🚀 go-pugleaf

     -=> David Williams spoke of "Re: 6 leged beast" <=-
    To All at 07-27-92  17:41
 >... "Could you continue your petty bickering? I find it most intriguing."

hey I didn't notice that hehehe GREAT tagline I had thier! hehehe

 DW> Simplicity?  On a 6-legged robot?  I don't think it's possible.  A 
 DW> really crude 6-legger would need 6 motors to move the legs around one
 DW> axis (of course, I'm ignoring the two-motor variety, but that sort
 DW> of "walker" robot is pratically the same as a treaded robot)  To make
 DW> a really neat robot, you're going to want to have the legs move with
 DW> two degrees of freedom, implying 12 motors.  I suppose you could use
 DW> RC-type servo motors, but the thing is not going to be really strong
 DW> (unless you want to pay big bucks for the big servos).

    I've some super simple designs in email, but nothing that
    would be as capable as the "2 degree of freedom" design you
    suggest.

 DW> Somehow I think I'm going to get flamed... "what?  I've got eight
 DW> 3" by 4" six-leggers munching on my ankles right now!  All are powered
 DW> by watch batteries, and use a 4-bit processor!  You're an idiot"

Actually I'm not flameing you.  However the designs suggested
that though not nearly as versatile that it is possible to create
a robot that can be controled with 6 legs and 2 motors.  [like a
track vehical] which is really all I needed.  Though not fancy it
should be suitable.

 DW> Seriously, a six-legger that had been stripped down to reduce it's
 DW> complexity seems like it would just not be that much fun to fiddle
 DW> with. On the other hand, I couldn't come up with any mechanism for a
 DW> six  legger with each leg having two degrees of freedom that wouldn't
 DW> cost an arm and a ... leg?  (uuupppphhh!  pun not intended)

perhaps the use of a peizo electric material in long strips to
control "lift" with a spring to counter balance it and a another
to control rotation.  I know the japanese have a plastic material
that acts this way but piezo materail has a very short "stroke"

        Stephen Cyberman@Toz.Buffalo.NY.US
        Scripted at Tue  07-28-1992  17:46:08

... This tagline stolen from Bill Rost via Stephen Phillips
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