Onebyfourbynine

Teddy Bear Fetal Development, Felted wool, buttons

Ursulus victuspedis II, Felted wool

Teddy Skull, Felted wool

Skull study

Skull study

Quite an interesting study on a species seldom mentioned, although it arguably plays a significant role in the early life of many human beings.

Excerpt from the artist's statement: "Humans routinely direct the course of evolution in domestic animal species through selective breeding. In companion animals breeding is driven more by marketability than function. Like designer dog breeds, the teddy bear is a creature whose shape is dictated by social trends and the changing definition of ‘cute.’ Genus Ursulus: Teddy Skulls is a pseudo-scientific study of the morphology of skulls of teddy bears. Morphology refers to the form and structures that differentiate one breed from another but also give a sense of the story of the individual. The genus name Ursulus comes from the Latin ‘small bear’. Using a variety of store-bought teddy bears as ‘species’ source material, I am reverse-engineering what their skulls look like and the differences and similarities between ‘breeds.’ "

Found on the always interesting This is That blog.

From Boston Dynamics' website: "The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal's, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight [...]. BigDog is being developed by Boston Dynamics with the goal of creating robots that have rough-terrain mobility that can take them anywhere on Earth that people and animals can go. The program is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)."

Ah the possibilities...

And of course the always practical liveware version, even though slightly less reliable: