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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Summer projects: Build your own wooden ornithopter kinetic model

Take a look at the cool wooden ornithoper kit! The model is based on an invention found in one of
Leonardo's notebook's

Turning the hand-crank sets in motion the gears and linkages that operates the wings, legs and arms of the pilot. It's a pretty big model, measuring 17" by 24" by 12".  The wooden construction kit uses a pegged gear train -- a lantern pinion and contrate pin wheel. This component alone would make this a model worth examing closely!

Here is where you can get the  wooden ornithopter model.

For the advanced Leonardo fanatic:
Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed

From Leonardo da Vinci's descriptions and drawings - and by using digital imaging - armoured ships, hydraulic machinery, winches and machines destined for use in war, work and pleasure emerge fully equipped and functional in stunning 3-dimensional, computer-generated artworks. A fascinating in-depth discussion of da Vinci's work and inventions accompanies these illustrations, revealing at the same time the incredible journey the authors of this book travelled whilst compiling it.

Here's is where you can find books on Leonardo's inventions.

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