A mobile robot modeled on a spider legs has been created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA).

It can explore terrain that’s beyond human reach or hazardous.

The researchers used selective laser sintering (SLS) of plastics, a 3-D printing process: step by step thin layers of a fine polyamide powder are applied one at a time and melted in place with the aid of a laser beam to produce complex geometries, inner structures, and lightweight components.