29 May 2014
Well, there are already two giant rideable spider robots out there. So, foolishly, I thought the market was saturated. Silly me. I was wrong. High on a Vermont mountaintop, yet a third robot-maker, Jaimie Mantzel, has been working to build a giant hexapod – a six-legged, spider robot. Like his hexapod-building compatriots, Mantzel is working to realize, yet again, that age-old dream of humanity: a giant spider robot you can ride.
There is one out there already, if you need one quickly. In fact, the Mantis, a six-legged ride-able robot was developed by Matt Denton and Micromagic Systems. And, although I don’t know if any models are for sale, you can rent the robot for “special occasions.”
There’s also another giant rideable hexapod in the works. Gui Cavalcanti, Dan Cody, and James Whong of the Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, Massachusetts, are working on a prototype of a giant rideable robot spider.
But the development of Jaimie Mantzel’s giant rideable robot spider has taken an unexpected detour. You might think that DARPA heard about this new giant rideable spider robot and tried draw Mantzel and his hexapod into that organization’s own web of black projects. Would Mantzel’s robot be turned into an tool of combat? Well, sort of -- kind of -- in a way. But not like you’d think. The “detour” went like this.
Mantzel created a miniature prototype of his planned giant hexapod. You can’t ride it. Or, at least, a person can’t ride it. Maybe a child’s action figure could ride it. And, then, Mantzel was struck by an idea. The prototype was so cool that children would want to play with it.
The prototype was only the first step on Mantzel’s quest to build a giant rideable robot spider, but there was no reason why the prototype couldn’t be manufactured and sold as toy for children to play with it. And adults could, and would, enjoy playing with the miniature spider ‘bot too. But when purchasing the toy for themselves, adults need to make a few loud comments about it being for their son or daughter – nephew or niece. You know what I mean.
To Mantzel’s surprise, American toy manufacturers passed on his miniature hexapod. But a British toy company, Wow Stuff of Wolverhampton, England, expressed interest. The public, after viewing a YouTube video of the prototype, went crazy over the miniature hexapod. But the public also “went ‘all-DARPA’ on the ‘bot” suggesting that the technical name for a spider, “arachnid,” be morphed into the name “Attacknid.” The miniature spider robot will be taking its place with the manufacturer’s line of “Combat Creatures.”
Combat Creatures
But let’s not forget Jaimie Mantzel who, in spite of the sensation and celebrity of his miniature spider ‘bot, has not given up on his dream: building a giant rideable robot spider.
Jaimie Mantzel’s You Tube Channel
ROBOT MAN: The Story of Jaimie Mantzel
Well, there are already two giant rideable spider robots out there. So, foolishly, I thought the market was saturated. Silly me. I was wrong. High on a Vermont mountaintop, yet a third robot-maker, Jaimie Mantzel, has been working to build a giant hexapod – a six-legged, spider robot. Like his hexapod-building compatriots, Mantzel is working to realize, yet again, that age-old dream of humanity: a giant spider robot you can ride.
There is one out there already, if you need one quickly. In fact, the Mantis, a six-legged ride-able robot was developed by Matt Denton and Micromagic Systems. And, although I don’t know if any models are for sale, you can rent the robot for “special occasions.”
There’s also another giant rideable hexapod in the works. Gui Cavalcanti, Dan Cody, and James Whong of the Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, Massachusetts, are working on a prototype of a giant rideable robot spider.
But the development of Jaimie Mantzel’s giant rideable robot spider has taken an unexpected detour. You might think that DARPA heard about this new giant rideable spider robot and tried draw Mantzel and his hexapod into that organization’s own web of black projects. Would Mantzel’s robot be turned into an tool of combat? Well, sort of -- kind of -- in a way. But not like you’d think. The “detour” went like this.
Mantzel created a miniature prototype of his planned giant hexapod. You can’t ride it. Or, at least, a person can’t ride it. Maybe a child’s action figure could ride it. And, then, Mantzel was struck by an idea. The prototype was so cool that children would want to play with it.
The prototype was only the first step on Mantzel’s quest to build a giant rideable robot spider, but there was no reason why the prototype couldn’t be manufactured and sold as toy for children to play with it. And adults could, and would, enjoy playing with the miniature spider ‘bot too. But when purchasing the toy for themselves, adults need to make a few loud comments about it being for their son or daughter – nephew or niece. You know what I mean.
To Mantzel’s surprise, American toy manufacturers passed on his miniature hexapod. But a British toy company, Wow Stuff of Wolverhampton, England, expressed interest. The public, after viewing a YouTube video of the prototype, went crazy over the miniature hexapod. But the public also “went ‘all-DARPA’ on the ‘bot” suggesting that the technical name for a spider, “arachnid,” be morphed into the name “Attacknid.” The miniature spider robot will be taking its place with the manufacturer’s line of “Combat Creatures.”
Combat Creatures
But let’s not forget Jaimie Mantzel who, in spite of the sensation and celebrity of his miniature spider ‘bot, has not given up on his dream: building a giant rideable robot spider.
Jaimie Mantzel’s You Tube Channel
ROBOT MAN: The Story of Jaimie Mantzel