It runs C on an Axon microcontroller. It uses all digital servos and can lift over twice its body weight. The software (soon to be given out open source) allows for 6 synchronous degrees of motion. Future additions will include foot sensors and a remote control option.

Based on that info, and other nuggets gleaned from the Trossen Robotics forums, you might be able to have a bot of your own ready for next year. Or, better yet, put a Santa head on top of that thing and march it out in the living room on Christmas morning. Your kids are sure to have suppressed memories of it that will bubble up to the surface years and years from now causing a dramatic and crippling meltdown. Priceless. [Trossen via DIY Drones via Boing Boing]

Why, it's La Princesse, the giant spider mecha that took over Liverpool last year. I love that this insane giant mechanized spider bot is controlled via multiple consoles of old-timey forklift levers.

Both of these are by Peter Carr, and there are many, many more on Big Picture today, where Carr is answering questions in the comments. [Big Picture]

The idea is to simulate a near-death experience for the bee at the hands (or 8 legs) of a crab spider. Bees fly into a room containing 16 floral yellow rectangles complete with a spider relief, sponge-covered pincers and a hole filled with sugar water. Bees that ignore the dangers are punished when the pincers are remotely triggered—immobilizing and infuriating them. What results is a form of bee post-traumatic stress. After training, many of the bees became a little paranoid—getting spooked even when they landed on "safe" rectangles with no spider. A video of the device in action is available in the following link, and you can almost hear the researchers laughing their ass off in the background. [Science News via Boing Boing]

The BBC claims that it will be "exploring the city" sometime on Friday evening—which I interpret as "embarking on a rampage throughout the city, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake." And if you see 12 people strapped inside its steel and wood frame, make no mistake—those people are victims and are in no way controlling the 50 points of articulation. [BBC]

If you are fortunate enough to actually ride in the Walking Beast, don't expect heart-pounding, edge of your seat thrills. Its Chevy V8 engine only musters up enough power to move the steel behemoth along at around 5 mph—although it does shake the ground up to 500 feet away with each step. Montesano is planning on making some upgrades to the Walking Beast in the near future, including an elevator system to load passengers. Perhaps he should start touring the country offering rides at $10 a pop—sort of like a nerdy adult version of pony rides at a state fair. [Pop Sci]

The device works by mixing two different artificial spider silk proteins and a phosphate salt, then squirting them out of the artificial glass spinneret. This produces long protein chains that form the artificial silk. It's the first device that accurately copies the chemistry and physical processes that are found in nature, as well as being the first to mix two silk proteins (specifically, ADF3 and ADF4 from the European garden spider).

For the time being the quality doesn't yet match real silk, since it appears too grainy. "The major breakthrough is that this is the first time one has produced fully synthetic silk threads and understood why," says team-leader Professor Bausch. The team believes that when they copy the drying and drawing-out stages real spiders use then its quality will be up to scratch. They're working to perfect the synthetic silk machine, but cannot reveal how as they're in the middle of patent applications.

Why the excitement? Well, light spider silk bullet-proof vests and strong medical suture thread is just the start. The material is also known to help in the re-growth of nerves, has been used to encapsulate drugs and make biodegradable fishing line. So large quantities of spider silk might be very useful, and "the best thing is to reproduce nature, instead of cutting open spiders," notes Prof Bausch. That's something that I'm sure will go down well with the horrible creepy-crawlies themselves. [New Scientist and The Telegraph]

A Giant Insect Robot Could Save Your Life [Electro Plankton via Gearfuse]

– Louis Ramirez
Fire Breathing Jumping Spider Robot [Hacked Gadgets via GearFuse]

Its makers tout its humane nature, not killing those poor spiders and insects but releasing them outside where they'll be free to reproduce and spawn even more of their progeny to come inside and bug you again. But then, is it inhumane to kill a spider, an insect, a worm, a single-celled animal? Perhaps some people are taking that phrase "thou shall not kill" a bit too literally. – Charlie White

Product Page [Gizoo, via Shiny Shiny]

Mondo Spider Project [Industrialus via Jalopnik]

Spiders suck. They might eat insects and help catch bugs, but they creep me the hell out. When I saw this absolutely ridiculous-looking gadget called the "Spider Catcher", I knew it was made for me. You point this sucker at a spider, slam it into that sonofabitch and he's done-for, thanks to nylon bristles that keep him from moving. Then you can stick it in the toilet and flush him to hell. Of course, if you wanted to save a few bucks and get a little more intimate by using the back of a Time magazine, be my guest, but I'll take my chances with this device.

spider catcher [design boom]