# Could we build a giant mechanical spider? (as in Wild Wild West) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 7, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846 "2005-02-07T18:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/1 "2005-02-07T18:34:51Z")
OK, forget steam power, gears and cast iron; you’re allowed to use modern materials and power sources, so carbon fibre, hydraulic pistons, titanium alloys and diesel turbines are all fair game. Can we build a giant, self-propelled ambulating mechanical spider, on a similar scale to the one in the movie _Wild Wild West_? Or are the stresses/loads involved in such a thing just engineering impossibilities? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/2 "2005-02-07T18:48:13Z")
The US Army has been trying since the 50’s to build reliable walking vehicles. No dice. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/3 "2005-02-07T19:24:04Z")
It shouldn’t be too hard to add a couple of legs to [this](http://www.gurman.co.uk/Stuff/Robot1.jpg). (Here’s the [related thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296508) ) I think the main trouble you’d have in scaling to wild west size would be with the feet. Like the giant Japanese warrior robots, your spider would sink into any ground less rigid than solid granite. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/4 "2005-02-07T19:54:27Z")
You still have to deal with the square-cube law, which would make this difficult. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/5 "2005-02-07T21:14:35Z")
This is [pretty close](http://www.plustech.fi/Walking1.html). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/6 "2005-02-07T22:23:13Z")
It’s certainly a very impressive piece of machinery, - certainly it answers the question from a co-ordination and control angle, but it’s way too small. And it doesn’t shoot explosive fireballs. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/7 "2005-02-07T22:33:29Z")
I will do it for $10 million. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/8 "2005-02-07T23:10:38Z")
I’ll do it for a dollar less than the above poster. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/9 "2005-02-07T23:30:44Z")
I sure we could build one. But it would move at maybe a couple of meters per **minute**. Hardly the ultimate war machine. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/10 "2005-02-07T23:42:07Z")
And of course your $10 million spider can be countered by a $20,000 can of RAID, so it’s not an efficient use of military funds. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/11 "2005-02-08T00:04:13Z")
OK, but can we make it work on other worlds with lower gravity and rocky surfaces? The Moon? (OK, diesel turbines get more difficult without abundant air - can we make it nuclear-powered?) ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/12 "2005-02-08T00:39:17Z")
I think the real question here is “Can Mangetout build a giant mechanical spider so big that he himself could not lift it?” Rancid ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/13 "2005-02-08T01:14:18Z")
[More bug-like than spider-like but cool nonetheless.](http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/spider_bot_030129.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/14 "2005-02-08T01:54:29Z")
While the subject is biological rather than mechanical, [this old thread about big bugs quickly devolved into speculation about deliberately engineering an elephant-sized roach](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60812), so it contains a lot of discussion of the necessary structural design and may be of interest. (Plus it’s one of my favorite threads, so I link to it every chance I get. :)) ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/15 "2005-02-08T08:51:25Z")
Basically you’re talking AT-AT’s vs tracked tanks- a long run for a short slide, when there are far cheaper and more reliable ways of achieving the same goal: the question isn’t so much whether it’s technically feasible as whether it’s worth doing. Unless you’re a megalomaniac multi-billionaire with a penchant for arachnids, of course… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/16 "2005-02-08T09:16:57Z")
Oh, economy/efficiency isn’t an issue, this is ALL about _presence_. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/17 "2005-02-08T16:16:33Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s certainly a very impressive piece of machinery, - certainly it answers the question from a co-ordination and control angle, but it’s way too small. And it doesn’t shoot explosive fireballs. Well, this [Alaskan guy](http://www.adn.com/front/story/5972983p-5874205c.html) has the shooting fire thing down, but his mecha only has two legs. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/18 "2005-02-08T17:28:13Z")
The military has built a big bug. Imagine basically an army jeep with 6 legs (ok, it looked more like a bug than a spider). The vehicle could climb over rocks and up mountain sides that were well beyond the ability of any wheeled vehicle. It was just an experimental vehicle though, and was never put into production. It was also kinda slow and clunky, not fast like the hollywood spider, but it did work. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/19 "2005-02-08T20:18:26Z")
All I’m saying is, what’s the point in having a military industrial complex if you can’t merge it with the monster truck industry? Far as I’m concerned, the US has a moral duty to build one of these things. At LEAST one. And frankly I’m not happy that there haven’t been any AT-ATs or X-wing fighters or Rocketmen yet, let alone Transformers. Seriously, keep up, will you? It’s not like the war machines will be needed anyway, not if they decide to go with what is [obviously the best plan](http://www.imao.us/docs/NukeTheMoon.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846/20 "2005-02-08T21:14:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Far as I’m concerned, the US has a moral duty to build one of these things. At LEAST one. No, no… At least TWO. I mean, if you only have one, what’s it going to fight against? Conventional tanks? Boring. And mad props to that guy in Alaska! That’s the kind of go-do-it spirit that made our country great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-build-a-giant-mechanical-spider-as-in-wild-wild-west/288846.md?page=2)