I didn't know this was funded through Kickstarter. (The project has been mentioned on the list before.) -Tom
Why There's A Rideable 4,000-Pound Spider-Robot Being Built In Somerville http://www.wbur.org/2012/08/08/robotic-hexapod?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wbur_news%2Fboston+%28News%3A+Boston%29 ...the trio co-founded Project Hexapod, which is now raising money on their Kickstarter page. Based out of a workspace in Somerville called Artisan's Asylum (of which Gui is the president of), Project Hexapod is an online blog that is documenting the progress of the Robotics Intensive: Rideable Hexapod class taught at the Asylum. [...] ...it's also supposed to weigh 4,000 pounds and measures about 18-feet wide and 10-feet tall. In other words, a behemoth of a machine. How much of a behemoth? Here's an idea: the propane-fired engine that powers the hexapod was ripped out of the hydraulic unit of a 10,000-pound forklift. Each leg weighs about 200 pounds without the actuators. And just the small chunk of metal that links the body to the thigh weighs 70 pounds. [...] So why build it? [...] "We wanted it to be a thing that walks in parades and makes little kids smile," Cavalcanti said. "[It] has no other purpose than to really be cool, to show off a lot of really awesome tech, and inspire people. That's its job." [...] Having six legs also means it can climb over things, and that's where the team sees some real practical use. Take a situation like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. ... With Stompy, "you have a technology that allows you to walk over this rubble in the first place, it's all of a sudden an answer of how to get anything in or out of a disaster-hit area," Cavalcanti said. [...] Stompy is expected to be built fully this winter, and the first demo will take place in April. Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/projecthexapod/stompy-the-giant-rideable-walking-robot-0 _______________________________________________ Hardwarehacking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
