Tag Archives: biomimickry

LEGO Mindstorms TrotBot Walks Like an 8-Legged Horse

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This TrotBot was created by Ben Vagle. It is an 8-legged robot built out of LEGO Mindstorms and despite its looks, it uses a walking mechanism inspired by the gait of a galloping horse.

You can see it in action in the videos below. It is fun to watch and it really gets around on a variety of surfaces, uphill, downhill and over obstacles. Even though it has eight legs you can clearly see the equine inspiration in its walk.

It even makes a horse-like clip-clop sound in this clip (clop):

Given its all-terrain agility, I think we can expect to see more robots using this unusual walking gait. Ben goes into more detail about the build process on his website and over at Make.

[via Laughing Squid]

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Tarzan Robot Will Swing over Crops

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Some farmers are already using drones to monitor their crops, but researchers from Georgia Tech think they have a better solution. They have created a robot inspired by the sloth and named it Tarzan, after the way he swings from vine to vine.

This machine is designed to swing over crops using its 3D-printed claws and parallel guy-wires stretched over fields, so it can take measurements and pictures of each plant with its built-in camera. That way farmers always know what is happening, and can do it without disrupting their work on the ground.

They want Tarzan to be very energy efficient, just like real sloths. They want to create solar-powered versions in the future, so farms can have several of these robots out at one time without having to recharge or refuel.

Sadly it does not do the Tarzan yell. Yet.

[via Engadget]

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Bionic Bird: A Biomimicking Drone That Lures Raptors and Cats

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Most drones are a variant on a multi-rotored helicopter. The quad-rotors are the most common, but professional photographers like the octo-rotors more. Still, there are a lot of other ways to beat the air into submission and fly, including the good old standby of be light, have wings, and flap them a lot. That’s what Bionic Bird does, and we think it looks like a very fun little toy.

bionic bird 620x263magnify

The Bionic Bird is crowdfunding on Indiegogo right now, and is hitting stretch goals quickly. Thus far, it will be able to fly and be operated via iOS or Android, which was the first stretch goal. At $200,000 it will gain a controlled tail, it will be able to hover like a hummingbird at $400,000 and if people manage to pledge a whopping $800,000 it will be capable of streaming live video.

Better yet, it appears that amusing carnivores like hawks and cats like hunting the drone’s tough, foam and carbon fiber body. I know I want one just because I want to see my cat go after it.

[via Indiegogo]