Project Hexapod: Stompy is a Giant, Rideable Walking Robot
Project Hexapod is a team of 19 innovative and dedicated robotics enthusiasts from Artisan’s Asylum, Sommerville, Massachusetts. Brought together by a common idea, this team “wants to make large-scale robots easier to build, and inspire people to build them.”
This idea has taken the form of Stompy, the giant 6-legged robot! And speaking of giant….. they weren’t kidding!
Stompy is not your average robot. This awesome 18 foot wide, 4000 pound, 6-legged engine powered hydraulic robot is here to enslave mankind and bring about the Judgement day (#Terminator)….. not really. He’s just a really friendly robot who likes crushing stuff and occasionally taking its owners out for a ride. Other than that, he’s particularly useful in saving lives during a calamity! With a ride height of 6 feet Stompy can easily cross water, rocky terrain and rubble piles all while carrying a 1,000 pounds at 2-3 mph and upto 4,000 at 1 mph! Pretty effective in saving people buried under tons of rubble.
On a more serious note, large scale deployment of such robots can make very effective search and rescue teams which do not need to be resupplied by helicopters. Since such robots would be able to traverse any terrain, they would not need to be airlifted thereby freeing helicopters for other tasks.
This project has received massive attention. It has already crossed it’s targeted funding of $65,000 just 11 days after it’s debut on Kickstarter and the team is now planning upgrades to the existing design to make Stompy even better. They include
- At $95,000 the team will drop in a performance upgrade which will bring a plethora of new sensors and hydraulic upgrades. This will allow Stompy to reach higher ground speeds, traverse even more terrain with ease and make room for some autonomic functions.
- At $125,000 Stompy will get a visual upgrade. This includes a custom paint job, sound system and flame effects!
- At $300,000 Stompy will get everything mentioned and Artisan’s Asylum is going to a watercutter jet. They’ll start a company dedicated to creating open source high end robotic tech!
Upon completion, Project Hexapod will be showing Stompy off at your local fair/festival! You might even get a chance to ride in it!
This project is completely open source and Project Hexapod has promised that it will release all related content and study material once their robot is up and running. This’ll provide a great learning opportunity to robotics junkies all over the world!
Supporters will be rewarded with awesome and crazy gifts which include but are not limited to t-shirts, wristbands, mountain shouts of appreciation, official recognition as a sponsor on the project website, words/logo engraved/printed on the legs and (my personal favorite), a bumper sticker saying “My other car has six legs.”
Project Hexapod will also give you a chance to send them an item to be stomped by mighty Stompy! And for $300,000 you can have your own personal “giant” robot pet! Just imagine the dumbstruck expression of your co-workers when you show up at work in Stompy!
This project really deserves all the support and attention it can get! If you’re interested and want to contribute, please head over to
Aashrey Sharma
