ArachSkye is a lesson in kinetics and electronics wrapped up in one cool steampunk-themed robotic dragon.

“I’ve always had a passion for robots and wanted to learn more by making one from scratch.  I saw a really cool steampunk-themed weta sculpture, and liked the style – so I decided to design a steampunk dragon robot with CAD.  

The best part of developing my project was learning all about the linkages in the legs and wings and seeing them move in real life.

The hardest part was developing components in CAD that were easy to manufacture and easily make from different materials.  It was also difficult learning how to make the six-bar spherical linkage work for ArachSkye’s legs.

I learned that research is the most important part of my project.  It works best if I use ‘off the shelf’ parts to reduce costs.  It was hard to plan for all the hardware and to get the sizes right.

The person who inspires me the most would have to be the physicist Richard Feynman.  The first lecture I heard from him was called, There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom.

If I could invent anything, I would make a swarm of disposable weta robots that could work together in small spaces.  They could be waterproof, internet controlled, and have cameras on them to generate a virtual map of their surroundings.  They could help locate and rescue trapped people or animals.

In the future I would like to get a mechatronics degree and work for a robotics company like Festo.”