Hasta La Gadget!

For those of you who enjoy the Metal Gear franchise, you might be familiar with a little mech that goes by the name of REX. Well, LEGO builder Rags naRock is also quite enamored of the giant robot, and decided to build himself a LEGO-fied version.

But this isn’t any ordinary little LEGO build. This epic creation has articulating joints, and wheels to move it along the ground. This incredibly detailed version of the bipedal tank has every little detail you’d expect, other than an actual nuclear power source and real weapons. I don’t think LEGO is offering those yet – not even in their Technic kits.

You can see how the different components of this mammoth model move in the video clip below:

While it might not look like it, it cost Rags naRock over $900 in LEGO bricks to assemble this mammoth beast. And if you want to build your own, you can grab the LEGO Digital Designer files here. I ran the parts list through BrickStore myself, and it looks like the bricks alone cost about $918.40(USD), plus the many hours of labor it will take to assemble this beast.

[via Albotas]

Well, Halloween is upon us yet again, and my favorite costume of the year has just dropped onto my desktop. What you’re looking at here is an awesome build of the power loader from Aliens, piloted not by Ripley, but by an actual baby.

Yes. It’s just that great. The costume was posted by Redditor rdt156, and apparently his friend Jason Smith built it to seat not just his daughter, but he’s hiding in there somewhere himself.

Now all he needs to do is have his wife dress up as the Alien Queen, and the costume would be truly complete.

[via Obvious Winner]

If you didn’t already pick up that giant fist for carrying around your beer, you might want to hold off and buy these instead. These giant, inflatable fists turn your mitts into massive mech-like robo-fists.

The Giant Robot Battle Fists are perfect for taking down all who dare to stand in your way – without actually leaving them with a concussion. Actually, ThinkGeek says that if you punch things with them, you might pop ‘em, so boo, hiss. Still they’re pretty awesome for your Halloween costume. Just think – you can go as crazy-robot-hand-guy again, but this time people will know who you are.

A pair of this oversize blow-up fists will set you back $35(USD) over at ThinkGeek. Air and pursed lips not included.

I’m going to start saying that I’m taking this with a huge grain of salt. This robot looks very realistic, yet has a somewhat cheesy and viral attempt feel to it at the same time. Watch the video for yourself and see what you think. The video is supposed to be a how-to video from a company called Suidobashi Heavy Industry.

The video goes over how to ride a robot called the Kuratas. The 13-foot-tall wheeled robot is clearly a nod at the Mechwarrior series of video games and any number of Japanese animated shows. In the video, you can see petite Japanese woman climbing into the chest cockpit cavity of the robot and going over the controls, including a remote smartphone-operated mode.

The controls look easy-to-use and seem realistic. You’ll note on the left arm there are twin multi-barreled cannons. How scary would it be as a soldier on about film to have one of these massive robots come walking up? The video claims the top speed of the bot, which has a torso and two arms but rolls on wheels, is 10 km/h. The bot uses a diesel engine and can be driven in high or low modes. The missile launcher appears to be packed with water bottles and will “from time to time” hit its target.

If this is just a fake viral video, it’s extremely well done. If it’s real, we could soon have mechs walking the streets of Tokyo.

[via Daily Mail]

We’ve seen some pretty wonky bipedal robots before, but scientists at the University of Arizona have gone straight to the source — us — to make one with a more human-like saunter. It turns out it’s not just our skull-borne computer that controls gait: a simple neural network in the lumber area of our spine, called the central pattern generator (CPG), also fires to provide the necessary rhythm. By creating a basic digital version of that and connecting some feedback sensors in the legs, a more natural human stride (without balance) was created — and on top of that it didn’t require the tricky processing used in other striding bots. Apparently this throws light on why babies can make that cute walking motion even before they toddle in earnest, since the necessary CPG system comes pre-installed from birth. That means the study could lead to new ways of stimulating that region to help those with spinal cord injuries re-learn to walk, and produce better, less complex walking robots to boot. Judging by the video, it’s a good start, but there’s still a ways to go before they can mimic us exactly — you can watch it after the break.

Continue reading Robotic legs simulate our neural system, lurch along in the most human-like way so far

Robotic legs simulate our neural system, lurch along in the most human-like way so far originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 04:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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