Mondo spider
Encyclopedia
The Mondo Spider is a ride-on walking robot propelled via eight steel legs in a walking motion utilizing the Klann Linkage
.
It was designed and built in 2005 and 2006 by Leigh Christie, Jonathan Tippet, Charlie Brison, Alex Mossman, Dillard Brinson, Sam Meyer and Ryan Johnston. Now affiliated with the Vancouver-based charity eatART foundation, the spider has fascinated spectators at events such as the Burning Man
festival, Vancouver Art Gallery
, New Yorks 'Gagettoff' and numerous television appearances.
The first power source was a Honda V-twin engine and a system of hydraulic pumps and motor
s, which was upgraded in January 2010 as part of the Mondo Spider '0 Emissions' program.
The vehicle has a carrying capacity of one person and a maximum speed of around 4 feet per second (1.2 m/s), a "brisk walking speed".
and Junkyard Wars USA. As part of the 2006 Burning Man festival theme "Hope and Fear" the project received a grant from the Burning Man groupBurning Man funded art projects - Mondo Spider project to build the mechanical spider for demonstration at the festival.
, B.C.-based team of Jon Tippett, the brother of Michael Tippett
, Charlie Brinson, Leigh Christie, Brad Buss, Ryan Johnson and Tony Geluch.
. On the 20 August 2006 the project implementation was presented to the public at a fund-raiser which raised USD 1,000 towards the project. An industrial design company Industrialus is listed as a project sponsor also.
Klann Linkage
The Klann linkage is a planar mechanism designed to simulate the gait of legged animal and function as a wheel replacement. The linkage consists of the frame, a crank, two grounded rockers, and two couplers all connected by pivot joints....
.
It was designed and built in 2005 and 2006 by Leigh Christie, Jonathan Tippet, Charlie Brison, Alex Mossman, Dillard Brinson, Sam Meyer and Ryan Johnston. Now affiliated with the Vancouver-based charity eatART foundation, the spider has fascinated spectators at events such as the Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
festival, Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...
, New Yorks 'Gagettoff' and numerous television appearances.
The first power source was a Honda V-twin engine and a system of hydraulic pumps and motor
Hydraulic motor
A hydraulic motor is a mechanical actuator that converts hydraulic pressure and flow into torque and angular displacement . The hydraulic motor is the rotary counterpart of the hydraulic cylinder....
s, which was upgraded in January 2010 as part of the Mondo Spider '0 Emissions' program.
The vehicle has a carrying capacity of one person and a maximum speed of around 4 feet per second (1.2 m/s), a "brisk walking speed".
History
The spider concept was inspired by the Vancouver Junkyard Wars, which were a localised version of the concepts in the TV shows Scrapheap ChallengeScrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. In the show, teams of contestants have 10 hours in which to build a working machine that can do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the...
and Junkyard Wars USA. As part of the 2006 Burning Man festival theme "Hope and Fear" the project received a grant from the Burning Man groupBurning Man funded art projects - Mondo Spider project to build the mechanical spider for demonstration at the festival.
Development team
The Mondo Spider team consisted of a range of volunteers. Project was the creation of the VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, B.C.-based team of Jon Tippett, the brother of Michael Tippett
Michael Tippett (businessman)
Michael Tippett is an entrepreneur, columnist and educator. He was the original founder of NowPublic which is one of the pioneers in citizen journalism and quickly becoming one of the largest news agencies in the world. In 2009 the site was nominated for an Emmy in Advanced Technology...
, Charlie Brinson, Leigh Christie, Brad Buss, Ryan Johnson and Tony Geluch.
Research and Development Funding
Initial seed funding from Dillard Brinson, the father of one of the team members. A grant from the 2006 Burning Man committee was obtained after a proposal was submitted. The final leg of development was funded by Rob Cunningham which enabled the project to obtain space with Great Northern Way CampusGreat Northern Way Campus
Great Northern Way Campus Ltd is a private limited company and educational enterprise located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the offspring of a consortium of four local academic institutions that has attracted...
. On the 20 August 2006 the project implementation was presented to the public at a fund-raiser which raised USD 1,000 towards the project. An industrial design company Industrialus is listed as a project sponsor also.
Specifications
Specifications sourced from the project page| Physical Specifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weight: | ~1600 lb (725.7 kg) | |
| Length: | 8 ft (2.4 m) | |
| Width: | 8 ft (2.4 m) | |
| Height : | 5 ft (1.5 m) | |
| Powerplant and drive train | ||
| Engine: | Electrical Drive Train: motor, batteries, controller | |
| Performance | ||
| Gross power: | 24 hp | |
| Maximum range: | 14 km (8.7 mi) | |
| Maximum revs: | 3600 rpm | |
See also
- Kinetic sculpture
- Klann LinkageKlann LinkageThe Klann linkage is a planar mechanism designed to simulate the gait of legged animal and function as a wheel replacement. The linkage consists of the frame, a crank, two grounded rockers, and two couplers all connected by pivot joints....
- Hexapod (robotics)Hexapod (robotics)A six-legged walking robot should not be confused with a Stewart platform, a kind of parallel manipulator used in robotics applications.A hexapod robot is a mechanical vehicle that walks on six legs. Since a robot can be statically stable on three or more legs, a hexapod robot has a great deal of...
- Theo JansenTheo JansenTheo Jansen is a Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor. He builds large works which resemble skeletons of animals, that are able to walk using wind power on the beaches of the Netherlands...