Click to enlarge.

Side view. Really should have been a different colour. Then you'd be able to see what's going on.

Rear view. See how it balances on one leg? The wheight shifts as the ankle tilts.

Top view. Look at all those cylinders! And I've still got some spare!

Pneumatic walker

This model was under construction at the same time as the 1/2 volume supercar. It was highly ambitious: a two legged, weight shifting, walker all controlled by a pneumatic logic. The central cylinder swaps between left and right legs. The top two cylinders on each leg control the movement of the leg and are part of the logic circuit, each cylinder moving a switch as well as a limb. The cylinders controlling the feet are controlled by the circuit but do not take part in it. The walker shifts weight by tilting at the ankle. It takes quite a bit of pumping to make it move at a reasonable speed (the compressor is just not up to it) which can look quite silly.

Now, this never did quite manage to walk on it's own without a little help. I'm sure I could have made it work, but to tell you the truth, I got so sick and tired of tweaking and balancing (and pumping that damn pump!) that I dismantled it. The method is sound, I know it is. If I held the walker above the floor, the legs would wave around in the right way. Ah well. Maybe someone out there can do better? Let me know!

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