Robotics

Scorpion Hexapod has a sting in its tail

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Get too close and the Scorpion Hexapod will stab you
Those moving claws look dangerous, but won't leave a mark on victims like the stinger
The shell, claws, leg ends and tail stinger are fashioned from thermoformed polystyrene
The modules that make up the legs and tail were 3D-printed
The robot has been programmed with numerous moves and some auto responses to interactions
The Scorpion Hexabot has an Arduino Nano brain
The Scorpion Hexabot moves better on carpet than smooth floor
Ready to strike, the Scorpion Hexapod moves in a similar way to the real thing and stabs anyone who dares to get too close
Get too close and the Scorpion Hexapod will stab you
Build photo showing the lasercut ABs body, 3D-printed leg and tail modules and thermoformed polystyrene feet and claws
Live control via a computer is possible
The modules that make up the legs were 3D-printed
The shell, claws, leg ends and tail stinger are fashioned from thermoformed polystyrene
View gallery - 12 images

Students from Ghent University in Belgium have developed a six-legged floor crawler that's sure to leave its mark on those it comes into contact with. The Scorpion Hexapod, which wouldn't look too out of place in the robotic menagerie of German automation technology company Festo, fires its stinger at the hand of anyone covering its eyes, leaving a red mark as a reminder of the encounter.

The Master Year project design brief of students Stephan Flamand, Robbe Terryn and Pieterjan Deconinck was to redesign a robotic ant created as the mascot for the university's Industrial Design Center in 2011/2012. The team identified a number of problems with the Stigmergic ant, including motors that were quick to burn out, batteries that didn't last long and a lack of autonomy. Improvements were discussed, but by the end of October last year, the decision was made to change direction slightly, and aim to build a "rubber stamping" scorpion instead.

Electronics from the original ant-bot were, for the most part, re-used for the scorpion robot, though an Arduino Nano replaced a Mega board and a more powerful battery pack selected. The modules that make up the legs and tail were 3D-printed, the two sheet ABS body was lasercut, and the shell, claws, leg ends and tail stinger fashioned from thermoformed polystyrene. A marker pen was used to leave a stamp on the scorpion's victims.

Ready to strike, the Scorpion Hexapod moves in a similar way to the real thing and stabs anyone who dares to get too close

The robot has been programmed with numerous moves and some auto responses to interactions, though live control via a computer is also possible. A long range IR sensor and three short range sensors positioned in the upper shell are used to detect user proximity and there's a front-facing camera.

As you can see in the video below, the Scorpion Hexapod moves in a similar way to the real thing (though it could maybe do with another pair of legs for extra realism) and stabs anyone who dares to get too close. The bot will now be used to promote courses at the Industrial Design Center.

Sources: Stephan Flamand, Robbe Terryn and Pieterjan Deconinck

View gallery - 12 images
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1 comment
Parkour_rocks
I feel like these multi-legged robots would be a very stable base to create a humanoid shape torso on top of. Has any robotics company tried this?