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

July 15, 2003
Lower gear ratio motors!

We're happy to announce another variant of gearmotor. Like the GM2/GM3 but with a gear ratio of 143:1, they run approximately 175% the output speed! - these are ideal for applications like minisumos, linefollowers and other wheeled devices. Check the "New Items" listing on the left side for details, or view them directly here: GM8 […]

August 27, 2012
The Solarbotics Web Team Needs Beta Test...

We've got a shiny new revision of our website on the horizon, and we want to hear from you, our finest scallywags and loyal customers. So before all the new bits go live, we're planning to do a closed beta test running the span of September. We're looking for 20-30 testers to help us run […]

May 5, 2006
Zee Ultimate Solar Mobile...

I had been giving some advice to Mark Malmberg about some art he's been putting together. Wanna see a killer huge solar-powered hanging mobile? From the builder himself: This piece has been a test piece and learning experience. I'll show it in a couple of months at a place called the Lawrence Hall of Science […]

October 10, 2014
Friday New Product: Toolbag, Digital San...

Today we have some fun stuff to play with, mainly Sandbox and Trinket, and their accessories: Sparkfun Tool Bag Kit $34.95 A portable tool bag that includes everything to get you started. Sparkfun Digital Sandbox $74.95 The Digital Sandbox makes learning how to program microcontrollers a snap! Walk through 13 unique and interesting experiments with […]

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

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.