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Log/Journal:
The Peridillo-Protomyo is a unique creature that executes an exclusive spherical motion in order to advance. The creature
consists of 2 very complex legs to move forward, and of these legs, are 3 main parts that allow the main movement. The most
important part of the legs are the two half circles that form one larger circle which were built by the usage of these long
flexible objects. The concept behind this globular shape is for it to roll and advance effectively requiring minimal force.
Because the motor of the creature takes 3 pauses when it runs, we wanted the Peridillo-Protomyo to continue advancing using
the force provided by the motor before, even when the pause is taking place. Also, we thought that having a smooth round leg
will not allow any obstacle or problem to get in the way while it's moving, thinking that it will just roll over whatever
it encounters. The round shape also made it extremely fast in downhill terrains and also smooth surfaced regions. Another
very essential part of the legs of the Peridillo-Protomyo is the 2 rough wheel-like pieces that stick out. The purpose of
these pieces were to assist the creature if it ever encountered surfaces like dirt, grass, fluff carpet, and others, which
require grip in order to advance. Last but not least, the creature had another long flexible part connected to the bottom
of it in such a way that it allowed a somewhat bounce effect that gave additional force to the creature to move forward, assisting
the motor. Another additional part of the creature to help it out were these smooth round parts that were connected to the
bottom to allow a slipping effect improving its agility and speed.
We were able to solve and figure out quite quickly how to use the motion of the motor to work in such a way, that it
made the movement how we wanted it and effective. We had used a simple axle system in which two wheels are perpendicular to
each other. These wheels had engravings in them so when they moved in opposite directions, they kind of gripped each other
as they moved, allowing a circular motion. The most difficult and time consuming part of the creature was the legs. The complex
structure of the legs took hours to form because the desired round motion could only be executed if the legs were made with
perfection with no flaws. The main problem that was very difficult to eliminate was balance. Because our creature had only
the axle on the right hand side, it was a right-handed creature. This caused it to gradually turn to the right during advancement.
So to eliminate that gradual shifting, we had just simply connected pieces to the left side of the creature on the bottom
to add weight which did infact help it to go in one straight line. Another problem that we encountered was that at times,
the motor was not able to push the creature forward and therefore stopped. This was before we thought of the bounce effect.
So as soon as we thought of this idea, and built it on the creature, the problem was solved successfully, because the bounce
effect did infact assist the motor a lot.
We had also realized the fact that the round motion that the Peridillo-Protomyo consummated would be really unfavorable
in uphill terrains causing it to roll backwards. There was no solution to this problem that could have pursued while keeping
our original structure. Therefore, we knew that this creature would not be able to win a race going uphill. But to give it
a chance, we believed the wheels that it used to grip would prevent it from rolling back and will just keep the creature in
one position at one place. So we assumed that maybe the creatures of other people will also not be able to complete the obstacle
and would infact roll or fall back, making us the winner because our creature would stay at the starting line. This is basically
how we had created such a creature with a concept behind it that we thought would be very unlikely for it to fail.
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