Incredible lifelike circus elephant automaton made entirely of paper

The folks over at cool4cats have outdone themselves with their new paper automaton kit titled ELEPHANT TRAINING. This one is a large exhibition-size automaton which shows the secret process of training a circus elephant.

From the Cool4Cats web site:

The kit builds into a large (63 centimeters high, 51 centimeters wide) exhibition model. There are many amusing details and a wonderful sequence of movements as you turn the handle. This model is unsuitable for younger children as a fair degree of patience (and a sharp craft knife) are needed to build it. The instructions, however, are very comprehensive with over 160 'step-by-step' diagrams and assembly is a great project, resulting in a spectacular model!

This one has it all: a great theme, characters, lifelike motion, stunning graphics, and a healthy dose of humor.

Here is where you can order the Elephant Training paper automaton kit.

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Tom Haney's "Birdhouse Builders" automaton going to auction Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016

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Just giving you notice that the auction of Tom Haney's piece titled Birdhouse Builders will happen this Saturday, November 12th at 10:00am. You can bid anytime up until then.

Here is where you can see and bid on Birdhouse Builders.

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Single motor walking robot uses four linked Chebyshev linkages

Jim Tegart wrote to share some info on a walking robot he has made. He writes:

Chebysev, a Russian mathematician invented a walking mechanism circa 1870. A Russian website claims it as the first. Various websites have animations (see the May 30,2016 entry on The Automata Blog) and some attempts to make a functioning model. Here is my contribution to the technology. A single motor drives four linked Chebyshev linkages tromping across my kitchen table.

It's not an easy thing to make a four-legged walker with one motor.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for the Chebyshev linkage.

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The passing of automaton creator Peter Markey (1930-2016)

Sad news from our friends at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. They tell me that Peter Markey passed away on November 2nd, 2016 at the age of 86. He was the first to make automata for CMT and therefore has had a huge impact on the world of contemporary automata. The video shown here features the man and his work.

Visit Cabaret Mechanical Theatre's site to read a short and beautiful tribute to Peter Markey and his work.

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