Students at UC Berkeley might need to clean their dorm rooms more often, because their latest robotic creation is based on a pretty creepy insect ability. The robot, named STAR (short for Sprawl Tuned Autonomous Robot), can flatten itself so as to fit under doorways and other low-clearance spaces.
That bugs can flatten and wiggle through tiny spaces sucks; that a robot can do the same isterrifying. STAR is, of course, also outfitted with a camera — because what good is sneaking under doors if you can't see what's going on behind them.
Once past your previously-secure doorway, STAR can pop right back up onto its legs and start off-roading over your laundry-coated floor. If any obstacle proves too tall for STAR and ends up flipping the bot over, fear not (or, you know, more) because STAR can just reverse the angle of its legs and keep on truckin'.
Even more "exciting" is that STAR was printed from an industrial-grade ProJet 3000 3D printer, allowing for thousands of the little buggers to be printed with ease. To check out STAR's full potential, and maybe get a little creeped out in the process, check out the video below. Be afraid human. Be very afraid. VIDEO
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