That design allows for a lot of effector freedom which would be great if you can control it, bad if you can't.
If you read the last line of the pdf, they state that the joints were a problem, so while they could control it with some degree of precision, it wasn't enough for say, 3d printing. Granted, this was 14 years ago and you can say things have progressed, but one could also say what we use, is what evolved from those experiments.
Looking at older designs can be good for ideas, but you have to be careful that you aren't working backwards.
As for the pneumatic actuation, that could be interesting (and fast!), but probably not quiet.
If you read the last line of the pdf, they state that the joints were a problem, so while they could control it with some degree of precision, it wasn't enough for say, 3d printing. Granted, this was 14 years ago and you can say things have progressed, but one could also say what we use, is what evolved from those experiments.
Looking at older designs can be good for ideas, but you have to be careful that you aren't working backwards.
As for the pneumatic actuation, that could be interesting (and fast!), but probably not quiet.
