The code for putting the Phoenix code on your Hexapod is available here. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress and may require some hardware modification of your Hexapod, so proceed at your own risk.
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.
If you’ve read this blog at all over the past few years, you’ll know we’re big fans of Kåre Halvorsen’s (aka Zenta) work. Father of the very popular Phoenix Hexapod Kit, A-Pod the ant bot, and more recently the T-Hex Hexapod (available soon in kit form), it’s very obvious that our Norwegian friend has an incredible grasp of Kinematics. Some might even call him a Kinematics Kung Fu Master. It’s only natural that he would blow us away with his insane math-kinematics skills when he decided to take a shot at a biped walker. Well folks, he did not fail to impress. Utilizing the new Arc-32 board from Basic Micro, armed with only standard hobby servos and an inhumanly good grasp of math, Zenta has created a new biped named Archer.
Okay, so bipeds have been done before, what makes this special? Not only does it have some of the most impressive Inverse Kinematics I’ve seen on a non-professional level, it utilizes a pretty innovative COG-Shifter mechanism that can slide the battery and onboard controller from side to side to assist in walking. Want to see it in action? Look no further!
Also, if you can’t get enough of Kåre and his awesome Norwegian accent, check out this ‘behind the scenes’ video where you’ll be treated to his very impressive workshop and a demo of how he controls his various robots:
Seriously. I’m getting a bit tired of Phoenix hexapod inventor Kara Halverson, aka Zenta, constantly showing everyone up. We get it, you’re awesome at building awesome robots. Could you please just stop and give the rest of us a chance to catch up? It’s just cruel at this point.
The T-Hex is Zenta’s newest creation, inspired by all the Mech Warfare talk buzzing around the forums. He decided to jump in and build a ‘mech like’ hexapod, complete with a whopping 4DOF per leg. And of course, in the process, made the rest of us look like complete amateurs. Aesthetics aside this thing is amazing, and the fact that he has a working IK solution for it already just adds to the fact.
We’ve been a bit quiet on the blog front as we are getting ready for Robogames 2009 in a little over a week and are furiously working away to finish up projects for demonstration. Our video production crew has been keeping busy also, and just finished up some new demonstration videos for the Phoenix Hexapod, showcasing its numerous features. This Hexapod continues to be one of our most popular sellers, definitely check it out!
Inspired by insects, this time Zenta decided to mix things up a bit. Dubbed A-pod, this hexapod is fully custom built much like the original Phoenix hexapod. Time and time again Zenta never fails to impress, we can’t wait for the videos of it creeping around in its own lifelike way!
To see the full writeup including more pictures and to watch the progression A-pod, check out Zenta’s thread in the TRC.
We’ve learned something over the past year: Roboticists from Norway can make some really awesome hexapods. We first met Phoenix Hexapod creator Kåre Halvorsen (who goes by Zenta on our forums) when he entered his amazing creation in our Project Contest. Needless to say, he won by a landslide vote. He went on to work with Lynxmotion and Jeroen Janssen (who goes by Xan on our forums) to develop a kit based version of his Phoenix with complete wireless PS2 control!
We are now proud to carry the Phoenix Hexapod Comprehensive Kit! This kit contains everything you need to build your very own wireless controlled Phoenix Hexapod. It even comes pre-programmed with Xan’s Wireless PS2 controller program. Words can’t describe how amazing this robot is, you really have to see it in action so check out the video below!
Zenta from our Community Forums continues to blow us away with his scary good trig skills, specifically when applied to Inverse Kinematics in his Phoenix Hexapod. This time he is showcasing a dynamic balancing scheme throughout a variety of different walking gaits… and if that wasn’t enough, wait until he pulls the walker up with one leg and starts shifting the body around. The fluid, lifelike movement of this Hexapod is truly amazing, check out the video below to see what we’re talking about.
Kåre Halvorsen (AKA: Zenta) was the winner of our February 08 Project Contest, however when the contest ended his Phoenix Project kept going. He is continuing to study inverse kinematics to further the creepy cool movement of his Hexapod. Here is a post explaining exactly what he is doing, however don’t feel alone if you’re scratching your head a bit, the math involved behind the scenes to make this robot move like it does is pretty complex. For the instant gratification type, here is the end result:
