ROBOTS DREAMS

Have some interesting robot news, projects, or events? Tell us about it!

Subscribe to the Robots Dreams email feed and automatically receive the latest robot news! Enter your Email Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

« i-SOBOT Responds to Keepon and Penguin Robot Dance Challenges (Video) | Main | ROBO-ONE 12 Entry Deadline Extended Through Sunday »

Weird-72 Creator Kazuhisa Terasaki Talks About His Robot Creations (Video)

 
Long term readers of Robots Dreams may recall Weird-7, a wooden robot designed by Kazuhisa Terasaki. The robot was able to achieve surprising performance given the fact that it used really cheap servos and a controller board. One of Terasaki's favorite tricks is to have Weird-7 laying down, literally as flat as a board, and then have it pop up and come to life.

Weird-7 turned out to be quite popular in Japan, and eventually Terasaki was talked into marketing the product as a kit. The Weird-7 kit sells for just under 30,000 yen (roughly $260 US), and can still be found at Tsukumo Robot Kingdom in Akihabara as well as quite a few other robot retailers.

But, Terasaki wasn't satisfied, so he went on to create Weird-72, a bigger, better, more humanoid robot version of Weird-7 - only this time his robot could actually jump rope. We caught up with Terasaki, and Weird-72,  in Mountain View, California during our trip to the Anybots facility in June. 

To put Weird-72 in perspective, the robot is only 234 mm tall, and weighs less than 500 grams. The servos are all Futaba model S3003 types, and all the frame members and body are made from wood. It's 'jump' moves actually clear 2 cm - more than enough for a miniature session of jump rope.

Posted by Lem on August 29, 2007 | Permalink | Email this post

---

TrackBack:

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451da2069e200e54ee89b7d8834

Note: To avoid spam and malicious content, comments and trackbacks are screened by a carbon lifeform prior to appearing on this weblog.

---

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Weird-72 Creator Kazuhisa Terasaki Talks About His Robot Creations (Video):

---

Comments:

I thought that was at RoboGames 2005?

--nano

Posted by: nano | Aug 30, 2007 12:24:49 AM

I'm doing a robotics class, and I'd love to make these. I wonder how he programmed it?

Posted by: 1UpCheatachu | Aug 30, 2007 2:16:09 AM

Nano,
He has competed at both ROBO-ONE and RoboGames in the past. We took the video at the Anybots labs in Mountain View this June (2007) right after RoboGames.

Posted by: Lem | Aug 30, 2007 11:42:55 AM

1UpCheatachu-
There's some information on the Weird-7 website that also includes the background on Weird-72. He lives and works in Mountain View, and as you can tell from the video English is not a problem. So, if you contacted him via his website he might be willing to share more information about the programming with you.

Posted by: Lem | Aug 30, 2007 11:44:57 AM

---

Post a comment:

Note: To avoid spam and malicious content, comments and trackbacks are screened by a carbon lifeform prior to appearing on this weblog.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments:

Advertise on this site