---
title: "Watch This Terrifying Segway on Steroids Backflip Using Its Tail"
description: "Tencent Robotics X Lab, a Chinese robot maker, has unveiled a terrifying new \"novel wheel-legged robot\" that can backflip using its tail."
date: "2021-06-15"
modified: "2021-06-15"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-backflip-using-its-tail"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "boston dynamics"
  - "china"
  - "robots"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch This Terrifying Segway on Steroids Backflip Using Its Tail

![Tencent Robotics X Lab, a Chinese robot maker, has unveiled a terrifying new "novel wheel-legged robot" that can backflip using its tail.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/robot-backflip-using-its-tail.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Tencent\</em\>*

## Do a Backflip

Tencent Robotics X Lab, a subsidiary of Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent, has unveiled a terrifying new "novel wheel-legged robot" called Ollie that can drive around on two wheels-wielding, leg-like appendages, as [*IEEE Spectrum* reports](<https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/tencents-new-wheeled-robot-flicks-its-tail-to-do-backflips?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+IeeeSpectrum+(IEEE+Spectrum)>).

Thanks to plenty of muscle power and a creepy tail, Ollie can jump a good foot in the air — and even do a backflip while jumping over a gap, as evidenced in a new video.

https://youtu.be/ZtlRVO8fpE0

## Fetch Me My Coffee

Thanks to its extremely flexible extremities, it can right itself, drive down a step of stairs — and stay upright even when its makers throw all kinds of abuse at it.

It's all quite reminiscent of US-based robot maker Boston Dynamics, who has on numerous occasions [shown off](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boston-dynamics-new-robot-stretch>) the athletic prowess of its robotic offspring.

Apart from backflipping over a crevasse, Ollie may soon be running errands for its masters thanks to a really long robotic arm attached to the top. The arm turns Ollie into the perfect coffee delivery robot, as suggested in the promotional video.

The robot is still very much in development and won't be hitting markets any time soon. Until then, we'll have to make do with Boston Dynamics' four-legged robot dog Spot Mini — that is, if you have $75,000 to spare.

**READ MORE:** [Tencent’s New Wheeled Robot Flicks Its Tail To Do Backflips](<https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/tencents-new-wheeled-robot-flicks-its-tail-to-do-backflips?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+IeeeSpectrum+(IEEE+Spectrum)>) \[*IEEE Spectrum*\]

**More on robots:** *[Hawaii Cops Spent COVID Relief Funds on Robot Dog](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hawaii-cops-covid-relief-funds-robot-dog>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)