
The diamond shape travels back and forth along a fixed metal rod. Pulleys at each end are connected with a string that is fixed to the diamond shape. When the pulleys are turned the diamond shape moves and rotates 90-degrees.
Cal Poly Pomona - Winter 2009



In 2006, myself and a few other passionate friends of the arts conceived our first interactive mutant vehicle. Built on a 1987 Nissan pick-up truck, the mutant vehicle is a complex arrangement of hand operated mechanics, audio systems, and electroluminescent lighting. The mutant vehicle is designed to be completely disassembled and driven six-hundred miles to its destination and reassembled on site.
Each aspect of the mutant vehicle is engineered to express a specific attitude. The paws extend out and can open and close by means of simple mechanics. The twenty-foot tail rises and lowers by means of a winch. A high pressure water pump pulls water from a reservoir and sprays from the rear of the truck. The head of the cat is the command center: operating eye and eyebrow movement, the mouth, and audio controls powered by an on board computer.
It takes five people to operate and can transport up to ten people in its belly. The alley cat maneuvers through crowds, exhibiting various alley cat personalities and hisses, sprays, and claws at those that dare to escape it.