The basic principle is the old spool-and-tacks knitting
widget that kids used to make. The yarn goes around the
tacks, then a tool flips the yarn over each tack and the
cord drapes down through the middle hole of the spool. The
Lego device doesn't use much in the way of tension -- the
resulting cord is very loosely knit. It only has four
"tacks", too.

The Lego pieces are the types you get in their gear or
robotic kits. I think they're called "Technica". It doesn't
use the traditional Lego blocks, except perhaps in the base
(I can't see it that well in the photos).

Gina


David R. Sky wrote:
Hi Georgia,

I used Lego when I was a kid - all square and rectangular pieces, I
assume they've got round pieces now? The image your descriptions put in
my head are hilarious, like some nineteenth-century gizmo a mad
scientist made lol!

David



On Thu, 27 Jul 2006, Georgia wrote:

OKay, I watched the video (couldn't find it at first). It's pretty
amazing.
I guess it doesn't fall apart BECAUSE it's battery-operated, and no
clumsly
hands are touching it. Still, getting everything to balance so the parts
that work by gravity work right takes a lot of engineering!

Georgia