Ghibli fans will instantly recognize this creation as a mechanical version of an Ohmu from the classic “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” This is creator Dr. Gen Endo’s tribute to one of his favorite films. This is how it crawled at MAKE Tokyo.

Mecha Ohmu has a bump sensor so that it can change direction when it hits an object. It’s also sensitive to bright light, if you shine a light at it gets angry, and just like the ones in the film the eyes start glowing red and charges forward. Can you imagine seeing one of these crawling from under your bed one night?

This creation is a hobby project of Prof. Endo, he started as a way of dabbling in robotics. This design took him 3 years to complete. But with what he’s learnt he thinks his next one should take only a week or two. He’d really like to know what people think of this mechanical insectoid of his. Given that Hayao Miyazaka is reportedly a technophobe, I wonder what he’d think?

The good doctor has recently uploaded a video showing the inner workings of the Mecha Ohmu. Check it out.

Dayne Barton

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