You want a simple Photovore? This very tidy design by Solarbotics' own Grant McKee is based on a technique developed by Mark Tilden - Shok architecture.
Solarbotics at Calgary Comic Expo 2013
Solar botics
April 30, 2013
Whelp, many moons have passed since we posted last time (er, maybe that's a slight exaggeration), and many a thing have happened. We went to Las Vegas to the Magento conference, lasered some ukuleles, but mostly were in a mad rush preparing for the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2013. We teamed up with a wonderful costume designer and artist Angela Dale to produce wearable pieces that merge electronics and costume design.
Here's the first example - joint effort of Graeme Janzen, Angela Dale and Solarbotics. Custom Fosshape molded helmet is fitted perfectly to the wearer, and 3 layers of lasercut acrylic are edge-lit with 24 high-power white LEDs:
Our Voltron Helmet is based on the Black Lion toy design from Defender of the Universe, a popular cartoon in the mid eighties. Voltron consisted of 5 robot lions that joined together to form a Giant Robot that protected the galaxy from evil doers. The Black Lion in particular is special because it formed the head and torso of the combined Robot Voltron. Since the head had two different modes: Robot and Lion, it was intriguing to try to emulate the two modes as best as we could.
We used an Ardweeny, Multipack, TTLy FTDI, 2 Star Controllers, and 2 HXT900 servos to animate our replica and make it come alive with a few electronic bits. Special thanks to Angela Dale and Robyn Ayles (props designer and full-time faculty at the Mount Royal theater program) for their assistance!
This Chameleon Cocktail Ensemble was created by Angela and her assistants as a part of MakeFashion project. It uses 20 meter of addressable LED strips (add 5 meters in the headdress) powered by 3.7V LiPoly batteries, and ArduinoPro Mini to control the lighting sequences.
We also hosted the Arduino workshop at the Expo, with a slight costuming application bend and many blinky lights...
..and did lots of people watching.
Check out our Flickr photostream for details on more projects and photos!
MORE POSTS
Mark Tilden on CBC Radio
Word is Mark W. Tilden gave CBC Radio a nice interview that'll be aired right after the 10am news on your local CBC station. Not Canadian? Use the internet to your advantage. Use this link to find the station closest to your time zone (or earlier or later if you wish), and tune in!
Robolympics Highlights and Sale
We've received word from Dave down in San Francisco that the events are now over and that both Grant and Dave of Solarbotics have placed second and third in the mini-sumo competition!!! We would like to send our congratulations to them, and also to sneak some product out the door while they're still away and […]
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If I could choose a super power, I would pick the ability to erase people's memory. And lucky for me, I've just been granted a free wish from The Magic Taco. Get ready, everyone. Pew! Done! Whew, now we never have to write a new post again. Check out these "new" links we prepared for […]
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Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.