High schoolers create face-tracking spiderbot, Tom Selleck comes out of retirement

We're not entirely sure that you can call a six-legged arthropod a spider, but let's not quibble over biology: this robot looks pretty cool. At the moment about all it can do is poise for attack and track faces using a built-in webcam (and what looks like proprietary face-recognition software), but the designers (high school students David Benhaim and Owen McGarry) assure us that they will be implementing the ability to walk -- and terrify your little sister -- shortly. One thing's for sure: we wish we'd done something like this in high school (they machine-lathed the parts themselves!) instead of playing Ultima and stealing beer... but you can't win them all. Check a video of the bot in action after the break.

[From My Cube @ Sep 15th 2008 8:48AM]

what they didnt say is that this bot was actually built to follow the girls they will never touch

[OneLove @ Sep 15th 2008 11:18AM]

I was waiting for it to find a face and tear it to shreds with its claws (they seemed more confused than the spider). Nice robot!!

[Kirk @ Sep 15th 2008 8:51AM]

Wouldn't Gene come out of retirement as well, as he was the original creator of the spiderbots.

[Roman411 @ Sep 15th 2008 9:02AM]

Gene really did have the awesome hair. Tom had his moustache and his gun-toting values though.

[Artie Lange @ Sep 15th 2008 11:32AM]

Engaget, that is an an official Kiss Industries Kissbot 1000. For using its image, you now owe $1000.00 to the Kiss Empire.

[~Trail @ Sep 15th 2008 8:55AM]

Looks good, although at a quick glance I don't see what part(s) needed to be machined on a lathe.

My Daughter's high school offers a robotics class. Wish they had that kind of thing as an elective when I was in school. :(

[eric @ Sep 15th 2008 8:58AM]

That guy treats his friend like shit.

Socially damaged asshole!

[The_Steven @ Sep 15th 2008 9:08AM]

+1 for the "Runaway" ref. But you could have also mentioned Gene Simmons.

[chefgon_ign @ Sep 15th 2008 9:14AM]

I had a pretty cool engineering class in high school. Too bad I spent most of the class time playing deathmatches in Quake.

[Joostow @ Sep 15th 2008 9:53AM]

@Ross Schultz

DMY

[EdgeOne @ Sep 15th 2008 9:54AM]

I love Engadget headlines that make me laugh out loud! Thank you Joseph

[DeusExMach @ Sep 15th 2008 10:52AM]

Dude. Replicator. Don't trust it. Just go get a shotgun.

[Mario @ Sep 15th 2008 11:29AM]

Okay, just watched the video.

Is anyone else a little disappointed to find out that it doesn't walk and it doesn't recognise faces?

Just what *does* it do?

[Artie Lange @ Sep 15th 2008 11:35AM]

Poor Kirstie Alley - she is now too fat to successfully evade this bot.

[anonymouse @ Sep 15th 2008 11:46AM]

yesterday's college senior project is today's high school senior project. With similar results.

another semester and they should have decent results.

[Seanross @ Sep 15th 2008 1:34PM]

Dudes!! I've been trying to figure out the name of this movie for years, all I remembered was when seeing it as a kid (I was born in '85) was something about a man fighting robot spiders at the end of the movie. I know not much to go on. Thanks Engadget and Joseph!!

[slade17 @ Sep 15th 2008 6:53PM]

actually, "from my cube", both of these guys have had girlfriends that would make you (and many guys with higher standards than you) jealous. the "geeks can't get girls" stereotype is a defense mechanism used by the technologically and socially inept. and, since you seem to fit into that characterization, you're probably on the wrong site.

Trail - you're right, most of the parts were machined from polycarbonate on a gantry-style CNC router. however, if you look closely, the joints the servomotors mount to are machined on a lathe from aluminum, and then drilled and tapped on a mill.

and yes, it does use a proprietary face-recognition algorythm taken from a webcam. They did, however, program their own motion algorythm in C (the turning routine is finished, they hadn't completed the walking routine as of when the video was taken)

and they are high school students using high school equipment but this isn't part of a class. they designed the robot on their own time this summer.

[Ross Schultz @ Sep 15th 2008 9:43PM]

From my cube you are a serious asshole. They are my friends from high school and this is a serious accomplishment. High schoolers creating something which can track human faces is a feat which i would love to see your blogging, pimply ass face do. SO in conclusion FUCK YOU from my cube

[coffee @ Sep 15th 2008 9:41AM]

Settle down, Francis

[Ken @ Sep 15th 2008 10:00AM]

Welcome to the internet sensitive loser

[mdm-adph @ Sep 15th 2008 10:29AM]

Why is this guy's "cube" so important to him?

[bico @ Sep 16th 2008 6:15PM]

staring at that photo makes my eyes go googly