Insectophiliac Builds 12-Foot-High Spider-Bot

(mystical instrumental music)

[Narrator] Forget Skynet.

Ground Zero for the robot invasion

is a mountaintop in the backwoods of Vermont.

Here, inventor, Jamie Mansel lives off the grid,

lugging hundreds of pounds of aluminum,

welding gear, and food supplies up a dirt road

to his compound.

The raw materials are to help him build

a giant robot, capable of carrying a man.

His impossible dream has advanced

from a 12-inch prototype in 2007

to a massive, 12-foot tall, six-legged beast

you see here.

With the housing, legs, and control systems nearly finished,

he declared that it's almost ready

to take its first steps.

(robotic clicking)