Friday 22 July 2011

Panterragaffe, an awesome ambulatory vehicle

looks roughly like a new take on the recumbent bicycle, with legs replacing wheels. The Panterragaffe is a 2 person peddle powered walking machine, or ambulatory vehicle that emulates the successful design of the kinetic sculptures of Theo Jansen's Strandbeests, cf.

"Panterragaffe is a pedal powered two person walking machine; a walking bicycle. The name has a few elements to it. It's a play on pantograph, a mechanism for copying drawings, which is similar to the leg mechanism. Also; Pan - all or spanning. Terra - earth. Gaffe - an unintentional act causing embarrassment to it's originator or just goofy-ness. A bit of goofy-ness for everybody."

In the video young knee high to a grasshopper Aahil spells out the vehicles name as the makers assemble and prepare to play for the first time at Ambleside Beach, West Vancouver.



"Panterragaffe was conceived from the beginning as a public performance piece. It's purpose had shock value and public participation in mind from the start. After building a seven inch prototype, it was clear that a mobile entertainment platform was possible. It was only a small step after that to decide to add a power source, music and lighting to suit different events. The rough frame allows us to add character coverings, Panterragaffe can dress up differently ever time it goes out."
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