Wednesday Cool Links: Spiderbot, Solar S...

Dave Hrynkiw
October 17, 2012

It's Wednesday! Hooray! Huzzah! We're celebrating because... Well, ok, we have nothing big to celebrate right now. So we're going to celebrate having nothing to celebrate with the traditional and only appropriate way possible... BROWSING THE INTERNET! Indeed, we've been celebrating this time-honoured tradition with steadfast dedication, and it's our pleasure to share it with all of you.

Four-Legged Spiderbot
As the website puts it, this is "a walking machine, radially symmetrical, having four legs with two degrees of freedom each, controlled through a wireless link from a hand-held controller based on two Wii Nunchucks." Very impressive articulation and range of motion. Be sure to check out the video.
The Almost Useless Machine
A solar-powered... Reciprocating saw? Make sure you have lots of patience and a cold one to enjoy while you "work"! Seriously though, while this might not be too functional, it certainly has some great craftsmanship.
Solar "Death Ray": Power of 5000 suns!
Mirrors. Lots of mirrors. 5800 of them, to be precise. It's pretty cool (and a LOT scary) what kind of power can be harnessed by arranging mirrors onto a fiberglass satellite dish and aligning it to the sun.
6 Rubens Tubes Visualizer
Hrm, a flame visualization for music? SIGN ME UP. Turn it into a handy-dandy plug-in accessory for the iPod, for the best on-the-go pyrotechnics you can possibly imagine. Might want to make sure you turn it off before tucking it away in your pocket, though.
Solar Engineer Badge on DIY
So, you think you like DIY? Well, it's time to prove your chops by completing challenges over at diy.org. They even have a Solar Engineer Badge that features a bunch of project ideas, including our Instructable for the Solar Powered Miniball.

We were once hoping that we could instead celebrate by racing giraffes through obstacle courses, but that didn't pan out. Too bad. I was planning on decking mine out with some sweet black and white racing stripes, to make it look like a very oddly proportioned zebra.

MORE POSTS

November 18, 2004
Book Project Parts Bundles

We've had many requests to sell the parts needed to build the robots described in the books that we carry. You are now able to purchase the individual components needed to build your bot, but you're not required to take them all(Sorry, no instructions -- that's what the book is for!). If you've got resistors […]

May 25, 2006
Closed for St. X-Men Day

Solarbotics will be closed between 11:00 AM and 3:30 PM MST on Friday, May 26th to celebrate the III some-what annual St. X-Men Day. We will respond to calls as soon as we get back.

October 17, 2016
New Product: Wearables & Kits

Adafruit Trinket-Powered Neopixel Goggle Kit $52.00 This kit is a bit goofy and geeky, but a whole lot of fun to wear - Glowy goggles! Addressable RGB Dress Bundle $104.11 Having been involved with more than a handful of technology dresses and costumes on various occasions we've learned a lot in the process, and wanted […]

December 20, 2002
Solarbotics Holiday Hours

Solarbotics will be closing for the winter holidays as of Tuesday, December 24th. We will be open again December 30, 2002.

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Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

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