JK Brickworks's Sisyphus automata was inspired by Disney Research's work on the "Computational Design of Mechanical Characters".
There's a parts-list and build-guide if you want to make your own. The detail is spectacular, down to the frescoes on the plinth.
A couple of months ago someone pointed me to this fascinating video from Disney Research – Computational Design of Mechanical Characters. It's full of some amazing character models featuring realistic motion, all achieved using mechanical links and gears. Of course I was immediately inspired to build my own version of the Sisyphus model out of LEGO parts. I definitely wanted to add my own touch to it though and, in addition to tweaking the geometry a little, I decided to add a boulder and extend the motion to it as well.
You can see the results in the video below, where I also discuss the details of the mechanics. I have also put together building instructions for the core model, which you can find after the video, along with some more photos of the model.
Sisyphus Kinetic Sculpture
[Jason/JK Brickworks]
(via Colossal)
