Meet SPIDAR: This World's First Flying Arachnid-like is a Lightweight Vectorable Quadruped Robot

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 16 February 2023, 08:02 pm

Flying robots are already things that people see on the internet or when a showcase is nearby, but this latest innovation from the University of Tokyo takes things to a whole new level, with its bot called "SPIDAR." This new robot is quadruped, meaning it stands on four feet, which may not exactly be reminiscent of a spider, but this arachnid-like machine can fly with no jet engines.

It uses dual rotors attached to each of its legs, and it achieves flight using only the eight machines, centering on a lightweight body and a vectorable feature for its propulsion needs.

University of Tokyo's SPIDAR

(Photo : Moju Zhao via YouTube Screenshot)

The University of Tokyo and its Project Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Moju Zhao, debuted its flying and walking robot called "SPIDAR" which is a quadruped that has multiple applications in the future.

SPIDAR stands for "SpherIcally vectorable and Distributed rotors assisted Air-ground amphibious quadruped Robot," and it centers on a lightweight-vectorable machine that has eight rotors installed in its legs.

The team demonstrated its capabilities of hybrid functions, including flying and standing on its legs, which it achieves using the unique mechanical design the researchers developed.

According to their paper, it is "assisted by spherically vectorable rotors distributed in each link to enable both walking motion and transformable flight."

Flying Spider-Like Robot

Flying robots are abundant now, and most are bipedal bots that stand on two legs. However, it is a hard feat to apply this to quadruped, which the researchers studied and proved to have massive applications in its manipulation ability in both terrestrial and aerial domains.

Flying Robots

When talking about flying robots, most that come into mind are drones, as these are the easily-made and maneuverable machines that are abundant in the world, for different purposes. Flying robots were made to help humans in reaching places they cannot venture to, and using the likes of helicopters would be dangerous for them or the environment.

A team of Swiss researchers developed a drone that could collect samples from trees, and it may be used to gather more information on biodiversity to help expedite the studies around it.

There was also a team in Hawaii who developed a flying robot drone that would venture to steep cliffs and hills to identify and look for endangered plants.

In the examples above, the use of vehicles that can fit humans would be troublesome not only for the helicopter but also for the environment and the humans aboard.

These flying drones may fit in tight spaces and prevent disturbing and destroying the things around them, which makes them ideal for studies and preservation.

SPIDAR still has no specific purpose for the environment, but its researchers are already looking into developing it more to access terrestrial and aerial domains better, to cover more ground and air in its application.