MORPHEX, AN INGENIOUS ROBOT THAT WALKS LIKE SIX-LEGGED SPIDER, TRANSFORMS INTO A SPHERE THEN ROLLS TO GET AROUND

MorpHex, the robot that folds into a ball and rolls (Click Image To Enlarge)

WHY SHOULD ROBOTS WALK WHEN THEY CAN ROLL?

When we consider the future of robots, it’s often one full of androids. We imagine mechanical beings that look like ourselves. Two legs, two arms, a head--and all of the capabilities and limitations that such a body brings. Meanwhile, some of the most interesting robot designs are those not modeled after humans, but modeled to do things humans could never dream of doing.

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MorpHex, by hobbiest roboticist Kåre Halvorsen, is a relatively common hexapod (eight-legged) robot with a twist. It’s fitted with a shell of panels that, when retracted, transform the robot from a spider-looking insect into a sphere. And by gently nudging its panels along, the MorpHex can even make itself roll.

Kare Halversen aka Zenta is pictured here holding one of his other six-legged black widow spider robots (Click Image To Enlarge)

 

Halvorsen tells Co.Design. 

“About two years ago I got this idea of making something different instead of a standard walking robot.  After watching my two eldest kids playing with Bakugan toy, I thought that it would be fun to make something similar. A sphere-shaped object that conceals a secret, in the form of a different object or creature, is something most of us find very appealing.”

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Transformers come to mind, but Halvorsen’s design seems to scratch the surface of something far more fundamental than turning a robot into a car. A ball--a simple, humble ball--can pull off all sorts of feats thanks to its capable shape. It can easily roll down stairs that challenge mechanical legs, and it can become the centerpiece of any number of sports. A ball can be fit down a chute, and a ball naturally protects its potentially fragile interior.

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A ball is not a refined object for a single purpose, but a universal shape appropriate to any number of purposes. It’s a geometric platform poised for the capabilities of imagination. By transforming into a ball, a sturdy but limited hexapod becomes a robot that could go anywhere and do any number of things.

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For Halvorsen’s next iteration of the MorpHex, he plans to redesign the robot to be symmetrical (as of now, the motors are all on one side), which will enable its ball form to move in any and all directions. After that, well, maybe this whole robot hobby should become Halvorsen’s full-time gig.

COMMENTARY:   These MorpHex robots sort of remind me of those Transformer robots, because of how it can change shape.  I can easily visualize an army of giant MorpHex robotic tanks made with thick armored plating, that could go into combat and roll into a sphere.   If an IED were to explode under one, its round curvature would allow it disperse the explosive force, making it virtually industructible.  It would drive Al Qaeda and the Taliban crazy.  DARPA, needs to work on it.

MorpHex robots are made from hundreds of parts and electronic components.  Kare Halversen must be applauded for taking on such a complicated robot, and actually getting it to work. MorpHex is still a work-in-process and needs additional R&D, but I have a feeling there will be a lot of interest once he decides to start selling it on his website.

Courtesy of an article dated April 12, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design     

Comments

[Tommy]

Ryan,

It's not my invention, but I am sure that it could be armored and converted into a battle bot. However, it probably would not be practical for that type of use. Thanks for your post. Keep visiting regularly. Tommy

[Ryan]

Wow so cool i probably couldn't ever have destined something like this on my own... have you thought
about using it's design for a battle bot that would be wicked cool!!!