remote control, the 2.2 lbs robot is not exactly autonomous, but when you send it in a direction, it figures out how to walk that creepy way.
If you’re thinking about getting your own T8 robo-arachnid, you should know a few things. It’s battery operated (not included) and arrives as a kit, which includes the 3D-printed parts, a micro-controller brain, the motors and all the fasteners and mechanics you’ll need to assemble said robo-arachnid. Though the robot lists for $1,350, it does not come with the XBee controller and communication module. They sell separately for $85.
The first T8 robotic spiders won’t ship until September. In the meantime, you can prepare by watching the T8 in action in the video above.
Would you buy a robot spider kit? If so, what would you do with it? Let us know in the comments.
Image Courtesy of Robugtix
