Automata by L’Arbre à Pain inspired by the automaton designers of old

Check out the work of Anne Pradère and Dominique Jalabert, owners of "Le Petit Musée d'Automates" in Pauillac, France.

More about them from their web site:

The designers’ love for animals had led them to build a fantasy world, creating human-like animals imitating life. They have used the mechanics to give birth to a soul endowing their animal world with charm.

Their works continue the path opened up by the literature with Aristophane’s zoomorphism, the Romance of Renard, Granville, Theile… and inspired by the great designers of automatons who have endeavored to create life since Antiquity.

Each character was entirely made at the workshop, making them unique and authentic creations. They are moulded and painted, the costumes are tailor-made with ancient materials, lace and appliqué. In order to perpetuate the French tradition of automaton designers, the mechanics are based on a system of cams. Each silver-soldered brass component was manufactured at the workshop.

Here is where you can see more automata L’Arbre à Pain.

[ Thanks Henry! ]

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Valentine's Day automaton of Cupid looking for his lost love

Check out this clever Valentine's Day automaton by Tony Anagnostopoulos. Well done!

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Film documenting The Museum of Automata once located in York

Here's a wonderful film about The Museum of Automata in York, England.

Sadly, the Museum closed in 1996, and the collection is now in Japan. At least we have this 30 minute documentary to get a glimpse at what it once contained.

In the film, you will see a wonderful variety of automata including everything from fine antique examples to contemporary makers such as Frank Nelson and Jan Zalud.

This video comes to us by way of automaton enthusiast Sergio Pinese who obtained the film from the late artist Frank Nelson.

[ Thanks Sergio! ]

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The enchanting rustic automata and 'organic mechanic' of artist Blair Somerville

Please check out this charming video about Blair Somerville -- an artist and self-described tinkerer located on New Zealand’s South Island. The film by Joey Bania is titled Lost & Found.

From the video description:

For over ten years Blair has single-handedly owned, operated and ceaselessly expanded the Lost Gypsy Gallery, his wonderland of homegrown wizardry and a playground for kids and adults alike. Using only recycled materials, Blair takes DIY to artistic extremes. His creations are ingenious, interactive, and often hilariously impractical. They take many shapes and forms and share an uncanny ability to amaze, entertain and inspire.

I love the use of stop-motion animation in the film. The effect complements Somerville's playful, imaginative style of creativity.

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New paper model kit titled 'Chocolate mousse' available at cool4cats.biz

Have you ever checked out the paper automaton kits sold at cool4cats.biz? If not, they have some really amazing stuff. Shown here is their latest kit title Chocolate mousse.

As will all of their kits, to compete it you will need a hobby knife and some white glue. Step-by-step instructions are included

You can get this an other paper automaton kits at cool4cats.com.

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Artist Chris Fitch gives an in-depth explanation of the mechanics of his incredible swimming fish kinetic sculpture

Artist Chris Fitch took the time to of put together a video in which he explains the mechanics of his limited edition piece titled, Tantalus Mackerel. I don't need to say much more here, because his explanation is so good.

As for the piece, here is what Chris Fitch as to say about it:

The story of Tantalus has been, since its Greek origins, a consistently applicable metaphor for the human condition. Tantalus angered the gods by trying to feed them the flesh of his own son, passed off as ambrosia. For this, he was chained to the bottom of a lake that reached to his chin. With luscious grapes drooping from vines above his nose, starving Tantalus was unable to enjoy either food or drink, as they were pulled away whenever he reached. I won't go on about how I think this relates to American culture today, which suffers from a kind of self-inflicted hunger from unrealistic expectations. Nor will I attempt to make any connection between the story of Tantalus and our current global problem with mercury levels in deep sea fish, and how we are our own gods and are punished by our own actions when we poison our own food supply. Let me just say, instead, that this piece is about a frustrated fish trying to catch a bug.

It's an incredible piece in every way: the narrative, the artistry, the mechanics. He only made three of these beauties, and (as of this writing) one is still available. For more videos and photos of sculptures by Chris Fitch, visit http://www.chrisfitchsculpture.com.

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Insect's legs turn out to be the first mechanical gears found in a living creature AND similar to those on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Popular Mechanics featured a story online yesterday that announced that U.K. scientists discovered the first biological gears on a living creature. The creature is a tiny insect is known as the issus, which lives on European climbing ivy and has an incredible ability to jump. As it turns out, the gear-like structures located at a joint on the insect's hind legs aid in that ability to jump. To jump quickly and powerfully, the issus relies on mechanics. The gears are thought to simplify the neuro-muscular feedback system that can slow down an attempt to move quickly. Because the gears are so well suited to transfer power properly, the insect's nervous system simply fires the signal to jump and doesn't need to bother with feedback. It shaves crucial milliseconds off what is often a life-or-death maneuver.

