Engineers at the University of Tokyo JSK Robotics Laboratory have been pushing drone technology in a new direction, with a focus on the ability to lift, manipulate, and transport large objects. The team’s latest hybrid drone is called a “Sensing, Processing, and Intelligent Dynamics for Aerial-ground Robot,” or SPIDAR for short, and its easy to see why. The multi-limbed drone can fly or walk via thrust vectoring, and can carry a payload by grasping it from above or cradling it from below. Still in development, the SPIDAR drone is positioned as being a novel solution in emergency situations where difficult terrain must be navigated.
See also: WATCH: Why you shouldn’t point your camera at a LIDAR sensor
