There’s a war brewing over the use of 3D printers to make unlicensed guns and other firearms. But for the time being 3D printed weaponry is still a novelty, particularly this fully functional crossbow, which was created in a single printing pass, complete with a cleverly designed flexible working trigger. More »
Hacker, modder, and DIYer extraordinaire Ben Heck has seemingly done the impossible with his latest project. For years a fierce battle has raged between proponents of the big three gaming consoles, but to finally bring peace and civility to gaming forums across the land, Heck created an all-in-one console that combines a PS3, an Xbox 360, and a Wii U. More »
How many of you are seriously involved in this hit game known as Minecraft, and simply cannot get enough of the block building title? If you have answered in the affirmative, chances are you had gone through the motions of playing when it was still bright outside, only to play all the way through the night and morning during those long weekends. Well, Jim Rutherford is certainly a fan of Minecraft, and he decided to come up with a rather cool modification for his son by bringing the immersion of Minecraft into the real world.
After noticing a commercial for Philip’s Hue, which is actually an ambient light bulb which can be wirelessly controlled, Jim was inspired to “connect” the the lights to Minecraft, having them follow the game’s day-night cycle instead. This result in Jim picking up a Hue Starter Set for $199, and used a free app from Philips via the App Store, before creating his own iPad app that delivered the relevant central controls for the ambient game lighting. Ain’t he one of the coolest dads to have around?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Improves Gmail Mobile Web To Adopt Gmail 2.0 for iOS UI, Marvel Giving Away Over 700 Digital Comics In Next 36 Hours,
Many of us have that dream of building our own home. But not everyone is an architect or a builder. More importantly constructing a house can take several weeks. Recognising the need for efficiency and our desire to build-it-ourselves several companies around the world have began offering prefabricated houses that can be constructed in very little time.
At this years’ Retail Tech Japan convention in Tokyo last week we passed by Hokusei offering the latest in efficient house construction.
Hokusei’s “Super-wood techno construction method” uses their “nexus next generation super wood block” technology that enables you to assemble a prefabricated home just like a puzzle in less than a week as in the video bellow (in Japanese).
According to Hokusei the biggest feature of the nexus block is that they can be unassembled and reused to build another structure should you be bored with your house or sick of your neighbours. The nexus block’s diamond shape disperses pressure and is apparently ideal for supporting structures that can withstand earthquakes and also provide insulation (picture below).
Of course in order to build the house yourself you would still need to employ construction professionals and use building equipment such as cranes but the main point is that you save time and money.
In the areas devastated by the 2011 Tsunami in Northern Japan where reconstruction has still not taken place even after two years prefabricated homes may be a great alternative for those families still waiting to move back to their hometowns.
I suppose when your neighbors see this unique DIY machine in your backyard in action, one of the first few things they would do is be best buddies with you, asking you to forgive them of all the wrong that they have done in the past, right after hollering out to their wife, “That thing’s operational!” in homage to Star Wars. It does not matter if your objective is to melt metal, ignite some gasoline, hold a BBQ, or simply to burn some hotdogs, the video above should be able to explain it all. After all, doesn’t a single picture tell a thousand words?
Grant Thompson is the one behind this idea, using his 13-year old Toshiba 50-inch flat screen TV as the basis for his solar-powered death ray. The TV itself was mutilated in a sense, where the plastic sheet underneath layers of wires and bits was the treasure he was looking for, having hoisted it onto a wooden frame before using it to focus the sun’s ray’s in a miniscule point, similar in principle to that of a magnifying glass, capable of letting that spot hit a whopping 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Now that’s power!
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Huawei MediaQ M31 Media Streamer Introduced As Samsung Homesync Rival, TMY Air Fryer Arrives In Japan,
You know what they say, where there is a will, there is a way. Suleman Khan, an MSc final year student at the Institute of Physics and Electronics, University of Peshawar (UOP), has managed to figure out a way to develop a low-cost wireless bomb defusing robot which will definitely be more than welcome, as it offers an extra line of defence for bomb disposal squad (BDS) personnel to fall back upon.
According to Khan, this robot invention of his has a primary objective, which is to offer remote-controlled analysis of a suspicious packet. Apart from that, the robotic arm allows someone to manipulate the packet remotely, while visual feedback is sent back to the person controlling the robot in a user-friendly manner. Of course, there are limitations to this robot, where it can defuse bombs of up to 21 kilogrammes, within a distance of 15 to 20 meter radius, while a wireless camera functions as its “eye” for live visual transmission. Of course, defusing bombs would not be the only job function for this robot, as it can also tunnel view an object, perform experiments in hazardous environments as well as play a little bit of 007 by being involved in espionage activities as and when possible.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Yeti Discovers Cracks In Antarctic Ice, Man Arrested For Shooting At Police Robot,
At a certain point, you’ve watched the new Iron Man 3 trailer so many times that one more viewing would send your body into catatonic shock. It’s time to take a breather. And what better way than to watch a homemade version that’s almost as good? Or, you know, as charming. More »
Which would you prefer to be on the receiving end of? The razor sharp edge of the sword, or being tased to the ground, having jolts of electricity course through your body as though you were wrecked by Force Lightning by Emperor Palpatine? Well, come to think of it, isn’t being hit by a lightsaber somewhat a similar feeling like the Electric Stun Sword? After all, it cuts through just about anything, and is made up of pure energy? The Electric Stun Sword is actually the brainchild of a certain YouTube user known as Jonathan, where he was experimenting with a double-bladed Shock Mod Ninja Sword in order to imbue it with Taser-like functionality. Sounds as though it is one of those science fiction weapons, but it is very, very real.
Needless to say, since this is a DIY project, it will obviously lack the finesse of a particular weapon that was fashioned out from the fires of Mount Doom. I digress, Jonathan obviously does not have the advantage of an actual weapons factory that churns out precisely tuned weapons, but at the very least, the sword’s practical function works as painful as its namesake. On the Electric Stun Sword lies a utilitarian but functional “On” switch which can be activated to turn on the shock function, and since stun guns run off a power source or battery, it will require a regular wall socket plug located at the end of the grip which was specially designed to charge the weapon.
According to Jonathan, he was inspired to come up with the Taser Sword after he saw another YouTube user by the name of GreekGadgetGuru. What is the whole point of this DIY project if it was not tested in the real world? Jonathan decided to play the role of guinea pig, and had a friend of his touch him with the sword, which should be demonstration enough to avoid one of these when unsheathed.
Source
[ Electric Stun Sword is certainly one menacing weapon copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
I’ve heard of corrugated cardboard being used to house computers, but this project takes cardboard computing to a whole new level. Niklas Roy used rubber bands, rope and cardboard to create a functional, mechanical computer and plotter.
Niklas Roy taught an electronic media class at Germany’s School of Art and Design Offenbach. The goal was to create a series of mechanical cardboard computers from scratch. Shown here is one of those machines. This fully operational NAND gate and plotter were designed out of Finnish cardboard. The complete system was assembled using super glue, adhesive tape and tie wraps and rubber bands.
The plotter has axles and slide rails made out of welding rods. There are two rotary dials and a switch, which move in a plane, controlling the movement of a pen as it “vectors” to produce low resolution graphics on a sheet of paper.
Be sure to check out Niklas’ blog for more of the contraptions built by the class. This is definitely an awesome project, and it makes you wonder what you could do at home, given enough time and ingenuity.
[via designboom]
After one of the wettest, blizardiest winters in recent memory, it’s high time for some spring grilling. But why spend thousands on a gas grill that can’t even cook a whole hog when you can create your own wood-fired pig pit for under $300? More »
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