Crowdfund A $65 Robot That Runs Like A Maniac Cockroach

09-06-2013 • http://www.popsci.com, By Kelsey D. Atherton

The Dash, created by Dash Robotics, is an insect-inspired simple robot kit that runs like the fastest, most rectangular cockroach ever. There's a crowdfunding campaign and beta test, with 27 days left to get one of the first 1,000 robots available.

Dash stands for "Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod," which is a great forced acronym for "six-legged robot that recovers when it falls." It was first developed in 2009 by a team of students working at UC Berekley's biomimetics lab, which focuses on designing machines that imitate animals.

Dash's springy body can keep it running even after a fall from over 90 feet, and it can run straight at 1.5 meters per second, up to a mile. After years of development, the robot is entering a beta testing stage.