“After a spider dies, it has the perfect build for a small, natural grab,” said scientist Daniel Preston, one of the scientists, in a statement. university press release. Together with colleague Faye Yap, he started his experiment in 2019.
Hydraulic System
Unlike humans, for example, who have muscles to move their limbs, spiders use some kind of hydraulic system. A cavity near the bud contracts and pumps blood to the legs, causing them to move. If no pressure is applied, the legs contract.
That also explains why dead spiders are always found in the shape of a kind of ball with legs raised. That’s how the scientists came up with their idea. “We saw a dead spider in the hallway and thought, ‘Why do they always lie that way,'” says Preston.
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The scientists mimicked the hydraulic system with the dead spiders by inserting a small hypodermic needle into the space near the head, then pumping small bursts of air into it. As a result, the dead spider appeared to stretch its legs.
Grippers
The researchers used the ‘robot spiders’ to pick up small objects, like the grippers we know from the fair. The dead spiders were found to be able to lift 130 percent of their own body weight. The scientists discovered that the joints in the legs give way after about a thousand stretches.
This video shows how the scientists work:
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The research was published in the scientific journal Advanced Science. The University’s lab in Houston, Texas, is known for experimenting with unusual materials in making robotics.
The researchers are not yet completely sure what the technology can be used for. “There are a lot of options that we can look at,” says Preston. “It could help move small-scale objects, or maybe even assemble microelectronics.”
No zombie spiders
Yap: “It could be used to catch other, smaller insects, because the spiders are already camouflaged by themselves.” Another advantage: “This way we don’t leave any waste, because the spiders are natural material.”
The researchers understand that people think their project looks rather gruesome, but emphasize that it is not about resuscitation, or worse, zombie spiders. “It’s all dead material,” Preston explains. “This could be really useful,” he says. The next step of the research: to see how the dead spiders can move their legs separately from each other.
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