What if ghosts could be brought to life—without needing a medium? 👻✨

Maenak Automaton is a fully mechanical, battery-free automaton that retells the legendary Thai ghost story of Maenak—but instead of eerie whispers and flickering lights, it uses good old-fashioned gears, linkages, and laser-cut plywood.

This project takes a traditional oral tale and transforms it into a tactile, moving experience. Maenak Automaton is a fully mechanical, battery-free automaton that brings the legendary Thai ghost story of Maenak to life. Instead of eerie whispers and flickering lights, this project uses good old-fashioned gears, linkages, and laser-cut plywood to reveal the chilling moment when the main character is exposed as a ghost.

In this mechanical retelling, Maenak’s iconic scene is captured—her grabbing a lime, a simple but striking gesture, that subtly reveals her ghostly nature. The movement of the automaton, driven by precise gears and linkages, mimics the emotions of sorrow, longing, and suspense, proving that even ghosts deserve a good mechanical story.

The carefully engineered movements mimic gestures of sorrow, longing, and suspense—because even ghosts deserve good storytelling mechanics. It’s a mix of folklore, kinetic art, and mechanical design, proving that you don’t need electronics to make something feel alive (or undead).

How It Works

• Laser-cut mechanical parts: No batteries, no motors—just pure mechanical magic.
• Storytelling through movement: Gears and linkages translate the ghostly tale into a physical experience.
• Bridges folklore & tech: A fresh, tangible take on one of Thailand’s most famous ghost stories.

Why It Matters

This project reimagines storytelling in a way that’s interactive, nostalgic yet innovative, and undeniably cool. By blending traditional Thai folklore with precise mechanical design, Maenak Automaton proves that even a ghost story can be told in gears and movement. Ghost stories are often told in whispers, shadows, and flickering lights—but what if they could be told through gears and movement instead? Maenak Automaton is a testament to the power of storytelling through mechanics, proving that even the most traditional legends can be reimagined through design and motion. It’s an intersection of folklore, kinetic art, and engineering, bringing history into the present—without a single battery or digital screen.

Process

Concept Development:

• Selected Maenak’s most haunting moment—when she reaches for a lime, subtly revealing her ghostly nature.
• Focused on emotion through movement, ensuring that the automaton’s mechanics conveyed suspense, longing, and eeriness.

Mechanical Design & Fabrication:

• Designed a precise gear and linkage system to animate Maenak’s movement smoothly.
• Engineered a multi-layered mechanism that shifts her posture as she extends her hand, recreating the exact moment of her ghostly reveal.
• Constructed entirely from laser-cut plywood, ensuring durability and precision.

Storytelling through Motion:

• Instead of lights, sounds, or projections, the movement itself tells the story, proving that kinetic design can be just as immersive as digital effects.
• Carefully calibrated the speed and fluidity of the automaton’s motion to evoke emotion, making the ghost’s presence feel eerily natural.

Solution

A fully mechanical, kinetic art piece that transforms Thai folklore into a moving, interactive experience, blending traditional storytelling with precise mechanical design. By using pure mechanics, this automaton bridges the gap between folklore and engineering, proving that stories can be brought to life in ways beyond words and visuals.

Outcome

• Successfully showcased how kinetic motion can enhance storytelling, merging folklore and technology.
• Demonstrated the expressiveness of purely mechanical movement, showing that emotions and suspense can be conveyed through gears and linkages.
• Created a nostalgic yet innovative approach to Thai folklore, making legendary stories interactive and tactile.

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