This Lego Tachikoma drives and walks just like in the TV program. You simply must take a peek at the video after the break. We’ve watched it several times and don’t think there’s any editing magic going on. But the movements are so intriguing part of us thinks there’s something fishy about it.
Each leg has a wheel that is connected to a motor via chain drive. But the little guy isn’t constrained to smooth hard surfaces. When the going gets rough, he struts his stuff like an eight-year-old crossing the lawn in roller skates.
This is not just for show and you can build it yourself if you like. The link at the top has assembly instructions. You will need several specialized parts though, not the lest of which is the cement mixer drum halves that make up the rounded blue chassis pieces.
Not sure what the heck this thing is? Don’t feel bad, you’d need to be a fan of Ghost in the Shell to recognize it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dargOslomMA&w=470]
[via Geek Native]
i so want this so much omg! WIN!
fed on natural oil only i suppose?
love the detail, aesthetic as well as functional,
he even managed the wheels quite well.
Nothing that fishy to me. There is a little video magic going on though. The video is sped up when it is in walking mode.
For those who want to support this such that it may (perhaps) one day be produced: http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/13519
Thanks! Last time I tried registering there it was broken.
My bets are on stop motion animation…
Could be a stop motion trick but it looks like the video is just sped up. It’s tilting the wrong way when turning too, that decreases stability.
Yeah, I’ve built a few stop motion puppets and saw them in action as students put them to use in amateur films and this video of the tachicoma seems the same herky jerky movements captured in stop motion films…i say make another vid with no effects and in the makers hand, then i’ll support/help them win.
Some of it might be stop motion, but there are several shots with it driving around while people (and some dogs) are moving in the background. Maybe a little sped up, but not crazy fast.
i dont see any reason why this cant be real. the motors are all there, the walking system seems to be the same as the one used in the lego star wars walking atat. and the system for power transmission looks similar to the one used in the 8888 supercar suspension. though i need a closer look at the ball joint and how torque is being passed through the joint.
im assuming the large motor powers the walking mechanism and the two medium motors control the wheels with differential steering, and the micro motor is for decorative parts (i own one of those motors and its not really all that powerful).
yep confirmed it. the mechanism is really simple. the ball joints come from set number 8110-1, and contain a lego uv joint to pass the power from the axel to the chain drive. the left and right power train is independent, meaning the thing uses differential steering while rolling. the walking mode appears to be dumb, in that it just operates a crank that actuates the legs. so it cant do ik or anything like that.
if you dont mind using 3rd party parts, you could easily replace the static crank with a number of servos. mindsensors sells laser cut servo adapter plates, though anyone with a laser cutter could make their own, they also sell a servo controller, or you can use an arduino or some other mcu and make your own.
Hi everyone! I’m the guy who built this. Two things: Nothing was sped up, and there is no stopmotion involved. The reason the movements appear jerky is that at two points in the walking cycle, the motors stop lifting the tachikoma on it’s legs, the body start going down again. At that point gravity takes over and thomps it back to the ground.
And this one’s for the skeptics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VByW2uGmQeo
You rule so hard! I really wish I could come up with original, complex Lego stuff like that. Good work, and thanks for the follow-up video!
You MUST follow up with the following:
A lego Makoto
A lego Batou
A lego Generic OL doll seen in a lot of the Section 9 background shots.
I demand…erm… humble beg for the following.
I’d build them myself but I’m a little busy on building a ground breaking MMO right now.
To be fair, Motoko, Batou, Saito, Ishikawa, Boma, Pazu, and Togusa should all have been minifigs since forever.
Can’t you make your own Minifigs or something now?
Awesome! I opened a Lego account just to vote for this. Excellent work.
This is fucking awesome, nowI need to watch ghost in the shell again!
it was so sad when they gave up thei lives to save the others.
I’ve seen the shows many times now and that scene always brings tears to my eyes. That and the episode about Motoko and Kuze as kids.
there is a french guy who build a Tachikoma robot for the european robot competition: Eurobot 2011
he’s named Xevel from team XD.
here is a poster about his robot:
http://www.xevel.fr/blog/public/Eurobot2011/Poster_2011_Eng_small.jpg
You can find a bunch of information on his website:
http://www.xevel.fr/blog/index.php?category/Xachikoma
and his youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/XeveL2
keep in mind that he designed this robot for the competition, not for a general purpose. this will explain some of the technical choices he made.