HECTOR – The Six-Legged ”Stick Bug” Robot That Mimics Nature (VIDEO)

By: TechSwarm -

Research continues into robots that mimic nature. Among those already in development are the following:

Robobee: a possible replacement pollinator for the declining natural bee population, while also offering the dual-use swarm surveillance and weapons’ capabilities sought after by the military. 

Robo Raven: a 3D-printed military drone which incorporates 3D-printed components to produce independently flapping wings.

Dragonfly: Currently the world’s smallest drone which has overcome flight issues by employing flapping wings and the ability to autonomously avoid obstacles. It avoids these obstacles with 3D vision.

Cryo - a robot jellyfish to patrol the oceans.

Spider Bot – described as “freaky fast” – the equivalent of a human running 120 mph.

Snake Robot: Being designed to move across land and through water, with the possibility of being deployed off planet.

As you’ll see in the video below, HECTOR is the latest addition to the robot pantheon. The insectoid concept comes from researchers at the University of Bielefield, Germany. As one would imagine, HECTOR is designed to go where other larger robots might not be able to. HECTOR is outfitted with embedded sensors to provide environmental feedback and “evasion reflexes” to accurately manage difficult terrain.

While appearing somewhat clumsy at this stage, so too have other larger robots, including those of humanoid form. New barriers continue to be broken across the robotics field which herald the arrival of new mechanized additions to our natural environment … probably sooner rather than later.