Arachnophobes often cite spiders’ unpredictable movement as the basis of their fear, pointing out how each spindly leg seems to lift, flex, and probe with a menacing degree of autonomy. Perhaps ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Robotic engineers are no stranger to turning to nature for ...

Researchers Indrek Must and Kadri-Ann Valdur of the Institute of Technology of the University of Tartu have created a robot leg modelled after the leg of a cucumber spider. A soft robot created in ...

When a spider crawled into the corner of a research lab at Rice University in Houston, Texas and curled up to die, it surely never imagined that it would become the inspiration for researchers’ mad ...

Scientists have repurposed dead spiders into a device capable of picking up and moving small objects. It is heralded as the first step in “necrobotics,” or the combination of corpses and robotics. It ...

Faye Yap, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, wondered if a dead spider coiled up in the corridor could be utilized as a robot component. It might sound creepy for some people to witness a ...

is a senior reporter who has covered AI, robotics, and more for eight years at The Verge. Why bother to design your own robots when you can just reuse what nature created? This was the thought process ...

Spiders are amazing. They're useful even when they're dead. Rice University mechanical engineers are showing how to repurpose deceased spiders as mechanical grippers that can blend into natural ...

Fritz Vollrath receives funding from The Leverhulme Foundation and European Research Council (ERC) as well as Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), UK Science Research Councils, Royal ...