2011 – Inflatable Walking Elephant – Otherlab (Saul Griffith)

Pneubot stands for "pneumatic robot", or a robot that is actuated by pneumatic technology. A pneumatic technology involves the use of compressed air to drive mechanical motion. The compressed air can be moved through soft, balloon-like tubes, which allows for both rigidity (when filled) and flexibility (when decompressed or empty). In this video, an elephant-shaped …

1957 – “Danger in the Everglades” (Mechanical Elephant) – Frederick Keith

  Danger in the Everglades. Author: Frederick W Keith Publisher: New York, Abelard-Schuman [1957] [Thanks to Michael Rekoff who informed me about this book.] Authors: Frederick W Keith OCLC Number: 1420226 Description: 1 v. illus. 22 cm. Responsibility: Illustrated by Kurt Werth. A diagram of Packy's interior from page 17. Packy's exterior, page 13. Review …

Mechanical Elephants – Miscellaneous Material

Ice show with elephant. Popular Mechanics March 1947 "Then there's Dumbo, the two-man elephant that shambles across the ice on the skates of Ole Ericsen and Jim Hutchinson. Ericsen wears football shoulder pads to support the head and trunk and guides himself by peering through small windows in the cloth head. Hutchinson brings up the …

1947-55 – Baby Mechanical Elephants – Frank Stuart (British)

Ex-Tom Norgate’s Mechanical Elephant supplied by Frank Stuart. The ex-Norgate elephant (“Ellie”) is the only known baby elephant to have a plate on it saying “Supplied by Frank Stuart”. Above 3 images courtesy Derek Tucker. The full history of Frank Stuart and his baby mechanical elephants (stiff legged, not the later walking elephants) remains unclear.  In the mid …