ROBOTMAK3RS Blog

Here's another Tripod prototype spin-off from the said internal competition, this time created by Mike Brandl . Its name is RAMA , and details (including a movie) can be found on the associated web site (though the text is in German, there are a lot of images also).

For an (internal) contest some time ago, some MINDSTORMS veterans took up the challenge to build NXT tripods, i.e., NXT-based robots on three legs that would be able to autonomously walk in arbitrary direction (without rolling) and avoid or cross obstacles. Though it doesn't look so at a first glance, this is a rather difficult task from the engineerical point of view which might be the reason why so few actual working tribot robots have been built so far. One of the prototypes that arose from that efforts is that of Philo : It walks along with a "dragging" movement. More movies can be seen here , pictures are available here , here , here and here .

New Scientist has published an article on a tripedal robo t - it "walks" in a rather unconventional way by swinging its entire body upside-down with each stride. Have a look - the video is fun to behold. This may serve as an inspiration for another LEGO walker...