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Grey Walter's Festival of Britain Tortoise Replicas
  • Amy in 2008
  • Amy and Ninja in 2009
  • Millennium 'look-alike' Tortoise in 2009
  • Millennium in 2009

    In 2009 Reuben Hogget and myself, on 20th May 2009, visited The Bristol Robotics Lab and photographed the Grey Walter Tortoise replicas including the Millennium (2000) version - here.

    The Millennium version had to run virtually unattended during the Millenium Festival and so was designed to run on a special electrified arena picking up electricity from the floor.
    Underneath the main body you can see five spring loaded pick-ups which are connected to a rectifying bridge.
    The arena used can be seen in the photo below of Amy and Ninja in operation. It consists of contact strips connected +ve, -ve, +ve -ve etc.

    The construction was simplified to use motors with integral gearboxes driving the steering and drive wheel through toothed belts.
    The Control electronics are modern and the valves and big relays on each side are dummies.
    New Persex Shells were made for them as well.


    I mustn't have been very interested in this modern version, I didn't photograph the left hand side.


    There doesn't seem to be a way of adjusting the rod and hole contact for the Shell.


    The five spring loaded pick-ups.


    Amy and Ninja in operation on the electrified arena in the Bristol Robotics Lab.


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