Re: Infantry Walkers

On Mon, 24 Aug 1998 10:51:24 -0400, Jerry Han writes:
>Chen-Song Qin wrote:
>
>I remember reading somewhere of materials that contracted when electric
>current ran through them, and relaxed when the current was shut off.  
>I also remember that they weren't very reliable or strong, but it is
>conceivable that these are 'merely' problems of engineering, and not
>of the actual physics.
>

I forget what its called, but I've actually built some robots with
this stuff.

They were 6 legged insect like things, about an inch long.  The legs
were made of piano wire, with the actuators (contracting wire)
connected to the front.  Each actuator was then pulsed with
electricity, causing the wire to shrink, and pull the leg forward. As
the wire cooled off, it extended back, with the leg pushing the robot
forward.

The robots were VERY slow (inchs an hour) and very light.  But this
was like 4 years ago.

-=- Matthew L. Seidl		email: seidl@cs.colorado.edu		
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