Carpentopod: A Walking Table Project
decarpentier.nlEven if you don't feel like reading the whole article, do yourself a favor and skip down to the video of the final product at the very end. It's delightful and put a big smile on my face. The fact that all the modern technology is hidden inside leaving only the wooden structure visible makes it magical, like something from Harry Potter.
Insane! Bluetooth powered walking tables were admittedly not part of my 2024 bingo card. Love that thing.
In defense of your bingo skills, that table isn't exactly running on PoBT
Ha! I meant to write powered Bluetooth but I can’t edit it now
You mean Discworld!
Exactly! So reminiscent of "the luggage". Albeit with the legs facing sideways
> Even if you don't feel like reading the whole article, do yourself a favor and skip down to the video
No. Don't.
Read the whole damned article. It's _great!_
Here's the video link for those who want to see the final result up front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKDY4yWxfJM
This reminds me of "The Luggage" from the Discworld (Rincewind) books by Terry Pratchett. I never expected to see a real-world version. Way cool!
My first thought was of The Luggage! GNU, Sir Terry.
No need for the classic HN "but why" question.
The video of the table obediently delivering a beer and bowl of snacks to the owner says it all.
Now I want the version with a hidden camera and machine vision so it can follow me around like an obedient puppy.
“Be back in a few hun, just taking the table for a walk.”
Give it a display with a face too so it can look sorry when it spills your drink again.
Ok, he could have done the same thing more easily using wheels, but where's the fun in that?
Half the fun of homemade engineering is to overcomplicate stuff to test your boundaries
As opposed to work related engineering, where you shall KISS as posible to keep your sanity (And more often than not fail in the process)
I think the full acronym would be
Keep It Simple Stupid, Active Sanity Saver
This is beautiful; the motion of the legs reminds me of some giant scuttling insect. I'd love to have a coffee table like that. I wouldn't even want the motor, actually. It looks like you can just push it and have it walk smoothly, as if pushing a table with fixed-orientation wheels.
Yes, it seems a set of 3 legs properly linked behaves much like a wheel, which is very cool.
Someone named de Carpentier doing a neat wood-working project. How fitting.
Maybe it was a joint project?
How wood you know?
Stop, that's knot funny.
Some people are just so creative... It stole me a good laugh seeing the Carpentopod facilitating beer and chips to its master only to park politely (but not silently!) side to its less capable static fellow. I want to see more of these fantastic creations!
Reminds of strandbeest by Theo Jansen: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41347016 (recently on HN)
This brought a legitimate smile to my face. Well done on this. Gives off a real bio-mechanism vibe.
I need to make this but as a chest and glue little fake feet to the legs.
Oh, cool! A remote controlled strandbeest!
I believe I just added first item to my new "retirement hobby projects" list
I can't wait for someone to make a 3d-printable version of this. I would totally print out a 20cm tall version of this to use as a food serving platform on my dinner table!
Is there a place where one can buy pre-built leg parts or even pre-assembled legs? That seems like the most difficult part, then attaching them onto stuff I can do too.
From the post:
"Since this post has gone public, many people have asked me if they could get one as well. I’m currently not making these on demand. However, I’ve decided to release the Carpentopod linkage itself as public domain. So if you have the skills, feel free to use the details below to build your own set of legs!"
Absolutely wonderful to see in motion. Things like this brought to life are one of the Most exciting uses of AI to me.
Where’s the AI, did I misread the post?
> To select which ones were best, each variation got assigned a ‘fitness’ score based on its walking speed, clearance and material use. I also rewarded extra points to variants that had leg tips which moved more horizontally and more smoothly during the lowest third of their cycle to make it favor solutions in which a group of three legs would work together to minimize bobbing and foot slip.
I am not sure what approach was used here, it sounds like RL or maybe just simulations. I am not sure I’d say this is AI.
I think it was just a genetic algorithm.
I guess it depends on your definition of AI. I personally don't consider the LLMs AI. Very useful, but to me not AI.
RL is AI
There’s no clear definition currently, but based on my work in IEEE standards and my own research, I always define AI as an autonomous system which determines paths to its desired outcomes using multimodal inputs.
While I think the computation system described in this post is very cool and sophisticated, I liken it more to a computation engine. It seems to me that computation engines follow an algorithm to determine optimal paths to a previously determined and fixed desired outcome, but they don’t update the outcome goal based on new information.
If the computation engine described in this post could use existing information to form its own goal or idea of a desired outcome, then I’d say it’s AI.
I’d love to do a blog post on this idea because I am sure many might have good reasons to disagree with it. It would be cool if someone else does it, I’d love to provide feedback as I don’t have the time for longform writing.
This is brilliant stuff. I don't have the tools to build one, but would love to buy one.
This sounded very stupid and just a rip off of other projects at first.
By the end of the article I was impressed.
It's a great article, also the table itself is very expertly done.
When is this thing coming to a nearby IKEA? Can't wait!
Seriously, I wonder if anyone at IKEA is aware of it? And if not how can we get the message to the right person. I'm sure IKEA could do this and integrate it into the TRÅDFRI system.
We are now.
While you're taking notes, make those walking tables follow me around and carry my food for me at the IKEA restaurant.
Good to know! ;)
But are you the right person? :-)
Their HN profile says
lead software engineer at IKEA (primary areas: design system and accessibility community) so I'd say yes.
Unfortunately I’m not in walking-table product development. But it’s shared internally, so maybe it’ll get back to the correct department?
Are you implying that IKEA has a walking-table product development department? ;)
NDAs (winks, taps side of nose)
Wonderful! Reminds me of the luggage from Terry Pratchett
Where can I buy one?
i desperately want one.
Holy crap, this guy made the future
What's wrong with just having a table that rolls? Why does it have to walk? Cool project though, but it sounds like a solution in search of a problem.
No, I think it's an engineer in search of a fun challenge