01 / Hexapod · Aetheron Labs / team project
How do you make eighteen joints work as one machine?
Inside the engineering / Interactive walkthrough
A six-legged robot becomes easier to understand one layer at a time. Explore the structure, the joint geometry and the coordination described in Novexa’s design.
Each of the six legs has three articulated sections: coxa, femur and tibia. The body, mounts and leg components are designed in Fusion 360 and largely fabricated from printed PLA parts.
A common leg structure makes the mechanical design easier to assemble, inspect and revise across the robot.
An explanation of the documented design, not a live simulation or a claim of measured walking performance.
Each of the six legs has three articulated sections: coxa, femur and tibia. The body, mounts and leg components are designed in Fusion 360 and largely fabricated from printed PLA parts.
Why it matters: A common leg structure makes the mechanical design easier to assemble, inspect and revise across the robot.
Input: Body plates, mounts and printed leg parts
Output: Six articulated legs with three joints each
The inverse-kinematics approach starts with a target foot position and the leg’s link lengths. Geometry converts that target into the three required joint angles.
Why it matters: A gait can work with foot trajectories instead of manually prescribing every joint angle at every point.
Input: Target foot position and link dimensions
Output: Coxa, femur and tibia joint angles
The project describes tripod, ripple and wave patterns. Tripod alternates two groups of three legs; wave moves one leg at a time while the others support the body.
Why it matters: The pattern changes how motion and ground support are distributed. Comparing patterns requires physical testing, not just selecting a gait in software.
Input: A gait pattern and foot trajectories
Output: Coordinated targets for the six legs
01 / The project
Developed from September to December 2025 with Aditya Jadav, Archie Veera and Rabinder Henry, with ATLAS SkillTech University laboratory resources. This predates Aetheron Labs; the open project is now hosted by the company.
02 / My contribution
I contributed to the mechanical design, structural fabrication and mechatronic integration: the work connecting the printed structure, actuators and electronics into one assembly.
03 / Purpose & architecture
A legged platform makes the relationship between mechanical geometry, actuation and coordinated movement tangible. The practical problem is assembling eighteen joints into a structure that can be inspected and revised.
Fusion 360 geometry defines the printed body, mounts and three-joint legs. Servo-driven joints connect to an Arduino Mega control system. The documented inverse kinematics translates foot-position targets into joint angles; gait coordination sits above the individual legs.
04 / Engineering decisions
The mechanical source includes printable body plates, servo mounts and leg components. A modular assembly allows parts to be fabricated and revised individually rather than rebuilding the whole platform.
Each leg has three joints. The documented inverse-kinematics approach relates a target foot position to those joint angles, providing a basis for coordinating all six legs.
The project documents tripod, ripple and wave gaits. They express different movement and support patterns; the portfolio does not treat them as proof of performance on every terrain.
Original CAD / Interactive inspection
Rotate the original assembly mesh from the Novexa repository. This is design geometry; it does not simulate the robot’s movement.
Downloads the source STL from GitHub when you choose to open it.
05 / Results & current scope
A physical hexapod, a public mechanical-design archive and a co-authored IJIRT paper. The CAD render and workshop photograph show two different stages of the same development process.
Engineering principleTaking a robot from CAD to a physical assembly means designing around the parts, joints and wiring that must work together.
The prototype uses an Arduino Mega. STM32, ROS 2 integration and further autonomous navigation work appear on the roadmap. Sensing and control features described in the repository are project documentation, not independently reproduced test results.
06 / Source material
Tell me what you need to build, test or understand. Mention Novexa if it is a useful starting point.
Discuss your project