This summer Doctor Octopus will be using four mechanical arms to help him climb up buildings and terrorize New York. It's not going to take over the world this summer, but researchers at the Lausanne Polytechnic University in Switzerland have developed a mechanical Octopus of their own. It too has four mechanical arms, but it can't climb the Empire State Building just yet. It's called the Octopus because it moves much like an octopus skims the sea floor. It rolls along on eight wheels with infrared sensors embedded in each one to detect obstacles, whether barriers or holes. The robot can then adjust its arms (which have 2 joints and 2 wheels) to tackle the obstacle.
[Thanks, Paul]