Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Machines That Walk

Okay, I'm hooked:

It's based on a Hoekens linkage, a perfectly marvelous gadget that makes sense after you've seen it. Especially after you have seen it walk away!

Thanks (indirectly) to The Supersonic Reflectoscope.

10 comments:

  1. How do you steer it, where do you sit, and--hey, I know Cyrillic when I see it--what size is the warhead?

    Srsly, lots of stresses not laid off, limited bearing surface, no design space for supplemental support--it ain't a mule yet.

    Wot no zirks?!

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  2. Not even close -- making it work in RL is your job. Could you steer it by differential drive/differential braking to the two sides? By bending it in the middle? --I think the latter would introduce some serious synchronization issues, since a simple linkage between front and rear feet on each side wouldn't be possible.

    Still -- several $thou', a lawnmower engine and a whole lotta effort and you could make "walk to work day" verrrrry interesting.

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  3. Possibly a "half-track" arrangement. Steering wheel(s) in front and drive feet in back.

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  4. Lack of a propulsion source seems critical. But, then internal combustion engines are sooo yesterday.

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  5. And yet, and yet...

    Dollars to doughnuts, DARPA's got one of these clumping around an empty hangar at Wright-Pat.

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  6. Here I was wondering where that spike in my stats came from! Thanks for the nod. I enjoyed this video from a theoretical standpoint, but I agree that making a practical walker of it would be difficult.

    All the best,

    Jim

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  7. Wow! That was SO cool. And my chiweenie was transfixed, too. Maybe he thought it walked like a dog?

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  8. phlegm this is not the droid you are looking for. It cannot wear high heels.

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  9. Ren Hoekens!

    and Stimpson J. "Stimpy", um... I dunno.

    Did he have a last name?

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