Robot Strider walks on water and, eventually, land
We know you're still reeling from the awesomeness that is the robotic panda and other more aquatically-inclined robots we've seen in the past, but the Strider is actually as useful as it is impressive. From what we gather from a trail of liberally translated links is that this radio-controlled bot, which is being developed at Japan's Chuo University, uses 6 legs to propel itself across the water like the ones MIT and Carnegie Mellon have been developing for a while. The outer legs are made of buoyant resin to keep it afloat, while the middle legs provide the driving force. Eventually the developers are hoping it will be able to move flawlessly from the water onto land, making it a valuable tool for aquatic rescues, especially when equipped with a camera. Even if it never gets that far, the videos on the source link suggest it would make a pretty killer pool toy.
[Via Robot Watch]
