Slingshot Spider: Ultrafast kinematics, biological function and physical models of an extreme arachnid

The natural evolution of ultrafast motion in living systems has inspired physicists, biologists, and engineers to design biomimetic materials and fast-moving robots. In this work, we quantify kinematics of a tiny ‘slingshot spider’ native to the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. This spider exploits a conical 3D web structure to slingshot itself at extreme speeds and achieve accelerations exceeding 600 m/s², an order of magnitude faster than a cheetah (13 m/s²). To the best of our knowledge, this is the fastest movement by an arachnid ever recorded. In this talk, we will discuss how slingshot spiders achieve ultrafast motion, and share insight about the biological function of this extraordinary prey capture strategy. We reveal how the motion is actuated by a trigger mechanism that happens under a millionth of a second (0.8 μs). Lastly, we extract the underlying physics of this motion and the role of the 3D web in power amplification using simple physical models constructed from elastic rubber bands. The physical models further shed insight into built-in safety structures in the web that rapidly dissipate excess energy and protect the spider against the large stresses generated during this extreme motion.