Introduction: Design Robot Legs

If your robot have bored of wheel movement, this instructables show you how to design and make Theo Jansen's Strandbeest legs (without 3D printer) for you robot.

Ref.:

https://www.google.com/search?q=strandbeest&tbm=is...

Step 1: Geometry Design

GeoGebra can help you design the mechanics of the robot legs:

http://www.geogebra.org/download

Try download and install GeoGebra and then open the attached file Beest.ggb, press play button at the left bottom corner. You can see how it works!

Every value at the left hand side slider can be adjust and it can real time show the effect at the diagram.

Once the legs movement seems fine for you, remember your adjusted value, it will use in next steps.

Step 2: Prepare Material

The most difficult things of making strandbeest legs is it require at least 3 pairs of legs in each side to make it move.

So after you have designed how to assemble one leg, you need to duplicate 11 more at the same size.

The materials show at the pictures all are in 2 mm thick or with 2 mm hole. (Except those paper clip :P)

Some of 2 mm axle I am using carbon fiber, it is about weight concern.

ref. - my purchasing list (some items buy in bulk):

1 x https://world.taobao.com/item/42387486078.htm

24 x https://world.taobao.com/item/43642147383.htm

1 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=16258413656

2 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=36513239827

1 x (2*200mm) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=27151568421

2 x (2*300mm) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=27151568421

1 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37107254173

1 x (20-2A) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=20252165378

1 x (3*2.1*250) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=18504725074

2 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=16254906563

4 x (2*200mm) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=20645288443

1 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=16272162447

6 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=16270990575

8 x (2mm) https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=20623304447&...

2 x https://world.taobao.com/item/40354674288.htm

2 x (3mm) https://world.taobao.com/item/37550271279.htm

3 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=36190401824

1 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=37601413324

20 x https://world.taobao.com/item/40912392588.htm

1 x https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=36513791310

Step 3: Assemble

Step 4: Controller

The legs are drive by a motor on each side, you can drive it by RF sender + receiver, Arduino + BT, ESP8266, etc...

If you are using Raspberry Pi, Magpi issue 9 cambot is a good example of how to remote control a two motor robot. I am using it in the demo video.

ref.:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/issues/9/

Step 5: Put It on the Playground!

Step 6: Video

Sorry that my Raspberry Pi board and camera have removed to another project and the legs have some defect after playing with some children.

This is the my second trial of making robot using Raspberry Pi and Strandbeest legs, I called it CreaturePi Mark II. I am working on CreaturePi Mark III now, may show you later in Instructables.

The last bonus video was capture form the remote iPad and CreaturePi Mark I.

Robotics Contest 2016

Participated in the
Robotics Contest 2016