Skootr Is the Creepy Tripedal Robot Anyone Can Make for $500, Doesn't Mean You Should

Personally, I am part of the former group, but I do have to admit that some of the projects currently being run across the world have a certain creepy component to them. Like, say, a tripedal robot that, in some instances, looks like a pregnant spider, if there ever was such a thing, gearing up for an attack.

The robot I’m talking about is the work of a group of people from the University of Michigan's Evolution and Motion of Biology and Robotics Lab (EMBiR), led by assistant professor Talia Y. Moore.

They call it SKating, Omni-Oriented, Tripedal Robot, or Skootr for short, and the name kind of explains all there is to explain about what the machine is supposed to be: a three-legged robot that can move in any direction and can also… skate?

The idea behind the project was born more or less out of the blue, and the resulting concept does not have a specific application, although it could be used for a variety of things. What’s cool about it is that it was made using parts you can easily get on Amazon.

Skootr is made up of three legs, two joints that are used to flex and extend each leg, two contact modes for them, and a control hub backed by a battery. And then there is that sphere that sits at the center of it all, giving it a weird appearance. The sphere is not a load meant to demonstrate the robot’s cargo-carrying capabilities, but it is part of the design.

You see, tripedal creatures, organic or otherwise have several advantages over bipedal ones, the most important of them being the ability to turn rapidly, in some cases even instantaneously. But that does come with its own drawbacks, including generally unstable and inefficient locomotion.

The sphere is there to solve this problem, as it freely rotates under the body of the robot, giving it an extra contact point with the ground below. This in turn makes it possible for Skootr to lift one (or two, or three) of its legs without becoming unstable.

The sphere gives the machine the ability to perform forward gaits, turn multiple times in multiple directions, and even climb over obstacles or stairs.

So, what could one use this thing for? As per its makers, the robot “has been designed to facilitate customization for diverse applications,” so technically the only limit here is imagination.

You don’t have to buy the damn stuff, but you can make it yourself. EMBiR provides, for free, anything and everything you need for that: the Amazon parts list, the assembly guide, and even the code and CAD files. You can find them all here.

So, how much does one of these robots cost to make? Just $500, thank you very much, and everyone interested can have their own creepy, spider-like machine running around the house.