alt.hn

2/9/2026 at 7:32:23 PM

An articulated archer automaton [video]

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc0bIpDVEa8

by Teever

2/9/2026 at 8:57:37 PM

I saw this (episode 1) and episode 2 a few days ago. At the end of episode 1 I was left pretty skeptical that he'd ever get this contraption working well, but the solution he shows in episode 2 completely flipped my expectations and looks aesthetically incredible.

(He makes his own very thin brass coil springs to run the cables through.)

by mikkupikku

2/10/2026 at 3:06:52 PM

Each new episode of this I've said to myself "wow, that problem is much harder than I expected". Then he solves it in an elegant way, and I realize the problem is even harder than that!

I'm into a number of the hobbies he's good at, and it's incredible how much skill he has at design AND fine working AND manual machining AND cad/cam AND on and on... I'm really glad he started a youtube channel.

by showerst

2/9/2026 at 9:19:29 PM

Oh I've been loving this series: its like clickspring for automata.

The magnetic hands were such a cool idea, and the way he builds the springs for the bowden cables in ep 2, gorgeous!

by oatsandsugar

2/9/2026 at 11:18:18 PM

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Automata are marvels of engineering. They're similar to computer programs, except their creators are expert artisans of both hardware and "software".

For anyone interested in this topic, I highly recommend the BBC documentary "Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams"[1].

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMDFRwxCSwA

by imiric

2/9/2026 at 9:40:24 PM

Great series of videos. They seem to be an intersection of quite a few of my interests.

by jimjimjim

2/9/2026 at 9:04:35 PM

I love how detailed this little automaton is! Incredible to see what one person can do.

by gtm1260