Robots don’t grow on trees, but as one Japanese designer has proven, they can be made from trees. The artist known as Kikousya has designed and built the Mechanical Paper Robot from wood pulp, a couple of rubber bands and some dowel. The entire construction, also known as MPM, is fully capable of movement and shows how paper can be used in mechanical processes.
The entire robot, including the mechanical elements which consist of moving paper gears, is made of paper, and it operates like a wind-up toy. Improving upon an earlier model, Kikousya said: “I have made some improvements to increase the reliability of the work mechanism. Its load is increased, however, the operation has become rather unstable.”
“Power drives the crank to move the leg by using the elastic force of the rubber torsion yarn that is incorporated in the pipe of the mounting arms to decelerate through a two-stage gear. The legs are then alternately drawn forward by a crank mechanism. The bottom surface of the foot has a structure that always moves parallel to the floor and become parallel links.”
It is a canny design and just shows what can be achieved with the simplest materials. Click below to watch the robot being constructed.
[youtube width=”537″ height=”403″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx7nS7_Kf7E[/youtube]
+ The Mechanical Paper Model
via Engadget
