Stompy is coming

The Artisans Asylum in Somerville Massachusetts is holding a class called Project Hexapod. Their mission is to build this car-sized two-person hexapod robot and ride it through town in about four months. They've just posted the first set of schematics and named the robot "Stompy".

I'm putting this on my "potential overlords to welcome" list.

Stompy is coming - Project Hexapod Thanks Joe!

Software developer and GIF archivist in San Francisco. Follow me on Twitter.

More at Boing Boing

Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

DMC

Congrats Stompy & Artisan’s Asylum!

maker-spaces rule!
look for one or get one going where YOU live.

x

SCUL-Pilot Stogie
- SamSam
  
  SCUL pilots also rule! Although I haven’t seen you guys riding around en mass recently. (Although maybe that’s because I’m rarely up after bedtime these days…)
- Rindan
  
  I want to point out that the Artisan’s Asylum is an epic bad ass organization. They are very much about supporting the maker community from n00bs to kung fu masters. If you leave in the greater Boston area, and especially if you live across the river on the Cambridge/Somerville side, you should really check them out. They are pretty much as bad ass as they sound.
  
  If you are going to be in the greater Boston Area, Somerville Open Studios (SOS) is happening this weekend and the Artisan’s Asylum will be open. Just to give you some context, Somerville is a little sliver of Boston that is 4.2 square miles, yet has 80,000 people. This year, there are going to be over 100 studious open around Somerville over the weekend for the event. It really is worth the visit if you are going to be in town.
  
  SOS has the usual suspects you would expect at various open studious like water color, pottery, and crap like that, but it also has some truly epic shit each year. Crazy mechanical sculptures, sharp pointed objects, steam punk , epic 10 foot tall bikes sporting blinking shit, and of course hexapod robots. Seriously, if you are in Boston this weekend, come check it out. Somerville is a bad ass little town.
  
  http://www.somervilleopenstudios.org/
  
  edit: I am pretty sure SCUL pilot knows all of the above… it was more for everyone else.
http://twitter.com/kpkpkp Kevin Pierce

By 2019, Monster Stompie rallies will have completely replaced Monster Truck rallies. Automobiles, specifically Toyota Prii, will be the favorite flattened object.
- EH
  
  Sounds good to me!
Comedian

Visions of Robacalypse.
ROSSINDETROIT

Judging from the Project Hexapod page, the occupants’ heads would be around 10 feet above the pavement. That would be an amazing view and a great thrill. Please post video when this thing rolls out… Er.. strides out.
Nadreck

Been done. See “Frankenstein Jr. vs. The Spyder Man”.
http://dougsamu.wordpress.com doug rogers

Spider-car, Spider-car
Friendly neighbourhood spider-car…
- http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
  
  Sorry, have to point out that arachnids have 8 legs.
  this is clearly an insect.
  - http://dougsamu.wordpress.com doug rogers
    
    I knew some ped-ant would show up. And Spiderman only has two, so he’s not a spider either.
    - http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
      
      In the words of the Tick “How do you know I don’t?”
      
      http://youtu.be/afrPV4ONU28?t=8m11s
      - http://twitter.com/samthepea Sam Pourasghar
        
        Good call.
        
        “Arachnids suck blood. Do you suck blood?”
        “Sure, I suck blood all the time!”
        “Yeah right.”
        “Look pal, I gotta straw right here! You wanna demonstration?”
    - Jer_00
      
      To be extra ped-ant-tick, Spider-man’s got four limbs, not two. Even if two of them are called “arms” instead of “legs” when they’re on a primate…
- TheMadLibrarian
  
  Doc Ock, is that you?
http://www.fagerland.org tofagerl

What is it with robot-developers and their “not-quite-God-complex”? Wheels are FAR better than legs in every single way. Just cause there’s no animals/bugs/fish with wheels, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use them.
- http://twitter.com/kpkpkp Kevin Pierce
  
  Wheels are not always superior. Boston Dynamics has much to say on this subject. Eeeee eeee eeeeee eeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeee……..
- retepslluerb
  
  Wheels are better when there are roads. Otherwise, it depends on the terrain.
  
