Leg Sensors
The leg sensors are composed of two small (about 1 inch by 3/4 inch) circuit boards that "sandwich" each leg. On one of the boards is a Texas Instruments sensor which records light intensity in 64 pixels. On the other board is a micro-light-emitting-diode. In between is a mylar strip with a non-repeating binary bar code imprinted on it. As the light emitting diode shines through the mylar, it creates a pattern of shadows on the pixels of the sensor. Since the code on the mylar is non-repeating, the "window" of 64 pixels is sufficient to give the leg's absolute position at any time. The light intensities of each pixel on each leg are transmitted to the brain every 8.33 milliseconds. In the brain, the pulse patterns from the sensors are decoded into an absolute position for each leg. This allows the brain to drive the muscle wire to a specific position instead of fully extended or fully contracted as it is usually used. The brain also contains sophisticated error checking software to avoid spurious sensor readings and to keep the muscle wire from overheating.
For more information about the electronics of Octofungi, see electronics.
eyes
brain
body
interlocks
spine boards
shoulders 
legs
leg sensors
muscle wire
materials
electronics
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