Harnessing nature’s design with necrobotics

In engineering, inspiration can come from any number of sources—sometimes it’s something apparent, and other times it can sneak up like a spider hunting its prey. For Daniel Preston and co-workers, this metaphor was surprisingly literal: arachnid squatters in their lab inspired their work on “necrobotics,” which would later be recognized on a global scale. In this Backstory, the team from Rice University recounts their experience with conceiving and executing on this exciting—and unusual—project.