Hexapod (robotics)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Hexapod" robotics – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A six-legged walking robot should not be confused with a Stewart platform, a kind of parallel manipulator used in robotics applications.

A hexapod robot is a mechanical vehicle that walks on six legs. Since a robot can be statically stable on three or more legs, a hexapod robot has a great deal of flexibility in how it can move. If legs become disabled, the robot may still be able to walk. Furthermore, not all of the robot's legs are needed for stability; other legs are free to reach new foot placements or manipulate a payload.

Many hexapod robots are biologically inspired by Hexapoda locomotion – the insectoid robots. Hexapods may be used to test biological theories about insect locomotion, motor control, and neurobiology.