SCI/TECH: Backyard BattleMech

A Wasilla, AK man has succeeded in building a "Mech-Warrior" in his parents' backyard, armed with guns that will shoot 9 inch nails from the arms and 20 foot flames from the shoulders. Most of it has been assembled from auto parts suppliers and online vendors. The Mech will be controlled by a laptop computer that the user will operate from inside; the eyes of the unit will be 5 closed circuit cameras hooked up to a flatscreen monitor



Evidently this guy has too much time on his hands. He has made a "Mech-Warrior" in his parents' backyard. Come on, all you guys out there, lets hear those Tim Allen grunts.

[edit on 17-1-2005 by Banshee]

Mad props for an inner-sphere stravag doign this all on his own...

But, when it comes down to it, it doesn't have lasers. Or a PPC.

DE

Another great skill of my Hometown!! Mechanized Warriors!!

We can finally takeover Canada!!

So now my town has The Ducttape Capital of the World under its belt, and now we have Mechanized Warriors...awesome!

He's got a site up
www.neogentronyx.com

What I really want to know is how he plans on doing the control system. I mean I didn't see a protoculture generator or neurohelmet and 3 ton gyro mentioned anywhere in the article. Even on the site he is sketchy citing a concern about someone copying his control system.

The guy has not yet succeeded in building a "Mech-Warrior. He is in the process of building one. He has current updates on his site and its not yet moving. I think he said is was like -15 outside now so not much work is being done right now.

Theres already a thread on this guy
www.abovetopsecret.com...'

Here is also a link to his website.

www.neogentronyx.com...

I brought this up at a Robotics forum and people seem to think it can be done but will not be easy.Using hydraulics the speed will be akin to Robosaurus (the big thing that rips cars apart)

At that speed dynamic balance is will not attained nor will the reaction be fast enough to compensate for terrain changes. If they do manage static balance they may well succeed in a very slow walk.

One thing for sure such a massive creature will be dangerous if it works right or not.

Originally posted by astral_ice
He's got a site up
www.neogentronyx.com

What I really want to know is how he plans on doing the control system. I mean I didn't see a protoculture generator or neurohelmet and 3 ton gyro mentioned anywhere in the article. Even on the site he is sketchy citing a concern about someone copying his control system.

It could use IR sensors to track body movement. They have similiar things for use in Computer games now. Basically it works by sending an IR beam in a wide angle beam and track the movements of your head and the screen moves to compensate for head movements. Costs aroudn 250 bucks pretty cool. I wonder if it has anything to do with that Or maybe video capture like that Icapture(whatever its called i forget) device that allows you to interact in the game through body movement captured on a camera. No need for Neuro-whatever(allthough that would be ideal..)

I remember there was a guy who built something like this to thwart a grizzly bear swipe. However he didnt have any weapons, his was just oversized body armor fashioned into an exoskeleton/robo suit.

Hmm if you could get the best of both worlds, I'd love to see a battle mech. Sheesh if I had the knowhow/patience, and money I'd help him out.

-ADHDsux4me

This link has a bit about this guy as well:

news.com.com...

This guy is a quack. I'm a regular on the MechaPS boards, and he joined a few months ago, and, without provocation, insulted us and claimed that he had superior designs. He obviously doesn't know what he's doing, since he pretty much started construction right away without doing any actual calculations. He also had a load of useless crap on there that will take away from its performance. I'm also wondering what, exactly, is the point of shooting nails and flames?
There's a REASON he's 27 and still living with his parents. I think I'm going to enjoy his first test. I'd be willling to bet $50 he falls flat on his face/butt.

Nonetheless, this was very interesting and inspiring. As a machinist, welder, and tinkerer, I think I will re-install my AutoCAD and play with some designs. I wish I could win a lottery or something so I could just build stuff like this for fun!!!!

