For a course project in a kinematics class, my team developed a mechanism that can move an object in the motion depicted at right. This path was chosen because it can be used to move an animatronic figure in a straight line, as though it were running on level ground, and then in an arc, as though it were jumping onto something. This could be used in a thrill ride in which an animatronic should be threatening a ride vehicle.
The image below depicts the mechanism. The circle towards the top left corner is the location of the animatronic. A video description of the project can be found here. The video includes computer models and a physical prototype.
From working on this project, I developed the following skills:
1) Specified motion generation
2) Actuator placement in kinematics
3) Teamwork in a design environment