Well, this is the first post of hopefully many. On advice, this is my starting-place where ciggy-packet drawings become something a little more thought-out and eventually a working bot. Any and all advice/comments very much welcomed. I'd love advice on a newbie user-friendly CAD program.

Only one thing is certain. This is a walker. I'll be chuffed if I end-up with something that can be respected in the arena and really competes with rollers. Despite the extra weight allowance, my mantra is save, save, save on kilos, which new materials may help-with.

I'll post again on specific parts of the design, but my general thoughts lead to the following overall impression:

The plan is to use fluidic muscles to actuate the legs. These are light and powerful, also very fast with the right valves and enough CFM. They are available to buy, or are easy to home-make if I am prepared to get them tested for safety.

In order to use fluidic muscles, I wonder about using a scroll-compressor to drive them rather than an air-cylinder. We are talking a hundred or so psi only, but air-muscles don't need more.

For the drive train, I have a couple of ideas, and will return to the subject later. One has involved an in-depth study of gait, leverage, how joints work etc in running animals and humans. I've spent months obsessing about it. The other, involves hundreds of tiny legs, each vibrating at at least 20hz thanks to the air-muscles, hopefully more. The movement of the leg would be in 2 dimensions only, propelling the bot forwards almost like a massive bristle-bot, but actuated individually according to the regs.

For weight-saving, I want to look carefully at kevalr and carbon-fibre fabric, impregnated with sheer-thickening fluid. 6 layers of kevlar stops a 9mm bullet. The Sheer thickening fluid makes it stab-proof too. No composite required.

Carbon fibre for springs and structure when needed, and layers of the fabric made into scales or "feathers" overlapped like old scale-mail armour and each of which has a carbon fibre stem and rooted in a thick layer of more non-newtonian material (tempur mattress foam for example)..to absorb shocks and take the wind out of weapons.

I know impregnated kevlar will take a blow, and want to look at absorption as a method for armament too, hence non-newtonian padding.

Another issue with a walker is traction. So I'm hoping that Geckskin will become available in the next 18 months. Google the stuff!

For weaponry, A top-mounted spear. We don't see these much anymore, and perhaps there's a reason. But as far as I can tell, there's nothing in the regs to suggest that you can't have a serious spring to propel a seriously heavy bit of metal forward at blistering speed. This is something I know a little bit about. I am perfectly capable of constructing a reverse-energy compound cross-bow out of a multi-layered carbon-fibre composite leaf-spring, using very thick re-enforced cam-chain as if it were the string. I mucked about 2 years ago with ordinary leaf-springs for a cross-bow, and was able to turn breeze-blocks into dust before it finally self-destructed after many a replacement string (clutch-cable at the time!)

So you can see why one of the restricting factors for my grand plans, is dosh. Again, any comments from the more experienced.. (ie, everyone!) will be something I want to listen-to. I had thought that maybe I shouldn't advertise my ideas to the world, but actually if I don't get advice it'll fail, and if someone else does it before I do then that's my own fault now that I've decided to go for-it.


As it happens, today is my Birthday, so I'm off for a couple of pints now. Er.. so if I return to the forum later tonight, please ignore everything and it'll no-doubt get deleted in the morning!