Insectophiliac Builds 12-Foot-High Spider-Bot
- By Scott Carney
- February 28, 2011 |
- 12:00 pm |
- Wired March 2011
Photo: Guido Vitti
Jaimie Mantzel takes self-reliance very, very seriously. The reclusive inventor constructed a workshop from scratch in the rugged backwoods of Vermont, cutting logs into broad boards with a homemade band saw. The purpose of that workshop? To build—on his own—a 12-foot-high spiderlike walking robot capable of carrying a human pilot. It’s a monstrosity Mantzel is creating out of equal parts metal and passion: Every runner, joint, and gear will be shaped by hand.
Mantzel has documented his project on YouTube, garnering more than 2 million views. The first videoshowed a toy-size prototype scurrying across the floor. The latest shows a towering monster. Since the hexapod design is basically a round body bristling with appendages, turning is a breeze: The control platform in the center will simply rotate above the legs—wherever it is facing is the new forward.
After more than three years of toil, Mantzel is still trying to get the bot up and walking. “Honestly, there’s no way in hell I’m getting on that thing till it’s well tested; it’s kinda scary,” he admits. At first it will be six-legged baby steps, directed by remote control. If it looks stable, he’ll climb aboard. Mantzel envisions the contraption eventually pulling lumber up the muddy track to his house—a handmade dome structure, natch.
Whether or not he turns it into a cargo transporter, Mantzel’s dreambot is making waves. A British toy manufacturer that saw his videos is now planning to put bite-size versions on store shelves. When the Giant Robot Project is complete, he says, he’ll go lie on his trampoline and dream up another ambitious endeavor. He has no specific plan yet, but he does have a working title: “Project Bite Off More Than I Can Chew.”
Shameless Screen Grab courtesy of Wired Magazine.
"People" (the so called "Those who will be ruled under my Merciless Cruelty") quite more often than you might imagine, call me "Mad".
Like that's a bad thing.
One is not the only Villain working on pitiless robot armies.
Ok, One is working for numbers over size, and basically stealing all my ideas, but still. The odds are that SOME Villain, somewhere, is going to unleash a robot horde on the world, at some point in the future.
Why not Me?
-Lord Malignance
~Looks up from HERF gun build~
ReplyDeleteBring it, Malignance.
In all seriousness, this guy is all the right kinds of crazy. He just needs to power that bot with steam and I might have to pull a Kim Jung Il and kidnap him so he can teach me his secrets.
OOOOH! One has heard of HERF guns, but has no idea what that is! One is going to be looking at that? Ultra Low Frequencies? No - that's not it. Coolness. Thank you.
ReplyDelete-Lord Malignance
(Google preview on other screen: High Energy Radio Frequency - but One is seeing references to Radiation applications (One is scared of radiation - Madame Curie was a Villain who dabbled, and radiation just seems like (Evil help me)Bad JuJu.) One can't go 6 months w/out a Lair fire (honestly) with heat and unwisely stored chemicals "Mayhem - like me".
Isn't it always true though, that the Villain's ultimate demise, always comes at their own hands? Jack Parsons was another Villain who fared as well.
Seriously, if you want to have fun, look up Jack Parsons. He was a Villain who worked at JPL as a, no kidding, Rocket Scientist, by day, and then plotted to bring about the End of The World through a Moon Child.
Ahh. Where would the world be without Villains?
Thank you,
-Lord Malignance
I've seen guys build HERF weapons in their garage with beer bottle capacitors and spare parts. Scary shit, when you think about it. Similar to that kid who built a complete nuke, short of only the fuel. He was pretty close to getting it though.
ReplyDeleteGoogling Jack Parsons later.