Cool new ideas for FIRST Robots - who has them?

[Lisa Perez]

I can't recall if any team has done this - I know there has been a walking robot, but the idea I have in mind is more of a strutting 'bot.

I was able to visit Case Western's and the University of Michigan's robotics labs last year, and they both had cockroach-like robots which basically had six flexible legs shaped like Cs that rotated fully around. Three legs would always be in contact with the ground surface (the first and the third on one side, and the second on the other).

It might not be the most efficient or defensive idea since there is not as much contact with the ground and such a bot can get easily pushed around, but then again, I guess efficiency and defense are really determined by the season's game