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

February 11, 2011
New Hakko Iron & SMD LoL Shields

I wasn't very interested when the new Hakko FX-888 soldering iron showed up, but as I opened it and explored more, I got to thinking "Dang - this is a nice iron...". It's small, heavy, made-o'-metal, and of Hakko quality. And it's better than the old 936 it replaces, in practically every regard. And it […]

December 13, 2005
Christmas? What do you mean it's Christm...

Yeeks! Jeez, it's snuck up on me too... If you want to get your favourite solder-geek a new project for Christmas, keep in mind that our deadline for shipping is approaching. For US orders, your option is Purolator/DHL Courier (2 business days, so Wednesday the 21st by 2:00pm MST at the latest!). Domestic (Canadian) orders […]

April 29, 2004
New GM11-14 mounting screws

BOY those are strange little screws on the face of the GM11-14 series of gear motors! 1.7mm diameter x 0.35mm thread pitch ain't a common bolt, but we found some 4mm long that we've made available for those of you looking for a precision method of mounting the motors. Check out part M1.7x0.35!

October 12, 2022
eSun Funky Filament & Creality CR10...

From sparklebarf to foam, what else is new from the world of eSun 3D filaments?

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.

cart