Stewart Platform Wields Magic Fingers To Massage Your Scalp

Attention Hackaday editors: We on the writing crew hereby formally request budget allocation for installing a Stewart platform head massager on the chair of each workstation in the secret underground writer’s bunker. We think the benefits that will accrue thanks to reduced stress alone will more than justify the modest upfront costs. Thank you for your consideration.

OK, maybe that request is going nowhere, but having been on the receiving end of these strangely relaxing springy scalp stimulators, we can see where [David McDaid] was going with this project. As he clearly states up front, this is a ridiculously over-engineered way to get your scratchies on, but there’s very little not to love about it. Stewart platforms, which can position a surface with six degrees of freedom and range in size from simple ball balancers to full-blown motion simulators, are fascinating devices, and we can’t think of a better way to learn about them than by building one.

Like all Stewart platforms, [David]’s is mechanically simple but kinematically complicated, and he takes great pains to figure out all the math and explain it in an approachable style. The device is mounted with the end-effector pointed down, allowing the intended massagee to insert their noggin into the business end and receive the massage pattern of their choice. Looking at the GIFs below, it’s easy to see why [David] favors the added complexity of a Stewart, which makes interesting patterns like “The Calmer” possible. They’re all intriguing, although the less said about “The Neck Breaker” the better, we’d say.

Hats off (lol) to [David] for this needless complex but entertaining build.

 

13 thoughts on “Stewart Platform Wields Magic Fingers To Massage Your Scalp

      1. Guess that tells a lot about the knowledge those people have about chess. Random chance is not a strategy. Also Russian have excelled in Chess as grandchampions, so it’s not like they wouldn’t know how to play.

        Slang that makes no sense at all is just stupid.

  1. If you want a relaxing massage every day, my advice for you is to get married. Send your spouse to massage school and buy one of those fancy massage tables. It will set you back several grand but you will get a free professional massage every day for the rest of your life. Then learn the techniques from your spouse and you can give them the great massage that they deserve.

    1. That assumes they would be willing to do so, and you as well. A real massage is very tiring, expecting somebody to do that just like that every day is not reasonable.

      Also not a good idea to get a partner just for that and comprise on everything else.

    2. You need to be a bit careful about that first step. Your potential mate needs to already be interested in the things you are interested in. The thought that you can change someone’s interests after getting married is not one that is usually brought to a successful conclusion.

  2. Not sure what’s so bad about it, it shows excellent dexterity and stability. Seems much better suited than a robot hand for this task (or similar ones that need a lot of dexterity.

  3. “on the chair of each workstation in the secret underground writer’s bunker. ”

    I admit that my rules of English (language) leave much to be desired,
    But I have a nagging feeling the the apostrophe placement should be writers’ .

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