Originally posted by ShadowXIX

I brought this up at a Robotics forum and people seem to think it can be done but will not be easy.Using hydraulics the speed will be akin to Robosaurus (the big thing that rips cars apart)

At that speed dynamic balance is will not attained nor will the reaction be fast enough to compensate for terrain changes. If they do manage static balance they may well succeed in a very slow walk.

One thing for sure such a massive creature will be dangerous if it works right or not.

I fully agree. I was led to this thread by the current one going on about it ( www.abovetopsecret.com...' ). I know a little about basic robotics (not exactly enough to design them, but enough to put a basic one together) Firstly, if this were my first project in robotics, I'd start with a small prototype (maybe a foot or two tall),and would have never even thought of hydraulics for the body control systems. Hydraulics may work for opening hatches, but servos are the way to go for motion control. Although, I suppose this guy is thinking along the lines of cost, and I know enough servos to move a small, light robot are expensive, let alone trying to engineer ones big enough to move the amount of weight associated with an 18' tall robot. Hydraulics are great for cost-efficient crushing movements (like those larger metal crushing machines you'll find at scrapyards), but they're not exactly fast.

Also, as far as the balance on a two-legged walker goes, either he's going to have to install a massive gyroscopic unit, or increase the size of the feet to provide an inherent stability. Otherwise, that thing is just going to fall over the first time he tries to move it. I just hope he thinks ahead far enough to have a forklift or migh-capacity winch on site when he tests it to make sure he can get out of it when it falls.

Also, as far as the balance on a two-legged walker goes, either he's going to have to install a massive gyroscopic unit, or increase the size of the feet to provide an inherent stability. Otherwise, that thing is just going to fall over the first time he tries to move it. I just hope he thinks ahead far enough to have a forklift or migh-capacity winch on site when he tests it to make sure he can get out of it when it falls.

Actually, it isn't necessary to have a large gyro. It is true a large gyro with enough mass can keep something stable, but a small gyro used just to measure changes in trajectory and force can be coupled with a computer assisted hyrdaulic system to counter the instability. An onboard computer with a map of the limits of the center of gravity could get feedback from a small gyro on how much momentum the appendages register along with the user input to keep both feet planted and the whole thing balanced.

Originally posted by obsidian468

Firstly, if this were my first project in robotics, I'd start with a small prototype (maybe a foot or two tall

Thats exactly what I would do even if I was a expert in robotics. I would take a long hard look at what the Japanese and Koreans are doing with the Robo One robots. They are having some very impressive results in humanoid designs and not spending millions while doing it.




I really love these things I hope some Americans and Europeans start getting into making these robots.

I wouldnt be suprised if in say 5 years they have some human size Robo one robots.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
[Thats exactly what I would do even if I was a expert in robotics. I would take a long hard look at what the Japanese and Koreans are doing with the Robo One robots. They are having some very impressive results in humanoid designs and not spending millions while doing it.

You know, it's precicely those designs that I was looking at just before posting my response. I had heard about them a month or so ago on "Monster Nation", and was highly impressed with what they're doing. I'm certain that something like that could be easilly scaled up (given enough funding) to something the size of what this guy is trying to build. Adding on his "weapons accessories" in the future is nothing more than an easy upgrade once you've built the base machine.

Given enough money, I feel that this project is completely possible. However, the practicality (cost vs. effectiveness or resulting profit) is what may very well hinder this project.

Originally posted by ben91069
Actually, it isn't necessary to have a large gyro. It is true a large gyro with enough mass can keep something stable, but a small gyro used just to measure changes in trajectory and force can be coupled with a computer assisted hyrdaulic system to counter the instability. An onboard computer with a map of the limits of the center of gravity could get feedback from a small gyro on how much momentum the appendages register along with the user input to keep both feet planted and the whole thing balanced.

Sure, just come up with the easy solution

I ought to cut back on the drinking... I might have thought of that otherwise!

Don't we have systems like that in use on the space shuttle or other spacecraft to automatically correct approach trajectory or something? I know I've heard of that system outside of the realm of Sci-Fi in the past....

No wonder this dude lives at his parents' house.