Robot jumping roach will chase you into your Terminator nightmares

Robots that can do amazing things are creepy enough, but when roboticists start creating insectoid robots, things get really uncomfortable. Nevertheless, mimicking the behaviors of insects can often be the perfect way to give robots additional abilities. Along those lines, a research group has created what they call the JumpRoACH

Created by South Korea's SNU Biorobotics Lab in collaboration with UC Berkeley's Biomimetic Millisystems Lab, the tiny robot weighs just 59.4 grams and can jump to a height of just over five feet, according to a research paper published by the team.

And like an insect, the robot can make its jumps even while running, and if it falls over it has the ability to stand itself back up on its legs. Yes, it looks just as unnerving as it sounds.  Read more...