  See Exhibit A: http://cellar.org/2010/damgoats.jpg
  
  Exhibt B: http://www.adamfram.com/blog/uploaded_images/spider_ceiling-700252.jpg
  
  (Arachnophobes, beware of B).
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    That second one is a keeper.
rrh

So are there engineering reasons to make our giant robots hexopods, instead of modeling an existing large animal like the elephant?
- http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
  
  six legs make it easier to keep it stable.
  - GawainLavers
    
    The suspension, though, favors far less massive animals.
    - http://illustratorhints.com/ Jesseham
      
      As do the roads!
- Rindan
  
  Well, if you do the math, it turns out that six legs provides superior awesomeness and has the pleasant side effect of acceptable badassery.
jkg

looks like they might already have some competition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTHI8o5ZOFk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_jhnucpelo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmB9dFsInfs
- http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby
  
  Number 2/3 is awesome!
  
  Although it doesn’t look like a very comfortable ride.
  - http://twitter.com/momothemonster Momo the Monster
    
    Having ridden in The Walking Beast (the above contraption) I can assure you that it is thrilling and uncomfortable!
http://twitter.com/AntiBoredomTeam Dan Century

Stompy is com… oh… he just finished. Dirty, dirty spider car.
pepik

Would you need a driver’s license to take this thing out? Imagine the fun of taking your driving exam in this!
- bob d
  
  Considering how many lanes of traffic it takes up, I sadly can’t imagine it could ever be street-legal.
thunderpants

one could go off road over the hills and through the woods, well, some of the hills and woods anyway. in a quite spectacular fashion.
https://twitter.com/Thejackthompson Jack Thompson

Bonus: car used for size reference is totally a Delorean.
Felton / Moderator

I see they’re leaving room at the front to mount a laser cannon, or maybe giant pincers.
- http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
  
  see… you’re just not thinking clearly.
  You get the front mounted pincers and mount the laser on a hydrological tail.
  - Felton / Moderator
    
    Perfect! Now to devise a way for it to walk up the sides of buildings…
http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios

I think you should go ahead and move this thing to the top of your “potential overlords” list.

Damn.
http://www.spellingmistakescostlives.com darrrrrrn

At first I thought this was an evil genius method of towing cars.
- http://twitter.com/samthepea Sam Pourasghar
  
  My first impression was that it was a mobile car crusher.
Ipo

… ride it through town in about four months.

It’s a loong ride through town.
Drew Van Zandt

Note on the existing “competition” – since the Asylum hexapod is a true 18-actuator hexapod, it can spin in place. It’s also got a design speed of … I think 6 MPH, but I may not be remembering correctly.
- Dan Allard
  
  Is it 18 or 24? Are the red bits suspension as opposed to actuators?
  
  i’m curious as to where you got that speed number – are you local?
Robert

It needs to have speakers blaring “Wiki, wiki, wow; wiki, wiki, wow wow wow”
bcsizemo

The logging industry has had walking harvesters for a while now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2V8GFqk_Y
http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

Looks great; although it also looks very lean. Are these schematics just concepts, or are they actually based on the materials etc. needed? I would expect a lot more bulk in the bid section where all the engine/s pneumatics etc. go. Even the legs look optimistically neat.

I’m no engineer though, just looks a little too good to be true?
Bart

Finally, a vehicle that doesn’t get bogged down going through David Square!
- Rindan
  
  Woo-wooo! Somerville 4 life.
BrotherPower

Really? No stabby thing to poke through the roof and suck out the creamy filling? Seems obvious.
Steve Faiella

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!! oh, wait.. how much is it?
Hanglyman

Good thing I’m not in Massachusetts… chasing after their stomp-bot begging for a ride wouldn’t be very dignified.
http://twitter.com/lazarus7 Matthew

Looks like the Mondo Spider ( http://www.mondospider.com/ )
pjcamp

What lack of imagination! Buggy is clearly a better name.