say hello to carpentopod, a 12-legged walking wooden table that can serve drinks or snacks

Giliam de Carpentier’s Carpentopod is a walking table with 12 legs

Giliam de Carpentier has built Carpentopod, a handcrafted wooden 12-legged walking table that can move and serve drinks and snacks using a remote control. His work is reminiscent of Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest sculptures, but the craftsman says that while they may share similarities, his table’s linkage has a different set of component ratios, as well as an extra joint point and an evolved rounded toe diameter. The walking table has two sections, each with six legs, driven by its own motor.

There’s a single crankshaft working on each section, so when the user gently and manually pushes the table forward, it then carries on and walks by itself. The craftsman has added a Bluetooth module to the Arduino single-board computer and written additional C code to enable control using a repurposed wireless Nunchuck controller, originally from a Wii. He has also installed a LiPo battery, allowing the wireless walking table and its 12 legs to be controlled remotely. The combination of these elements, among others, allows the Carpentopod to bring users drinks or snacks on its surface and potentially even ‘park’ itself when it’s done.

all images and video stills courtesy of Giliam de Carpentier

Table powered by two motors so it can move and walk

Giliam de Carpentier chose two affordable 24V brushless motors to make Carpentopod walk or roll. These motors are typically used for automated curtains and can offer a maximum torque of 1.5 Nm at 130 RPM. They also have built-in electronics, which help with speed control using signals. Design-wise, the craftsman, who has documented the making of his 12-legged walking table in detail, used a three-axis CNC router to make most parts. He says it can precisely replicate parts and produce the twelve identical wooden leg pieces he needs with ease.

However, this CNC machine may be limiting for creating the intricate shapes that Giliam de Carpentier needs, so he designed most parts of the wooden legs out of three separate sheets of laminated bamboo. This way, each sheet could be CNC-machined individually and then glued together to form the final part. The next step involved the two crankshafts, which the craftsman made by using CNC to machine aluminum rods and sheets. These were assembled by hammering D-shaped shafts together, all precisely cut out of aluminum. This process created the moving parts required for the table’s mechanical and walking functions.

Carpentopod is a wooden 12-legged walking table that can move using a remote control

Walking wooden table with a central hollow ‘belly’

The 12-legged walking table’s design includes a central hollow ‘belly’, a dedicated storage area for the electronics, motors, and battery. Giliam de Carpentier opted for a curved frame, resembling an upside-down treasure chest, to steer away from an angular look. For the curved doors of the walking table’s belly, the craftsman employed a technique called kerfing. It involves making fine cuts in the bamboo to make it more flexible. After kerfing, the bamboo is steamed to make it even more pliable.

He then dried it in a curved jig so it could retain the desired shape. The curved doors were glued onto invisible hinged ribs with embedded magnets, allowing users to open and close them smoothly. As seen in the video, Carpentopod shares the same color as the furniture in the craftsman’s living room. This is because he welded together a piece of TV furniture to match the height of the table, and both the table and the TV stand are topped with mango timber so they can share the same color and finish.

the walking table has two sections, each with six legs, driven by its own motor