Spider legs build webs without the brain’s help — and could inspire robot limbs

Arachnophobes often cite spiders’ unpredictable movement as the basis of their fear, pointing out how each spindly leg seems to lift, flex, and probe with a menacing degree of autonomy. Perhaps unsettlingly, research conducted by my colleagues and I has revealed that each one of a spider’s legs does indeed enjoy a certain independence from the brain – especially in the complex task of web-building. Our study has shown that spider legs have “minds of their own,” con