Jumping robot spiders and swarms of robotic bees sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but researchers at The University of Manchester are already working on such projects and aiming to lead the world in micro robotics.

But what will these kinds of robots be used for and is it something we should be worried about? Dr Mostafa Nabawy is the Microsystems Research Theme Leader at The University of Manchester’s School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering. He is presenting some of his research, “Spiders Attack: The rise of bioinspired microrobots” at Manchester’s Industry 4.0 Summit on Thursday 1 March.

Here Dr Nabawy explains why micro robots really aren’t anything to worry about and, instead, could be the revolution in robotics that spearheads the next generation in manufacturing technology:

‘For our robotic spiders research we are looking at a specific species of jumping spider called Phidippus regius. We have trained it to jump different distances and heights, recording the spider’s every movement in extreme detail through high resolution cameras which can be slowed down.