Blogs Meet the World's Largest Four-Legged, Fire-Breathing, Walking (Robot) Dragon

Meet the World's Largest Four-Legged, Fire-Breathing, Walking (Robot) Dragon

March 6, 2017

Dragons are real. At least there’s one prowling the stage every summer in Furth im Wald, Germany that looks real. Like, stop-you-in-your-tracks real.

 It also has a name: Tradinno (a play on the words tradition and innovation).

 At 50-feet long and 30-feet tall, this giant, motorized, fire-breathing robotic dragon weighs 11 tons, holds more than two gallons of (fake) blood in its veins, and is the biggest walking robot in the world. It moves on four scaly legs and has its own vehicle for longer trips. The walking robot is powered by a 140-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine and (well, duh) overshadows all the actors on the stage. 

Its developer, Zollner Elektronik AG, wanted to design and engineer a dragon on an unprecedented scale, enabled by wireless remote control, that could be used outdoors as part of one of Germany’s oldest folk plays. Zollner’s unique transport vehicle lets the robot dragon easily move from points A to B while frightening little children along its merry way.

The Software behind the Design: Creo

At the beginning of the project, detailed calculations, numerous simulations, and dynamic motion sequences were performed. Simulations included working life, durability and temperature resistance, as well as comprehensive tolerance analyses to support the developer’s calculations. These design challenges were met by using PTC CAD software for development of the dragon. 

via GIPHY

Note. Tradinno was designed to hold almost three gallon of liquid gas and spit fire on cue. In case the size of the dragon doesn’t catch your attention, the fire certainly will.

Read more here from Szatmar.ro.

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Cat McClintock

Cat McClintock contributes to the Creo and Mathcad blogs for PTC. She has been a writer and editor for 15+ years, working for CAD, PDM, ERP, and CRM software companies. Prior to that, she edited science journals for an academic publisher and aligned optical assemblies for a medical device manufacturer. She holds degrees in Technical Journalism, Classics, and Electro-Optics. She loves talking to PTC customers and learning about the interesting work they're doing and the innovative ways they use the software.

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