N55's Walking House Actually Walks!

N55's Walking House Actually Walks!

When it was previously presented as Danish designer N55's walking house it was just a model, and we asked miniHome designer Andy Thomson what he thought of it; he suggested "You should tell them wheels will be cheaper!" I never thought it would get past the model stage. But if you watch the video you will see that, remarkably, it walks!

Andy has a point, it only goes sixty meters per hour (1/10 of a MPH) and certainly is not going to do it on the energy from that solar cell, but there are things to love about this, including Gizmodo's description of it as a "Lunar module, TIE fighter and Cockroach Crossbreed."

The designers write:
WALKING HOUSE is a modular dwelling system that enables persons to live a peaceful nomadic life, moving slowly through the landscape or cityscape with minimal impact on the environment. It collects energy from its surroundings using solar cells and small windmills. There is a system for collecting rain water and a system for solar heated hot water. A small greenhouse unit can be added to the basic living module, to provide a substantial part of the food needed by the Inhabitants. A composting toilet system allows sewage produced by the inhabitants to be disposed of. A small wood burning stove could be added to provide CO2 neutral heating. WALKING HOUSE forms various sizes of communities or WALKING VILLAGES when more units are added together. WALKING HOUSE is not dependent on existing infrastructure like roads, but moves on all sorts of terrain.

Each leg works as an autonomous unit with its own accumulators and linear actuators. The concept is that six legs could be mounted on any kind of structure and make it walk. When it walks three legs are always on the ground to provide the necessary stability. The structure should move at a slow pace similar to the walking speed of the human body. It is a common fact that walking often helps a person concentrate their thoughts and creates a mental state that enforces mobility of the mind. The WALKING HOUSE is constructed to move at a pace similar to human speed exactly for this reason. By adding several modules together the system can provide dwellings that adapts to social needs for living as a single person, in a family, a collective or even in a WALKING VILLAGE. In this way the WALKING HOUSE adapts to persons instead of persons having to adapt to the house.

Walking house could easily be equipped with specialized modules for various forms of productions like greenhouses, small factories etc. A WALKING HOUSE or a WALKING VILLAGE could supply means for the inhabitants to make a living in this way while moving through the Landscapes and cityscapes. As an example a WALKING VILLAGE could be specialized in foodproduction or special modules for fishfarming, greenhouses and so on could be part of the construction.

Specs:
• Height: 3.5 meters
• Width: 3.5 meters
• Length: 3.72 meters
• Weight: 1200 kg
• Max speed: 60 meters/hour
• Component list:
• Plating and framework wood and plywood
• Legs made of steel and mechanical components
• 12 linear actuators
• solar panels
• micro windmills
• polycarbonate plates
• interior equipment

Preliminary Manual for Walking House via Gizmodo