Watch a Giant Mechanical Squid Strut Its Stuff

facebooktwitterreddit

Mechateuthis (named for the genus Architeuthis), a robotic giant squid made of metal and visible gears, has been touring events like Burning Man and the Maker Faire since last year. A high-tech take on the elusive animal, it can move on land as though swimming through water.

Its creator, sculptor Barry Crawford, estimates that he’s spent 2000 hours building and programming the machine. He initially crowdfunded the sculpture to debut it at Burning Man 2015, where it appeared as a hand-crank-powered art piece. Now, it features Arduino-controlled motors that allow the tentacles and mantle to move and its eyes to dilate. Watch Mechateuthis in action in the video above.

[h/t Laughing Squid]

All images via YouTube.