© Festo

BionicWheelBot': Bionics professor Dr.-Ing. Ingo Rechenberg discovered the wheel spider on the edge of the Sahara in 2008. It can run like other spiders, but can also move with a combined movement of flight and ground roll. Since his discovery, Prof. Rechenberg has been working on the technical transfer of its movement patterns. The kinematics and the drive concept have now been developed together with Festo's bionics team. To get rolling, the 'BionicWheelBot' forms three legs to the left and right of its body to form a wheel. Two legs, which are folded in when walking, now extend, push the spider off the ground and constantly nudge it as it rolls.