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MA Hackerspace Building Rideable Hexapod
New submitter schlesingerj writes in with news about a six legged robot "The Artisans Asylum hackerspace in Somerville, MA is building a monster rideable hexapod named 'Stompy', with fully articulated legs (18 hydraulics actuators in total), powered by a humongous propane forklift engine. This is being built as a class, lead by a team of expert roboticists with an impressive background, including DEKA, Boston Dynamics and Barret Technologies and is expected to be finished by the end of the summer. I for one welcome our new robot overlords."
+10 nerd points for the Delorean used as a size reference.
On the next episode of Mythbusters: Sentient Robots
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Where's my elephant?!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Looks like we've melted their server already.
So, I'll just welcome our new hexapod overlords, and hope to eventually see pics.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
humongous propane forklift engine
Jumbo shrimp?
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Someday we hope to see mechwarrier style contests for real.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Silver-plated electrode, away!
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
The Artisans Asylum hackerspace in Somerville, MA is building a monster rideable hexapod named 'Stompy', with fully articulated legs (18 hydraulics actuators in total), powered by a humongous propane forklift engine.
Did anyone else read this and think they were building a hexapod capable of carrying monsters?
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
Stompy vs. Truckasaurus. One night only! Deathmatch. Two go in, one comes out. No holds barred!
I hope it's close to Tiny from Eureka http://forums.cgchannel.com/showthread.php?t=14142
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
I never have been to this hackerspace. I found out about it at Arisia 2011, when I saw a previous boss of mine sitting at a table in Dealer's Room. We chatted for a bit, and it turns out, he was manning the Artists Asylum table. They look really fucking cool. They have a 3d printer (soon I will too :) ), CNC machine etc.... and they offer classes on how to use the tools and do stuff with it. When I was looking, I believe they also had other classess on other tools and techniques.
I want to check them out one day, maybe actually be social, but, I tend to have my own tools and like to work at my house on my projects.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Jamie better get his ass in gear and finish what he started.
url: http://artisansasylum.com/ Physical address: 10 Tyler St., Somerville, MA 02143 Office hours are noon-8pm mon-sun, swing by and request a tour.
http://boingboing.net/2012/05/02/stompy-is-coming.html
AccountKiller
First, there's Mondo Spider. The same guys are also working on Titanoboa, which is a ridable robot snake.
And both of those are electric. No propane forklift engines, which makes them much quieter.
I haven't had a chance to see the famous video, as my only gateway onto the Net is very expensive, er, blocked by the corporate firewall.
which makes them much quieter.
"much quieter" than what? An earthquake? Seriously, the noise out of that thing?
Meh. It's been done.
By "Burning Man" enthousiasts with lots of drive and tens of thousands of dollars available. And it's formidable, sure.
So for this one a) it is going to be mass-produced, therefore it is different, so stop "meh"-ing, or
b) it is not going to be mass-produced, therefore it is derivative work and so, yes, "meh, it's been done".
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
Looking at the sketches on the site it doesn't seem to have any horizontal articulation of the legs. So does it just crab walk everywhere?
horror vacui
You might want to check that there's enough head room in case you find yourself upside down, and your waiting for someone to fip Stompy over.
If Stompy is over 15 feet high, Bridges may become an obsticle.
Travel on a road might be easier if the width can ajusted to that of a compact car.
One could contact the D.O.T. to get the requirements to make Stompy street legal.
First, there's Mondo Spider. The same guys are also working on Titanoboa, which is a ridable robot snake.
And both of those are electric. No propane forklift engines, which makes them much quieter.
or, more importantly, Mondo Spider exists. So far "Stompy" is just a computer rendering. Article is kind of pointless, what is the point of telling everyone every little project you plan on working on? They're not even half way done, nothing exists at all.
In the spirit of the nonexistent Stompy here's the rocket ship I'm building to travel to Mars
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
They had a smaller one at the Maker Faire in 2010: :46)
(around
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbyAFSvsoK8
I can't help but notice they've blown through most of their budget and still have difficult technical questions to answer. They've got no programming, no UI, and their timeline is growing short.
I have the funding, I have the software, I have the control theory, I have a UI, I even have safety protocols and notes about how to assemble the creature. So why haven't I finished mine already? I need engineering help to get the right hydraulic equipment. It's not the kind of thing I can afford to build twice.
Some people say it's the same as the Mondospider or the Beast. The existing models have locked legs that actually move more like a tank. The feet scrape the ground to make turns. My design & Stompy are both independently articulated so it moves more like a crab.
You can get one either all electric or hybrid.
they've been experimenting with walking logging vehicles that go into densely wooded areas to pick choice individual trees. they look like cats except with 6 legs.
Looks like the giant robot spider build by Loveless in the Wild Wild West movie.