DescentBB

Sorry if this is a repots, didnt see it.

i once emailed Theo about his designs, and he was nice enough to share with me all of the \"11 holy numbers\" of the leg proportions. Before that i was taking screenshots of these videos and measuring what i could see.
So if anyone wants the proportions i've got em (i couldn't find them online). It's easy to make outof drinking straws and tape, or whatever you have lying around.

This video gives a good rundown of how the legs actually work.

man of many talents. To get those 11 holy numbers, 16 years ago or so he programmed a crappy computer with a genetic program to breed different leg designs with one another, with slight mutations and randomisations, and then test the designs, until it gave the best result - the \"11 holy numbers\" as he calls em, heh. not bad eh!

um, could you give me the numbers? I'd like to try and make a 3D animation of these critters

here you gooooooo

i believe A and L are not actual linkages - just measurements OUT & UP of where to put the engine.
M is a linkage however, it's the engine's main crank.

KICK ASS! I have gotta try this out myself!

Btw, Roid, I don't suppose you know what the measurement of the red centre piece in the video, the single line rotating around the centre of the grey link?

that's M. on top of L.
(remember L isn't a real linkage, it's just a measurement)
See how the circle rotates around one end of the M line? That's coz that's the pivot M rotates around.
The 2 pivots (other one is like in the middle of the leg, see it? follow the arrow) have to be joined together somehow, if you're making a single leg on a card then they are just both pinned into the card:

to make just one leg with straws, pinned to a card, the 2 parts that you pin to the card are the 2 things that arrows point to in the pic.

ie: in that movie there are 3 pivots, as the one engine pivot is shared between 2 opposing legs.

You don't even need to power the engine, you just push a properly constructed version and the whole thing \"rolls\" by walking (as mentioned in the original video with Theo), it's weird. I'd like to see one roll down a hill.


See how a video explains it so much better than all of those words, words words words. VIDEO! so much betterer

Right, gotcha (I hope).
One more thing: I can't make out which one is F and which is G. Is F going parrallel to C or D?

F is parrallel and opposite to C


his crazy dutch G confuses me too.
it is crazy and dutch

thanks for the diagram roid - too bad I can't read dutch - I guess it would be interesting to know what is written there

That is so awesome. Especially the implementation of a brain made out of tubes... mindblowing!