The automatic creation of automata: the computational design of mechanical characters

This could be a game-changer in the world of automaton-making. I don't think I've ever had the chance to say something like that.

I caught wind of this project some months ago, but the recent news of this incredible video comes to us by way of Falk Keuten at the excellent blog Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik. This computer program created by a team at Disney Research, Zurich accepts a desired input motion and then generates the necessary gears and linkages to realize that motion.

From the research paper abstract:

Given an articulated character as input, the user iteratively creates an animation by sketching motion curves indicating how different parts of the character should move. For each motion curve, our framework creates an optimized mechanism that reproduces it as closely as possible. The resulting mechanisms are attached to the character and then connected to each other using gear trains, which are created in a semi-automated fashion. The mechanical assemblies generated with our system can be driven with a single input driver, such as hand-operated crank or an electric motor, and they can be fabricated using rapid prototyping devices.

And it's not all theory or computer simulations, either! The team demonstrated the versatility of the system by creating a bunch of mechanical characters, several of which were manufactured using 3D printing technology. The results are amazing, some showing subtleties of motion that are very difficult to design, but incredibly valuable to the final effect.

Here is the Disney project web site. Here is a link to the research paper (PDF) titled Computational Design of Mechanical Characters.

[ Thanks to John, Falk, and Fred ]

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If you can take it apart -- if you can understand it -- you can make it better

This video tells the story of Mark Lesek, managing director of Dynamic Welding and Engineering in Tasmania. In December of 2003, Lesek lost his right arm in a car accident. This left him in need of an artificial arm. The difficulties associated with getting an artificial arm were monumental on every front -- medical, political, financial and technical. A man with great determination and considerable mechanical knowledge, Lesek decided to make his own arm based on historical designs. His patent searches revealed some incredible designs. To these he added his own innovations and together these have led to advancements that will be of benefit to millions.

His statement at the end of the video are words to live by:

It doesn't matter if it's a bike, or an arm, or your life: if you can take it apart, if you can understand it, you can make it better.

You can follow Mark Lesek on Google+, learn more of his story, and stay up to date with what he is up to.

Think prosthetic limbs are off-topic for this blog? Think again. All of the same mechanical components that we marvel over in automata and robots maybe be found in some of the sophisticated artificial limbs. There is a long history of automaton-makers working on and developing prosthetic devices. One good example is Jean Frédéric Leschot. Leschot, the adopted son of Pierre Jaquet-Droz, assisted in the construction of the three masterpiece automata known as The Writer, The Musician, and The Draftsman. Later in his career, he also made artificial limbs using the knowledge he had obtained from making complex life-size automata.

[ Thanks Joseph! ]

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