As if regular cockroaches weren’t awful enough, a professor at
University of California, Berkley has created the VELOCIRoACH, a
six-legged cardboard robot modeled on roach anatomy that can run
at 2.7 meters per second–26 times the length of its body–making
it the second-fastest self-propelled robot on record. Check it
out, skittering around disgustingly, in the above video.  New
Scientist explains how la cucaracha influenced the bot’s design:
The secret to VELOCIRoACH’s speed is its thin, C-shaped legs.
They mimic a roach’s legs by acting as springs as they hit the
ground 15 times per second. To stay stable as it runs, the robot
has three legs on the ground at all times, forming tripods. Its
approach to obstacles mimics a roach’s as well – rather than
trying to avoid them, it runs into them head first, then pops up
onto its end and goes over the top.  What’s next? Duncan
Haldane, who created VELOCIRoACH, says he’s working on a design
that springs back to life if it’s ever stepped on and flattened.
(Photo: M