Roller-Walker, a cool robot developed by Hirose-Fukushima Robotics, is capable of creepy insect walking. However, when the right surface presents itself, Roller-Walker performs a pedal extremity transformation - and starts roller skating.
(Roller-Walker Robot video)
It seems to me that this bot has an obvious precursor in science fiction - the spider robots from Ghost in the Shell. The printed version appeared in 1991; the movie appeared in 1995. See how the Tachikoma robots move in a similar manner in the video below.
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