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Titanoboa - A Giant Robotic Snake (via Hack A Day)

A group of engineers raised money on Kickstarter to make a giant hydraulic snake, with the intention of making it 50 foot long:

60 million years ago in the sweltering heat of a climate 6 to 8 degrees warmer than today lived a monstrous snake called Titanoboa.   It was only at these warmer temperatures which are at the upper end of climate change predictions that the cold blooded beast was able to reach these sizes.  The Titanoboa project seeks to reincarnate this 50 foot, 1 ton beast as an amphibious, electromechanical serpent machine meant to provoke discussions of our changing climate in a historical context.  This giant electromechanical reincarnation will roam the earth striking terror in the hearts of those who dare to look into its eyes and contemplate the future of our planet.

The Titanoboa project is an exercise in alternative forms of propulsion and power applications in transport.  The purpose is to showcase this experiment by harnessing and enlarging the mesmerizing movement of the snake.  The huge serpent has undeniable appeal as a surreal mechanical beast that moves in a seemingly magical way over land and will glide stealthily through the water.  One or more participants will eventually interact with the piece by riding it or for the more ambitious, driving it.  The complex control needed to properly move hundreds of individual parts will necessitate a skilled operator who has taken time to become at one with the serpent.

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