Giliam de Carpentier’s a proud father. His baby has taken its first steps.
That baby’s a sleek-looking 12-legged table de Carpentier built to get around on its own. “Turns out my table can actually WALK as well as I hoped it would,” the Dutch maker tweeted excitedly last week along with a video. The capital letters are entirely appropriate here, as they emphasize the piece of furniture’s extremely rare skill.
Finished designing, building and assembling most components: Turns out my table can actually WALK as well as I hoped it would! Next steps: Implement remote control, connect a battery, and open up the throttle… pic.twitter.com/m7l8SIAKzA
— Giliam de Carpentier (@decarpentier_nl) September 22, 2022
The table has two motors. de Carpentier modified them using small Arduino computer controllers to alter their supply of electricity, ensuring the table legs move smoothly and at the desired pace.
He based his laminated bamboo legs on those propelling the Strandbeest, a kinetic bio-mechanical sculpture designed by Dutch artist Theo Jansen. de Carpentier made his table legs stronger and more stable by adding an extra joint.
This shows the the walking table’s leg mechanism in more detail. So 6 legs, 1 crank and 1 motor for each end of the table, and then drive it like a tank. pic.twitter.com/4c6sjESMji
— Giliam de Carpentier (@decarpentier_nl) September 22, 2022
“Is there a high demand for tables chasing after workers? I know that companies are trying to end WFH, but this is getting out of hand,” one Redditor joked in response to de Carpentier’s Reddit post about the table.
So why did de Carpentier, an engineer for a gaming company, build a walking table? Because he’s a maker — and he could. de Carpentier didn’t share the cost of the table, only that it took “more hours than bucks.”
“Really impressive,” wrote another Redditor. “I may, though, have nightmares tonight thinking of this table chasing me at high speeds.”
The ambulatory table isn’t the first to traverse our planet. Wouter Scheublin, another Dutch designer, built one in 2006 that walks when pushed. It has eight legs, and attempts to mimic a natural walking motion so it can better fit in when striding through crowds of humans.
Another more recent walking table called Crawla can be operated via app and walk for a full three hours before puttering out and snapping, “I’m done. Back to being a regular table.”
