Hexa: the Fascinating Yet Unsettling Six-Legged Robot

If I love anything on this earth, it's taunting robots,

especially six-legged robots

that look and move like insects.

This is Hexa, a righteous yet, let's face it,

somewhat unsettling new robot.

Hexa referring to hexapod, meaning it's got six legs.

And what fascinating legs they are.

Each has three joints,

giving the robot excellent maneuverability.

With them, Hexa can tackle a wide range of obstacles.

Remote control it toward a step,

and it will automatically heft itself up.

No need to control individual legs.

And it can manage even super inconsistent surfaces.

Oh, and Hexa squeezes into those hard-to-reach places.

You might be wondering why six legs,

why not four, why not eight?

Hell, we get along fine on two.

The answer is efficiency.

Being bipeds might free up our hands for manipulating

objects, but to get a two-legged robot to balance

takes extra energy, not to mention extra engineering.

A six-legged robot, like an insect,

is inherently more stable.

That'll make it good for things like exploring

collapsed buildings.

Watch Hexa climb again.

Notice how it uses its legs in unique ways

to conquer the obstacles.

The thing is, in robotics,

there's lots of wrong ways to get around.

After all, 600 legs are probably only good for millipedes.

But there's also lots of right ways.

One lab has even engineered a masterfully agile

one-legged robot.

Now Hexa isn't the first hexapod robot out there

but it's certainly the most special.

Not only in its locomotion, but its brains too.

Because this is an open platform.

Its maker wants users to hack together new skills

for the robot.

This skill, for instance, was made to freak me out.

Okay, maybe not, but still, expect big things from Hexa,

so long as it can stay right-side up.