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

September 5, 2006
Turbot Review @ StreetTech!

Just got the word that Gareth Branwyn posted a review of our Turbot on his website at Streettech.com. Thinking of getting a Turbot? Here's a straight-shooting review! While you're there, take a look at the Solaroller article that was just posted. Neat stuff!

June 25, 2001
New BIOBug Footage

We've just recently been given the go-ahead to unveil more Wowwee BIOBugs - the toy that Mark Tilden had direct involvement in! This is footage we shot while down in New Mexico this Spring at the 2001 LANL workshop. The first video shows the BIOBug Beetle's ability to maneuver and respond to obstacles. The second […]

July 7, 2005
Tilden in the Globe & Mail

Relayed from my good friend ScottyDogma, here's a link to an article In the July 4th Globe and Mail Newpaper regarding "10 Things Canada Does Best" (this is point #8 - Robotics). Whodathunk? Not me...

December 6, 2004
ScoutWalker III sold out!

Sorry to say that our initial inventory of the ScoutWalker III has sold out! We're trying to get more ready for Christmas, but no promises...

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Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

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