Mechateuthis the Giant Mechanical Squid

Greetings Fellow Humans,

The coolest thing I have ever built in my opinion is Mechateuthis the giant mechanical squid. I built the bulk of the piece over the course of about 1800 hours between March and August of 2015, which was a full time job to say the least. I have spent probably another 700 hours since improving the appearance and function of the sculpture, adding 8 Arduino controlled electric motors, a more aesthetically pleasing base and fence, and a color changing light system which is affected by movement and sound. Since Burning Man I have taken Mechateuthis to numerous events in Oregon, Nevada, and California. Mechateuthis has approximately 800 moving parts that all work together to create the undulating motions that make it what it is. Here are a few pictures of Mechateuthis installed at various events it has visited, as well as a video at the end. I am still working on getting some night video and pictures featuring it's current lighting system.

Photo Credit- Kendrick Moholt Photography

Squid Lobby1.jpg

Photo Credit- Barry Crawford

Squid Lobby4.jpg

Photo Credit- Barry Crawford

Squid Lobby7.jpg

Photo Credit- Barry Crawford

Thanks For Reading!