Roller-Walker, a cool robot developed by Hirose-Fukushima Robotics, is capable of creepy insect walking. However, when the right surface presents itself, Roller-Walker performs a pedal extremity transformation - and starts roller skating.
(Roller-Walker Robot video)
It seems to me that this bot has an obvious precursor in science fiction - the spider robots from Ghost in the Shell. The printed version appeared in 1991; the movie appeared in 1995. See how the Tachikoma robots move in a similar manner in the video below.
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.' - Neal Asher, 2008.
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DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'