Tech Apocalypse is Here! Dead Spiders are Turning into Robots!
Scientists are transforming dead spiders into robots, a process that can be recognized as ‘necrobotics’
Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders that is excessive or irrational. It is usually treated with exposure therapy, in which a person is shown pictures and videos of spiders or other arachnids such as scorpios. However, not all arachnophobes are amenable to such treatments. A large spider will only cause them to scream or have a panic attack. That’s exactly how we expect spider haters to react to this strange piece of news about emerging mechanical spiders, or robots that are spiders!
As if giant eight-legged freaks in films and nightmares weren’t enough, some scientists are now transforming dead spiders into robots. Faye Yap, a graduate student, and Daniel Preston, an engineer, have discovered a way to use the legs of dead spiders. Yap and her Rice University colleagues have been studying wolf spiders, their work has reached a breakthrough because they were able to use the legs of a dead arachnid to unfurl and grip objects.
‘Necrobotics’ is the name given to this new robotic creation!
According to the researchers, a spider’s leg work is extremely complex and nearly impossible to replicate using man-made models. That’s why the scientists stayed with the existing system, which was based on a spider with some mechanical modifications. Because “a spider extends each leg by actively contracting muscles in the prosoma (cephalothorax) to increase its internal hydraulic pressure,” it can grip heavy materials with small legs.
The researchers have now explained in a paper that the concept of necrobotics represents a significant advancement in robotics. The necrobotics concept proposed in this work takes advantage of unique designs created by nature that can be difficult, if not impossible, to replicate artificially. The team created a dead spider grip on a small ball. The experiment yielded a peak grip force of 0.35 millinewton.
The spider gripper required a single, relatively simple fabrication step. The scientists inserted a needle into the spiders’ hydraulic chamber and superglued the gripper in place. They attached the needle’s other end to one of the lab’s test rigs or a handheld syringe. This released a small amount of air, which instantly activated the legs. This allowed them to control all of the spider’s legs at once. This enabled them to control all of the spider’s legs at the same time.
Preston demonstrates how the necrobot spiders work. It will most likely frighten you if you are afraid of spiders. Wolf spiders were used by the team, and testing revealed that they could lift more than 130 percent of their own body weight. They had the grippers move objects, manipulate a circuit board, and even lift another spider. They also discovered that the necrobot could withstand nearly 1,000 open-close cycles before showing signs of wear and tear.
There are a lot of pick-and-place tasks we could look into, repetitive tasks like sorting or moving objects around at these small scales, and maybe even microelectronics assembly Because necrobots are naturally camouflaged, they could be used to capture smaller insects in nature. Preston points out that the spiders themselves are biodegradable. As a result, we are not creating a large waste stream, which can be a problem with more traditional components. The necrobots do resemble zombie spiders resurrected and we wouldn’t want one near me lifting things. Nonetheless, it’s amazing to see how the convergence of biology and robotics is transforming modern technology.
