A giant six-legged dancing robot is being created by scientists at Sussex University.
The monster, which will have a with a human rider, is being built in a unique academic collaboration exploring the relationship between man and machine.
International performance artist Stelarc, renowned for working naked, will ride the robot.
He has spent more than 30 years studying the body's capabilities, using mechanical extensions in performances around the world.
He said: "We are exploring the concept of the body as an obsolete object which needs augmentation to operate in the technology-full terrain we inhabit.
"You have to think of the whole entity as an operational system which combines a human body with a six- legged structure. It looks like an insect but walks like a dog with a loping gait.
"When I am on top, my human body will become the body of the machine."
The Sussex scientist overseeing technical construction, Dr Inman Harvey of Sussex University, said: "The robot has six legs for stability and, when it walks, three legs are raised into the air to take a step.
"They swing forward, in the same way a pendulum swings, and the robot moves with the body following towards the new centre of gravity. The rider will be able to guide the robot by leaning in different directions but once in motion it will be difficult to stop.
"The experience will be more like riding a horse than driving a car."
The robot, which will have a walking speed of about 3mph, is being built from light-weight aluminum and steel for strength by engineer John Luxton, working to detailed blueprints to generate the four-metre tall structure at his workshop near Shoreham.
Performances, choreographed by dance experts from Nottingham Trent University, are planned for November and December in Brighton, London and Nottingham.
The Brighton venue has yet to be confirmed. The robot needs a floor 30metres by 30metres with headroom of at least five metres to manoeuvre.
The project links the robot experts at Sussex University with visual and performing arts specialists at Nottingham Trent's digital research unit.
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