Mechanical Eyes Insipired by Biology

After investigating how the eyes in humans and most other mammals were able to move and articulate, I was motivated to create this device. In 2017 an article was written about my device on the website Hackaday.

Created using two servos, ping pong balls, film canisters, and flat dental floss, the eyes utilize a pull-pull movement from the servo arms, along the ropes. These tug tangentially along at each of the ping pong balls at all four of its quadrants for up-down, left-right movement. Moving both axes at once allows it to move in any specified direction. For this demonstration, a random coordinate is given to the servos to position the eyes, combined with a random time between 0.2 to 2 seconds. This produces a much more life-like appearance in its articulation.

The following is the top view of the eyes for a clearer view of the mechanism.