[HH] article on local Hexapod robot project

[Greg London]

> 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
> Hardwarehacking at blu.org
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
>


--