Now for MY discovery. I read the article with fascination. At the end, I realized the gears found on the insect's legs seemed familiar to me. I searched my brain and remembered where I had seen this arrangement before: the classic Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot Game! First, let's take a closer look at the insect's joint. As you can see in the animation, the two segmented gears meet at the junction of two body parts where one must rotate around the other. The gears engage to transfer a what I am guessing is a short linear force into a longer, faster rotational force.

Now take a look at the arm joint of this Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot. The elbow joint employs a series of gears to convert a short downward motion on the back of the robot into a quick jabbing motion. The assembly is a bit more complicated than the insect for it uses three gears rather than two. On the robot, there is a gear fused to the body at the shoulder. This gear meshes with a second one located on the inside of the robot's upper arm. This idler gear transfers motion to the final gear located at the end of the robot's lower arm. When the lever behind the robot is depressed, the upper arm is raised, causing it to rotate around the shoulder. This causes the intermediate gear to spin a bit. The advancing teeth engage with the ones on the lower arm, causing it to straighten.

My discovery may not be as ground-breaking as that of the U.K. researchers, but I will still gladly accept an honorary doctorate in engineering from any accredited college or university. Please use my contact form if you can bestow these laurels upon me. I would love to be referred to as 'Dr. North'.

If you want to learn more about biomechanics, check out these books on biomechanics.

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'Make Your Own Working Paper Clock' book documented in stop-motion animation

As if it wouldn't require enough patience to complete the Make Your Own Working Paper Clock book/kit, here is the entire process documented in old-school stop-motion animation! I can't get over how long this must have taken! This film gives you a wonderful feel for what completing the project is like. You get to see every piece form, then self-assemble into the finished clock. This is quite an accomplishment on several levels.

Here is where you can buy your own copy of the book Make Your Own Working Paper Clock

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Spring-powered stainless steel and bronze toy car with walnut box

Located in Eindhoven, designer Wouter Scheublin created this gorgeous stainless steel and bronze toy car.

We don't know much more about it other than it comes in an equally beautiful walnut box, is powered by a spring, and was made in a limited edition of 20. I don't know if any are available, or how much they cost, but his contact information is located on his web site.

If you like this, you might also be interested in the Kikkerland zeCar, which is readily available.

Unlike Scheublin's car, the zeCar is powered by a stainless steel flywheel which is connected to the wheels via a series of gears. A gentle push spins the flywheel and supplies the zeCar with the energy it needs to move. You can choose to have the traction be the front, or the rear wheels. You can also slide it upside-down on the flywheel and two free spinning wheels. Zecar is not a race car. It has lots of torque, and so can move up gentle inclines, but it moves rather slowly. It sells for a very reasonable $13 USD.

[ Thanks Adam! ]

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Kinetic art by Dolf Perenti uses a fascinating wood escapement

Check out this lovely kinetic sculpture by Dolf Perenti. The various hardwoods and high-grade plywood are combined to form a mechanism called an escapement. These are the heart and soul of clocks. I'm going to let Wikipedia explain escapements further:

An escapement is a device in mechanical watches and clocks that transfers energy to the timekeeping element (the "impulse action") and allows the number of its oscillations to be counted (the "locking action"). The impulse action transfers energy to the clock's timekeeping element (usually a pendulum or balance wheel) to replace the energy lost to friction during its cycle, to keep the timekeeper oscillating. The escapement is driven by force from a coiled spring or a suspended weight, transmitted through the timepiece's gear train. The escapement releases the tooth of a gear, which therefore changes from a "locked" state to a "drive" state until the opposite arm strikes another tooth on the gear, which locks the gear again. A clock's tick is the sound of the gear train stopping as the escapement locks. The gear train is accelerated and decelerated with each tick of the clock. This locking action of the escapement allows each cycle of the timekeeping element to be counted. During each cycle the escapement permits a gear train to advance or escape slightly. The periodic advancement results in moving the timepiece's hands forward at a steady rate. This starting and stopping accounts for most of the energy usage from the spring or weight when a clock is in good working order.

I'm not sure if the one shown here is an esoteric form of escapement or something the artist invented himself. Either way, it's beautifully made and captivating!

If you want to learn more about escapements, Laurie Penman's book Practical Clock Escapements comes highly recommended. I need to get a copy myself, actually.

