The Crawling Hand, an automated, air-powered, mechanical sculpture, was another of Brooks Coleman’s creations.
“The Crawling Hand was first used at a ’10 Minutes Max’ show at [perhaps] the Vortex when they were across the hall from the original location for Children’s Museum.”
“I made it from some scrap metal I got from East Austin Pipe and Supply. It ran for about 3 shows but was too much of a hassle to store. When I moved out of the warehouse, I took it apart and used the metal for the first batch of metal bras. The rest is history.”
Throughout its history, The Robot Group’s outreach program at area primary schools has been a key activity. “Robots, Gadgets and Gizmos,” a demonstration of robot construction using common household materials, was regularly presented to grade school children identified as “at-risk” and disadvantaged.
One long-term project, the Space Shuttle simulator at Kealing Junior High (since renamed Kealing Middle School), stands above the rest. Science students learned about mechanics and computer control by constructing robot arms used in their final semester projects.
Group members also assisted Kealing students by supplying robotic arms and telepresence equipment.
Kealing Junior High’s Space Shuttle simulator
This Space Shuttle mock-up, featuring a large robotic manipulator-arm constructed by the students from salvage, appeared at the Cyberspace Convention (1990) and at several RoboFests. The students used the simulator to “fly” missions and accomplish tasks such as rescuing satellites and performing experiments. During these simulated missions, the ground crews communicated with the flight crew via computer terminals and video cameras.
This project was one of several developed by David Santos.
Bipedal Ornithopter designed and built by Dave Santos and George Parks
“It runs on two legs, flaps wings to take flight, and flies nimbly about the nooks and crannies of urban landscapes.”
description from an early web site
The blimp was a 12-foot-long airship with running legs (lower left) and insect-like wings (lower right).
It was one of The Robot Group’s most popular projects and had been featured on the Discovery Channel’s Invention Series, on ABC’s Good Morning America, and in Newsweek magazine.
Poster for the Bipedal Ornithopter, one of The Robot Group’s most popular exhibits. Designed and built by Dave Santos and George Parks.
