American researchers have discovered how to turn the legs of a dead spider into a robotic claw.
The idea came from Faye Yap, a mechanical engineering graduate student at Rice University. It was when she saw a dead spider one day that she thought it would be interesting to use it as a part to make a robot.
Thus, the academic, with the help of his colleagues and Daniel Preston, an engineer, discovered how to use the legs of a dead wolf spider in order to create a necrobiotic claw to grab objects.
Since they have no muscles in their legs, the spiders manage to move them thanks to a bodily fluid obtained by contracting their prosoma.
The group of scientists therefore inserted a syringe into the front part of the insect. By putting pressure on the needle, the experts were able to activate the spider’s legs.
Moreover, using the legs of spiders as pliers would reduce waste in the field of robotics.