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Intel creates kinetic art robotic music system inspired by an animated video

A couple of years ago, a video made the rounds on the internet. (Strangely, I don't think it appeared here on The Automata Blog.) It was a 3D animation of an intricate musical system in which bouncing balls triggered notes on an assemblage of musical devices. It was pretty convincing. I think there was a bit of confusion in some circles as to whether the machine was a real thing or not. It wasn't, but now it is. The folks at Intel have used that video as inspiration to create a machine that does more or less what the one in the video did! That's what you see above.

For reference, here is the original video titled Pipe Dream:

Here is where you can learn more about the embedded Intel technology for industrial automation that was used for this project.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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Adam Savage assembles a kit showing you how to create your own Theo Jansen Strandbeest in miniature

I've posted several times about the wonderful mind and creations of Theo Jansen. He's the guy who builds huge PVC creatures that are meant to roam freely around the beaches, powered only by wind. Here is a nice look at a small kit that replicates one of his 'Strandbeests' in miniature. I've seen this kit around the internet, but this video REALLY shows what putting it together would be like. And, the demo is done by legendary MythBuster Adam Savage no less!

From the product description:

The fantastic Theo Jansen is world-renowned for his creations consisting of PVC pipes, wood, and various plastics. The resulting concoctions spring to life with the slightest breeze and walks the earth on hundreds of tiny feet all on its own. A beautiful amalgamation of art and engineering, these Strandbeest vary in size ranging from the size of small animals to behemoths of incredible proportion. Regardless of size, they all maintain baffling intricacies that make them seem alive.

Powered by wind alone, the completed kit does not require batteries, though it may be fun to motorize it too. The kit comes with a 28-page science and history guide as well as fully illustrated assembly instructions.

Here is where you can order your very own Strandbeest Kit.

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Interview with automaton-maker Matt Smith of Fourteen Balls Toy Company

The Woodworking Projects & Plans site features an interview with British automaton-maker Matt Smith of Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Smith started in the 1980s working in collaboration with one of the other great names in contemporary automata, Paul Spooner. Working on his own now, Smith continues to make ingenious, humorous automata. He accepts many large commissions for public spaces such as the one shown here. In the photo above, the artist poses next to a piece titled The Gun Factory at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which features five different scenes and numerous figures in motion.

According to Smith, his pieced titled The Boneshakers (above) may be his favorite. The automaton depicts three skeleton cyclists being chased by a dog. In turn, each skeleton spins its heads to see if the dog is still in pursuit.

See more automata by Matt Smith on the Fourteen Balls Toy Company web site.

[ Thanks Charles! ]

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Upcycled! A human-powered tree house elevator made from a bicycle and pulleys!

This human-powered elevator is cool on many levels. First of all, this guy needed an elevator for his tree house! That, in my opinion, is a good problem to have. Secondly, his solution is elegant and fun.

From the video description:

I have built a tree house (though it is not finished yet) that is nearly 30 feet up a tree. I got tired of climbing a ladder six and a half million times a day, so I made a bicycle powered elevator to solve this problem. Don't you wish you had one?

He's counter-weighted the bicycle on the pulley system so less power is required to raise and lower the rider. Next, he has threaded a thin cable that runs around the bike's back wheel and up a tube in front of the rider. When the bike is pedaled in the forward direction, the bike "rides" up the cable. The weight of the rider and bike, keep the back wheel tight against the cable. This means he can also used the hand-brake on the bike's back wheel when descending, as you will see in the video. This is a beautiful bit of engineering and I wouldn't be surprised to see it used elsewhere in the years to come.

Here's a link to a post about the bike elevator on the Colossal blog.

[ Thanks Christoph!]

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The Kings of England - automaton by Paul Spooner

Here's a great new automaton by Paul Spooner. When the handle is turned the faces of the king changes along with the number designating which king it is. The mechanism is ingenious and delightfully simple, combining a friction drive and a rotary indexing system.

According to Paul Spooner:

In olden times there were serious struggles for the throne of England and being the offspring of royalty was not the guarantee of a life of ease and luxury that it is for today’s genetic lottery winners. To achieve a run of four kings such as this required eternal vigilance and a preparedness to fight dirty. All these monarchs are clearly related to each other as their dental records show. Four kings can only be told apart by the number of teeth they have. On the golden wheel down below is his regnal number (or dental record).

The piece measures 210mm high x 115 mm wide with a depth of 55 mm. This is a 'one off' which means it is the only one available. Here is where you can learn more about and/or buy The Kings of England by Paul Spooner

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