Esslingen, Germany-based Festo has come up with the BionicWheelBot, a walk-and-roll robot with strong spider vibes. The BionicWheelBot is inspired by the flic-flac spider.
The flic-flac spider can walk like other spiders. It can also propel itself into the air, however, with a combined sequence of somersaulting and rolling on the ground.
The walking and tumbling robot has its origins in the work of Professor Ingo Rechenberg, a bionics professor at the TU Berlin. He spotted the spider in the Erg Chebbi desert on the edge of the Sahara in 2008.
It is, therefore, ideally adapted to its surroundings: on even ground, it is twice as fast in so-called rolling mode than when walking. However, where it is uneven, it is faster walking normally. As such, in the desert, where both types of terrain can be found, it is able to move safely and efficiently.
Since its discovery, Professor Rechenberg has been working on transferring its movement patterns to the technical field.
The studies into the spider’s behaviour led to the design of various robots that can propel themselves on difficult terrain.
For the BionicWheelBot, the scientist from Berlin has now developed the kinematics and drive concept together with our bionics team.
News Source: https://www.festo.com/group/en/cms/13129.htm
