Man... this would be the realization of Gui's dream when he started the Asylum over 2 years ago... see Slide 68 of http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisansasylum/4571117604/in/set-72157623850250683/
he is getting some help from some of the other roboticists at AA... http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/06/wifi-extending-robot-is-built-like-a-tank-we-talk-to-the-peop/ On Aug 8, 2012, at 6:58 PM, Tom Metro wrote: > 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
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