If you’re ever in a situation that’s too dangerous for even emergency workers to come to your rescue, you might just meet Clyde. The “RoboSimian” looks something like a cross between a tarantula and a chimpanzee, but don’t be fooled by its strange appearance. Engineers at NASA and Cal Tech teamed up to build RoboSimian for a competition following the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. The ape-inspired bot can open doors, navigate obstacles, turn knobs and tighten screws. Though slow-moving, the robot takes precise and deliberate steps to help in disaster situations, while the humans controlling it remain safely out of harm’s way. We hope we never have to meet Clyde, but we’re glad he’s out there.