There’s something so neat about robots which are built to replicate the movements of animals and insects. But this biologically-inspired little guy has a gait all his own and makes me want to have one as a pet.
The STAR (Sprawl Tuned Autonomous Robot) was created by David Zarrouk, Andrew Pullin, Nick Kohut and Ronald Fearing at UC Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Lab. The 3D-printed robot uses six spinny “legs” can adjust its sprawl angle in order to navigate over difficult obstacles, so its little legs can change the amount of ground-clearance they offer. This allows the robot to scurry its way under doorways and other small spaces, and then resume walking normally – if normally means running around like a crazed millipede on speed.
STAR has had two prior versions, with this one getting some mechanical improvements as well as reinforcements to help keep it together after collisions.
Top speed for the STAR.V3 robot is a whopping 5.2 meters-per-second. That means that it can run 43 of its own body lengths every second. This agile robot can also climb over loose rocks, and even right itself if it flips over. Oh, and it can play pool.
News flash! We have finally located the elusive Sasquatch. Well, not really. But now that I have your attention, you can at least take a moment to look at these nifty Bigfoot vinyl figures.
Each one measures about 11″ tall, and comes in four colors – classic brown, black, green, and purple. Now before you get all uppity about how Bigfoot isn’t purple, how can you say that for sure? Have you ever seen a Squatch up close and personal? Didn’t think so.
These Bigfoot vinyl toys are each being sold in limited editions over at Giant Robot, where they’re going for $95(USD) each. Better hurry up and get over there before they become as hard to find as an actual Bigfoot.
The Creative Wooden Creatures kit educates and fosters the creativity of children by allowing them to create a wide range of animals by combining and rearranging various interchangeable body parts. They can discover animals from land to sea or explore and create their own creatures from octolizards to jellypedes! The combinations are endless! Abstract shapes and sustainable wood material give it unique identity and Link-n-log timelessness… a great hand-me-down from generation to generation.
Designer: Hakan Gürsu
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(Turtlebugs and Spiderfrogs was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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