WARNING: This post might make you think twice before you spin a globe violently or kick that unassuming ball down the street.
Our own TRC Member Zenta has posted an amazing video of his MorpHex Robot. The dream for this project was to ceate a spherical hexapod that can…
- Roll freely as a ball
- Move in any direction
- Vary its inner-body dimensions
- Transform between hexapod and sphere mode
- Walk/work as a normal hexapod
By looking at the video, we’d say that the dream is a reality.
In hexapod mode, the MorpHex elegantly traverses terrain – then, very subtly, it begins to constrict its size until it’s ready to transform. In sphere mode the MorpHex can roll, stop and even dance around. And while there are a million things to love about the MorpHex, the fact that the body was constructed out of a earth globe is the cherry on top.
Zenta has entered the MorpHex into the Boca Bearing 2012 Innovation Competition and could win a $10,000 grant to further develop the MorpHex. We know who we’re voting for! Maybe one day we’ll see a whole army of MorpHexes rolling down the street!
For more history, pictures and general information about the MorpHex, check out the MorpHex section on Zenta’s Website