Parasite pt 1 – Charlotte

I’m excited about two types of parasites in the world — the disco snail parasite and cordyceps. Here are some pictures below:

I wanted to create a parasite with multiple types of movement inspired by these parasites. I’m thinking two muscles that will control the eyes of a slug-ish creature and towers that slowly emerge from the snail’s body.

In order to achieve this, I began by creating two simple muscles with restriction on one side that will curl up. These muscles will be linked to the same motor. I also started making a tower, but I poked a hole in the plastic somewhere and need to remake it. These towers will be controlled by a different motor, so their motion can be less erratic and more slow-moving.

I will also need to make the host for this parasite. The idea is that the parasite is the pneumatic structure, and then there will be a vessel in the shape of a slug that is controlled by the parasite.

I had a busy weekend and encountered some errors in fabrication, so I didn’t get as far as I hoped. By Feb 7 I’m hoping to have the entire parasite pneumatic system done and the host structure done too.