Awesome James Bruton

Engineer James Bruton loves to build robots with unusual drivetrains. For his latest creation, he designed and fabricated a remote-controlled robot that ambles along on 20 legs, like a giant mechanical centipede. Despite its complexity, it’s quite nimble. Now can we get a version with 100 legs, James?

Engineer James Bruton has built a variety of interesting robotic vehicles over the years, including an omnidirectional tank that moved around on three tracks. But that design had difficulty climbing uneven terrain, so he took his readers’ suggestions on the track design and made an improved version that’s a bit more agile.

A little while back, engineer James Bruton created a robot that moved along the ground using a spiral drive mechanism that rippled its tracks along the ground. In this video, he revisits the concept with a new design that uses a camshaft to create the ripple and propel the tank forward and backward. It walks a bit like a millipede.

You might remember Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots from when you were a kid. For his Maker’s Secret Santa gift this year, engineer James Bruton made a pair of robots that do battle with their fists. Somebody already knocked their blocks off, though. Stick around to the end to see the fun gift James scored.

After seeing a video by Allen Pan in which he gave a snake legs, engineer James Bruton thought his robotic legs could use a more snake-like motion. So he got to work building a 6-legged robot which incorporates a mechanism he got from LEGO builder Akiyuki. Now he needs to give a snake a ride on it like Allen did.

After building a bicycle that balanced on an omni-wheel, engineer James Bruton wanted to see if he could apply the same mechanism to a drift cart. By mounting the omni-wheel at the back and motorized wheels at the front, the vehicle is able to powerslide with ease while still remaining controlled. Watch part two here.

Driving a car typically requires a mix of motor skills to steer the wheel and push the pedals. Engineer James Bruton wanted to see if he could make a vehicle that was controlled by voice. The Deepgram speech recognition API and James’ electronic circuits are fairly responsive, but the lag is enough to make for a harrowing ride.

Engineer James Bruton is fascinated with omni-directional wheels. For this video, he set out to make a vehicle that rolls on three split-hemisphere balls which can move in any direction. He’s since added a seat to it, resulting in what is basically the world’s most powerful office chair.

An omni-wheel is a unique kind of wheel that can roll backwards, forwards, and slide side-to-side thanks to its multiple smaller wheels. Engineer James Bruton modified a bicycle that Colin Furze had previously hacked and installed a self-balancing omni-wheel on its front fork to see how it handled.

Inspired by Goodyear’s concept for a ball-shaped tire, engineer James Bruton created a spherical wheel that can roll in any direction. After validating the design, he built a trio of the wheels and attached them to a robot as a testbed for the technology. We’re impressed with the little fella’s agility.

Usually, you want the deck of a skateboard to be made from wood, fiberglass, or maybe a durable composite. But maker James Bruton wanted to see if he could build one using cardboard. His design takes advantage of the structural rigidity of poster tubes, stacked and glued together to help distribute weight.

Maker James Bruton is a big fan of 3D printing. In this video, he uses his Lulzbot HS+1.2 heavy duty print head to output carbon fiber reinforced plastic filament to create a skateboard with a unique structure. He then takes it for a spin to see just how strong it is.

When it comes to guitars, the strings are one of the most critical elements. But James Bruton built this electronic guitar that’s played not by plucking strings, but by scanning barcodes. It has four necks and uses an Arduino MEGA board to map the scanned data into USB and MIDI signals to control a synthesizer.