How it Works:
- PITCH For the pitching machine [left], Barnes sawed off the ends of a fire extinguisher and rigged up an air compressor with the power to launch balls 60 feet, at up to 60 mph.
- POWER A button on the remote opens a valve on the Batsman, sending a jolt of air to the robot from a compressor that drives a piston that forces the arms forward.
- SWING Tiny springs inside the robot’s wrists allow it to follow through; the momentum generated by its hip and shoulder rotation transfers through the bat to the ball.
True, it was built in Germany—and by an Englishman. Yet the Headless Batsman could not be a more American invention: a 265-pound quasi-human-shaped robot made from a jumble of salvaged auto parts, steel piping and pneumatic hoses for the sole purpose of belting every fastball thrown its way.
Frank Barnes, a 30-year-old industrial artist, built the Batsman, as well as a complementary pitching machine, on a whim. He spent a day taking cuts with a bat to work out the swing mechanics, ultimately electing to focus on the robot’s hips, shoulders and arms. A junked disc brake acts as its hips, enabling the torso to rotate as the bat swings through, and Barnes machined the arms from steel pipes. To give it a solid stance, in lieu of legs, he used a stand originally intended to hold cable spools.
Barnes holds batting practice all by himself. Standing behind the robot, he uses a homemade controller to fire a ball out of the pitching machine. Then it’s time to hit. On the same controller, one button rotates the robot’s hips, another activates the arms, and a third lifts or drops its inside shoulder, changing the trajectory of its swing. After much practice, Barnes can now get it to hit most pitches.
The Batsman won’t make the majors, but Barnes suggests another career option: “Put some wheels on it, drive it around—I figure I can use it for security.”
Source: Popsci
Video: YouTube
Tags: Robot | Junk
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