Did some robot designs for my Professional Practice class. I had a good time with these, and eventually came up with a type of "back-story", if you will, for these guys, lol.
These are three different classes of an alien race of robots, who I've dubbed "The Swarm", that, within this story, are invading earth..
The Recon class, who I've been calling the Cute Bots, are dropped first onto earth. They are about the size of a large toy, and can travel around the earth freely, scoping out cities and gathering information disguised as just that, toys. Despite their cute appearance, they have strong, sharp, nasty little fingers, and their heads open up on the top to release wirey tentacles that can be used as weapons, but also for tapping into other electronic/mechanical systems..
Above the Recon class is the Melee class. Once the Queen and the Recon classes have established their positions on a planet, the war units get sent in. The melee class lead the front lines. Their giant wheel base offers them superior speed, and often use this speed along with their large mass, charging head first into obstacles, or piercing things with their giant spike as they charge it. On their backs they have a device that doubles as both an energy cannon and a rocket thruster. They use the thrusters to give themselves an extra boost if trying to clear large gaps or jumping upward to a higher vantage point. While in the air, their tiny glider wings help steer them. The cannon is used by leaning forward and planting both limbs into the ground, forming a tripod with the wheel, so that the robots back, and the cannon on it, point directly forward at the target..
Last is the Queen class. The Queen is dropped down to the earth in a larvae form. The larvae is tiny and eventually picks out a capable victim, linking itself into the spinal column and brain by attaching itself behind the neck. From there it can both read and control the brain of the host human, and slowly builds up its true form around the host from any scrap and electronic devices it can find. The Queen uses the human brain to analyze the culture and thought process of the people they are about to go to war with, and using this knowledge to predict what the enemies may do, as well as how to communicate with them. Not only is the queen tapped into this single human brain, but also functions as the sole brain behind the attacking units of the swarm. The queen sees everything that every single unit can see, and commands them all at once. I figured the skinny spines coming out of the Queen's back function like antenna, sending and receiving the signals from the Swarm. .
Fun project overall. A whole lot of work designing and figuring these guys out. I think I'll do some more boards visually explaining what I just wrote here. Heck, maybe I'll even model some of these in 3D. We'll see what time allows..
Wacom, Photoshop CS3, The Queen telling me what to do...
