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By simulating and testing different gaits for six legs, the researchers found the speediest results with a "bipod gait"- a walking style requiring only two legs being in contact with the ground at a time. It's comparable to the gait used by horses or dogs.

Perhaps the more interesting aspect of the research, though, is that lead researchers Pavan Ramdya, from the University of Lausanne, and Robin Thandiackal, from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne, then"reverse-engineered" their findings with experiments on fruit flies.

Fruit flies might not be the Usain Bolts of the insect world but they do have the ability to walk upside down, thanks to the sticky pads on their legs.

When the researchers disabled that stickiness using drops of polymer, the flies took on the same quicker bipod gait modelled by their algorithm.

"It's really interesting that by doing these simulations, and thinking about robot theory, they figured out that there should be another way nature can work," says Roberts, who was not involved in the study. "Often scientists observe nature and try and work out why something happens, but this is kind of the reverse."

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