Analogue robot insect. Close-up of a non-digital (analogue) robot insect known as Skitter. The robot is made up of a control device, the nervous net (gold triangle), four legs and various sensors, capacitors and resistors. It is battery-powered. Although Skitter has load, light touch and infrared sensors, it has no pre- programming. It negotiates problems by trying to reach an equilibrium with its environment. This is true of all analogue robots. It is hoped that robots like this could have applications such as land mine clearance. Skitter and its nervous net were designed by Mark Tilden of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA. Photographed in 1999.