Kickstarter projects are known for innovation and creativity. And that is precisely why, a lot of these projects end up getting the fund they need to kickstart their efforts. A new, interesting project is now seeking funds through Kickstarter. The project aims to create a 6-legged rideable walking robot. It’s called “Stompy”. If you are lucky, you may have a shot to ride it and drive it.
Stompy is an 18-feet wide robot which has a weight of 4000 pounds and features 6 legs. It does indeed look like a spider, only you can ride on it and it can carry fairly large weight on top of it.
The robot is actually the brainchild of Project Hexapod which comprises of a group of students working with three instructors in Somerville, Massachusetts. The team behind the project is trying to raise a whopping $65,000 to realize the robot. And the rather astonishing part is that they have already raised more than $50,000 with 21 days to the deadline!
The funding options for backing the project range from $5 to $10,000 and beyond. The Hexapod Project team intends to use all the of the fund towards the completion of the robot which they are already in the process of building.
You may think that the robot is simply an outcome of a creative impulse. The fact is, Stompy has a lot of useful applications. It can carry 1000 pounds at a speed of 2 – 3 miles per hour, or at a much slower speed can carry even 4000 pounds. This makes it ideal for venturing into disaster-ridden areas, to carry relief goods and to be used for the purpose of explorations into different places.
The team stresses the point of Stompy’s applications by referring to its ability to move to remote areas,” This is important because in disaster areas like Haiti’s Port Au Prince, it’s taken more than three years to clear the rubble out of some areas – meaning that throughout that entire time, people have had to be rescued or resupplied by helicopter, because no ground vehicle could reach them. Stompy (and the technology it represents) could easily reach people who can’t be reached by any other means in a natural disaster.”
Watch the video below to get an idea of how Stompy may actually walk once it is created.
Source: Kickstarter
Courtesy: Ubergizmo
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