Joinmax Digital Hexapod Monster

This excellent kit from Joinmax Digital includes all of the components you need to create a six-legged, walking robot. Each of the six legs has two degrees of freedom provided by a lifting servo and a forward/backward rotating servo. In addition to the twelve actuators for the legs, there are three more servos for a swiveling gripper and even a tail, bringing the total number of servos in this kit to fifteen! With that many axes to control, you’ll have tremendous flexibility in experimenting with various walking gaits and other complex motions.

With all mechanical components, a 16-servo controller, PC software, and a download cable included, this walking robot kit is very complete: the only thing you need to add is five standard, AA size batteries. NiMH cells are recommended because of the high current consumption of the robot. With all of the precision-molded components, you won’t need to tape or glue anything in place. All you will need are a small phillips screwdriver (though wire cutters might make things a bit easier). Assembly time is approximately 2 hours. The only criticism we have of the kit is that the instructions are incomplete and apparently written by a non-native English speaker, but the kit is simple enough that the drawings alone should be sufficient. We can assist our customers with any assembly problems, and we will be posting additional tips on our web page soon.

The included software allows you to manipulate the servos and store sequences of positions. A sequence of up to 60 positions can then be downloaded and stored in the servo controller so that the robot can move without being tethered to a computer. Of course, you can instead provide your own control system and sensors to make a completely autonomous, insect-like robot. (The servos are compatible with regular radio control model servos, so all you need to control them is a 1-2 ms, 5-volt pulse repeated every 20 ms.)

For more information, including video clips of the robot in motion, see the manufacturer web page at http://www.mciirobot.com/product/detail/6FT001.htm. We will be posting more information on this page as well.

Note: The Joinmax Digital hexapod monster is a kit; assembly is required. Five AA batteries are required but not included.