| Go to www.danroe.net for high resolution images of this sculpture and many others. Description: This minimally designed sculptural robot is entirely solar powered, so it's autonomous in energy acquisition. It is also autonomous in control since its compound eyes differentially control rostral and caudal legs producing a weak phototropism, while its sensitive motors respond unpredictably to one another and to the surface they are moving over. This sculpture is designed with open source BEAM circuits and off the shelf technologies (including o-rings and hose clamps). Trilobot is a complex machine in the tradition of W. Grey Walter or Valentino Braitenberg. In circuit design and philosophy it is inspired by the likes of Mark Tilden, David Hrynkiw and the BEAM community. Its mechanical design is influenced by among others Robert Full's investigations into nature's mechanisms. Materials and aesthetic influences include Arthur Ganson and Theo Jansen. |
