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Teal designed by Peter Holland, built by David Buckley October 1976
  • Teal article 'Model Maker' June 1955
  • Teal plan 'Model Maker' June 1955
  • Teal gallery
    Teal - HM
    Tripetal Electric Ambulatory Locomotive
    A design by Peter Holland, published in the 'Model Maker' June 1955.
    Probably the first design for a walking vehicle to be published in Britain as a construction project.
    Built October 1976.
    Size - 12" x 5" x 8".
    Teal isn't a robot, it is only a mechanical walking machine, but it is a precursor to today's walking robots and so deserves its place in history and it was one of the things which inspired me to build walking robots.
    If the centre foot was made to turn then with the addition of an electronic 'brain' Teal could become a robot.

    Question - were the three legs inspired by the Martian Walkers in H. G. Wells' "War of the Worlds".
    Question - was the top light on Teal inspired by the Martian War Machines in the 1953 film "War of the Worlds"?
    Question - Did Teal inspire the Phant Walking Tank in the Eagle's 1956 Dan Dare story "Rogue Planet".

    Teal II 1985
    In 1984 at The First International Personal Robot Congress & Exposition held in Albuquerque, I met Joe Bosworth, founder and CEO of RB Robotics who produced the RB5X. We met again in England in 1985 and I can't now remember how it came about but he was interested in Teal, so I made Teal II for him. He has kept it safe all these years and the photo below is only a few years old.
    I made a few changes, Teal II runs from 2 C-cells instead of the 4.5v flat flash-lamp battery and instead of the spring steel wire of the original it uses wire from a cut up coat-hanger. The motor is under the main crank axle which means the rubber drive bands can be changed without unclipping the secondary pulley and layshaft.