Some people like to plant flowers with their free time to attract butterflies, and others like to build robotic roaches just cause they can.


The only thing missing from this crowdfunded project called the “Dynamic Autonomous Spawled Hexapod” (DASH) is an exoskeleton that can turn it from a funky looking robot into a legitimate giant roach that will scare the bajeebers out of anyone.

DASH is mainly composed of cardboard and plastic, but a special polymer in between the layers of cardboard allows the skeleton to be flexible while maintaining affordability.  The robot roach can crawl an impressive 1.5 meters per second for up to a mile, and it can even force its way up some stairs if you want it to.


Assembling DASH is like assembling a low difficulty model airplane, but backers can opt to pay $100 for a pre-assembled roach.  For $65, though, people can have some fun putting together the roach themselves.  The onboard Arduinos microcontroller may also allow for future updates, and the creators are hoping that they’ll have enough support that a phone app can be developed to expand the roach’s controllability.

Imagine all the pranks you can play with this robot if you can dress it up to look like a real roach.