Fuchikoma

Fuchikoma are the bug-shaped mechas in Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell manga. While their are not self-aware (they lack a ghost), the are equipped with an advanced AI, and use a direct neural interface to communicate with their pilots. They have little wheels mounted on the ends of their legs to achieve surprisingly high speeds on flat surfaces, and can also, in a very bug-like fashion, climb walls and other nonhorizontal surfaces. They are heavily armed and armored.

Fuchikomas are smart enough to be used in autonomous and semi-autonomous roles as well as with a pilot. randombit suggests that recon and fire support would be two such roles; I imagine that a fuchikoma could act as an excellent mark for the pilot's point.

If you've only seen the Ghost in the Shell movie, then you haven't seen a Fuchikoma. They're only featured in the comic and video game. Yet another reason why the manga is better.

For various complicated (and so far, unexplained) reasons, Production IG was unable to use the Fuchikoma design in the 2002 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV anime series.

However, Masamune Shirow was able to design a legally safe equivalent to the beloved spider-tanks for the new show, which he named the Tachikoma. There are distinct differences in the design, most significantly in the 'eyes' and the vertically-oriented abdomen. Still, the tanks are easily recognizable as descendants of the original Fuchikoma. Their AI 'personalities' and roles in the new series are indistinguishable from their predecessors in the manga.