Building fully flexible tail (several joints) with minimal actuation required

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by jdiwnab

To do more than a small curve, you need the wires you are pulling to be able to extend into the gap between the curled up part to the end. Reguarding what Al said, Jabba's tail had covering enough and flab enough so that going from the tip back to the point they were pulling wasn't hard. It was already covered. See the pic below for what I am trying to say. If you try to keep the wire (small line) next to the tail (big line), you will be pulling agenst youself after a little while.

Bryan,
Not really. The wires were attached at each joint with a pulley system so that there was no need for wires "out in the air". When you pull back on the wire which is attached to the tip, it pulls on the tip until the joint runs out of mechanical play (hits a premade mechanical stop.) Then the next joint flexes until the same thing happens. You don't get the exact motion of a true muscle structure since you are only really using one "muscle" but the approximation is pretty good. Similar mechanics were used in the original "Jaws" but had fewer joints and needs far more power.