Your cat is going to love/hate us for this one! Are you ready for the coolest
crawler available anywhere on the model market? Introducing the Ugears Hexapod
Explorer: part insect, part robot, part extraterrestrial rover. Driven by a
powerful spring motor, the Hexapod Explorer can walk up to 3 meters on its own
legs, without need of an auxiliary or supporting wheel like other models have.
The ability to bear its own weight, on the legs alone, allows the Hexapod
Explorer to navigate slightly rough terrain, like a planetary rover stepping out
of the capsule to explore new worlds. Another amazing feature that makes our
walker unique is that the Hexapod Explorer comes with a variable speed dial. You
can make your robo-bug creep, crawl, or skitter at any speed you want! When the
Hexapod stops walking, pick it up and watch the legs come to life and flail
about, just like a real insect, crab or spider would do. It's the stuff of
nightmares, or a mechanical model-maker's dreams, depending on one's
perspective!
This DIY Hexapod Explorer takes its place as champion walker
among Ugears' amazing family of mechanoids, automatons, 3D puzzles, and wooden
mechanical marvels. We've created a purely mechanical, wooden walking robot,
without electronic components. At Ugears we believe design should be elegant, in
every sense of the word—simple, smart, and beautiful to look at. As Theo Jansen
has said, "The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." We
are committed to surprising and delighting our growing base of customers in 85
countries across five continents with designs that have that "Wow!" factor.
We are fortunate to live in an exciting age of space exploration and rapid
technological advancement. Mankind's first steps on another celestial sphere
came in 1969, with the Apollo 11 moonwalk of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
From 1997 to the present there have been six different Mars rovers operating on
the red planet. Imagine you are the commander of a mission to explore Planet X.
A rover can only take photos and samples along its solitary path. But imagine if
your landing craft could release a robotic army of Hexapod Explorers to skitter
across the surface of the new planet in every direction, testing the soil,
collecting rock samples, searching for alien life forms. Each night the Hexapods
rest, and each day they recharge and come to life, continuing their explorations
and scientific work. Maybe a lander from another civilization on a different
planet arrives, sees the Hexapods, and believes them to be the dominant life
form on Planet X!
The Hexapod Explorer wooden model kit has 388 pieces
and features a strong metal spring that powers the robot's walking action, and
rubber band foot pads for better traction on smooth surfaces. This DIY model is
rated Medium level with an assembly time of approximately 8 hours. The internal
spring is wound with a ratchet key located on the belly. With a ratchet
mechanism you don't have to hold the key while winding to prevent
slippage—potential energy is stored with each twist, without slippage, until the
spring is fully loaded. The Hexapod Explorer can traverse rough surfaces and
even step over obstacles of 1-2 cm. Crank the model up, set it down, choose the
desired speed using the dial on the Hexapod's head, then release the "go" switch
at the rear to set the model in motion. You can change speeds at any time,
either mid-run or on the next go.
We often find our inspiration in
nature. Hexapods, the subphylum that includes insects, are the most diverse and
prevalent life form on Earth, representing half of all known species. Three
pairs of jointed legs is a very stable design for traversing all kinds of
terrain, which helps explain why insects have been so successful in colonizing
almost every square meter of the planet. We think the Hexapod most resembles a
beetle. Did you know there are over 400,000 different species of beetles, making
Coleoptera the most diverse order known to science, with fully 25% of all known
animal life forms? British evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane is said to have
quipped that if there is in fact a God, the Creator seems to have "an inordinate
fondness for beetles." We are also fond of our Hexapod!
The Ugears
Hexapod Explorer is a unique gift idea for friends or family members who love
nature, insects, robots, model building, DIY projects, puzzles, or for anyone
who appreciates outstanding mechanical and aesthetic design.
Model size:
10.6*8.7*3.7 in (27*22*9.5 cm) Package size: 14.9*6.7*1.1 in (37.8*17*2.8
cm) Number of components: 388 Estimated time for assembly: 8 hours
;)