> I didn't know this was funded through Kickstarter. (The project has been > mentioned on the list before.) > -Tom
It started as a "class" at Artisan Asylum that ran from April till the end of July, Tuition was $750. http://rideablehexapod.eventbrite.com/ There didn't seem to be much electrical engineering design, more like putting existing systems together. I was curious to learn something about controlling hydraulics via electronics. And I was curious about how they were going to do the control software. But I was already booked for Tuesday nights, so couldn't do it. Greg > > 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 > -- _______________________________________________ Hardwarehacking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
