System and method of robot locomotion

A robotic device for inspecting structures, comprising:

• a body extending in a longitudinal direction of the robotic device, the body having a front end, a rear end, and opposing sides extending between the front end and the rear end, and a body length;
• a plurality of legs arranged on each of the opposed sides of the body, each leg comprising one or more joints, wherein the plurality of legs is arranged as one or more pairs of legs, and wherein one leg of a pair of legs is arranged on an opposite side of the body widthways to the other;
• and
• a plurality of carriages, each carriage connecting a leg to the body and being configured to allow each leg to translate in a longitudinal direction relative to the sides of the body, wherein any one of the plurality of carriages is configured to translate 60% or more of the body length of the robotic device, and
• wherein each of the carriages is configured to move independently of each of the other carriages such that a leg separation may be varied, the leg separation being the distance between any two adjacent legs on one side of the body, and
• wherein the carriage of the one leg of a pair legs is configured to move independently of the carriage of the leg on the other side of the body.