I haven't watched the one about the dog, but the one with the initial explication of capstan drives [0] was excellent. I've been dreaming about it for the last year, especially since about the same time another person started working with the da Vinci robot actuators which use cables to generate find motion.

0. High Precision Speed Reducer Using Rope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwIBTbumd1Q

1. Building a DIY Surgical Robot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_8rHKrwr-Q

The "DIY Surgical Robot" vid is so good. And it's also posted over a year ago with no follow-up. Damn.