For the sake of it, I wanted to see if I could make a really simple biped - and this is what I came up with :)
I thought it was really fun to do, much more than expected, I can recommend it :) if I can find the time, I would love to do some other versions of this kind of simple moving creatures.. a couple of servos, wood, glue, Picaxe, back to basics, good fun :D
I am curious I notice that the bot seems to start its walk somewhat slowly and then it seems once inertia sets in it can really get down to business. Is that programmed or just plain ole physics?
THe answer is yes: The slow and nice looking turn; just do a little more to one side than the other whilst walking. Or the ugly “stand still first, and make some moves to turn, and then start walking again”.
There are a lot of ways to turn while standing still -one looking better than the other, and one more likely to cause a fall than the other.
I would have shown a lot more of the robots possible moves, but I am under an editor at make, and the videos have to be short. In fact I was pushing the limits of length with this one.
If I just let it go from stand still to walk, it will do the wobbling, and after 2-3 wobbles start walking.
But if I want (I think that is shown in one clip), I can just start a walk with a fast tip to one side, combined with a little foot work, and … hang on… yes - at 0:23 in the video (the first walk) I do the little tip-over, and as you can see it starts walking right away without wobbling.
I’m always amazed of how simple and functional your robots are. This is one that I might try to build sometime in the future. Maybe try to build a 3D printable version?
Simple projects from me: Sad truth is that I do not have the brains to make it complicated. But I try to use that for my advantage
3D: Yes, I think the design concept of this bipedal rocks in comparison to others (in all modesty) - If I was a manufacturer, I’d contact me (or just plain steal my concept). And if I had a 3D printer, I think this would be a neat thing to print, in a more fancy designed version. Tough it’s a lot easier in wood, perhaps you should try that first
I was wondering when someone was going to use a counterbalance as a way to keep a biped walking and somewhat stable…Great work on keeping it simple too…
It actually looks more complicated on the video, I think.