Mondo spider

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The Mondo spider is a custom created vehicle propelled via 8 steel legs in a spider like walking motion. It was created for (and displayed) at the Burning man festival in 2006^[1] and 2007^[2]. The mechanised spider is powered by a Honda V-twin engine and a system of hydraulic pumps and motors. The vehicle has a carrying capacity of one person and a maximum speed of around 4 feet per second (a "brisk walking speed").

Contents 1 History 2 Development team 3 Research and Development Funding 4 Specifications 4.1 Physical Specifications 4.2 Powerplant and drive train 4.3 Performance 5 External links 6 References

[edit] History

The spider vehicle concept was inspired by the Vancouver Junkyard Wars which were a localised version of the concepts in the TV shows Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars USA. As part of the 2006 Burning man festival theme "Hope and Fear" the project received a grant from the Burning man group^[3] to build the mechanical spider for demonstration at the festival.^[4]

[edit] Development team

The Mondo spider team consisted of a range of volunteers. Project was the creation of the Vancouver, B.C. based team of Jon Tippett, Charlie Brinson, Leigh Christie, Brad Buss, Ryan Johnson and Tony Geluch.^[5]

[edit] Research and Development Funding

Initial seed funding from Dillard Brinson, the father of one of the team members. A grant from the 2006 burning man committee was obtained after a proposal was submitted. The final leg of development was funded by Rob Cunningham which enabled the project to obtain space with Great Northern Way Campus. On the 20th of August 2006 the project implementation was presented to the public at a fund-raiser which raised USD$1,000 towards the project.^[6] An industrial design company Industrialus is listed as a project sponsor also.^[7]

[edit] Specifications

Specifications sourced from the project page^[8]

[edit] Physical Specifications

• Weight - ~1200 lb (544 kg)
• Length - 8 feet (2.4 m)
• Width - 8 feet (2.4 m)
• Height - 5 feet (1.5 m)

[edit] Powerplant and drive train

• Engine - Honda V-Twin Engine

[edit] Performance

• Gross power: 24 hp (18 kW)
• Maximum range: 14 km (9 mi)
• Max revs - 3600 rpm

[edit] External links

• Mondo Spider project main page
• Mondo Spider Project summary
• Video/Interview on the Mondo Spider test run along a road

[edit] References