May 22
May 21
One day soon, robots will rule over us and kill us for sport, but for today, it’s nice to know that we can eat them whenever they are a part of a cake. Take that robots. This beautiful robot cake is based on the game Machinarium. If you haven’t played it, it’s a truly beautiful game.
The cake is a faithful reproduction of the robots in Amanita Design’s point-and-click adventure game, with many nice details. It even looks like the lights are glowing, even though they aren’t. That’s all amazing skill with edible paint. The robots here look just like the ones in the game. It was made for six-year-old Tate’s birthday by Sweet Disposition Cakes in Adelaide, Australia. That lucky kid got to dig in and eat this thing. I hope he went for the robots first.
Apparently, this isn’t the only Machinarium cake they’ve made for Tate either. Here’s the cake he got for his fourth birthday…
This kid has good taste.
[via Cakewrecks via Neatorama]
May 20
Gundam: Clothes Hanger Edition
Posted in: Today's ChiliGundam fans, here’s a collectible you won’t want to miss. It’s a clothes hanger that conceals a model of a Gundam.
Our pal Francesco, over at Hobby Media (IT) spotted this bit of epicness over at last week’s Shizuoka Hobby Show (JP). Bandai is selling this along with a limited-edition STRICT-G t-shirt. When assembled, it forms a 1/200th scale replica of a Gundam RX 78-2 mech. But I’m not sure I’d want to ever take the parts off of the hanger. I think it looks pretty cool just the way it is.
If you’re lucky enough to be anywhere near Gundam Front in Odaiba, Tokyo – you might be able to find one – and you can see Giant Gundam at the same time. And if you’re anywhere else, I found a couple for sale up on eBay (without the t-shirt.)
[via Hobby Media]
May 20
Insert Coin: Linkbot modular robotic platform lets you quickly build a bot, skills
Posted in: Today's ChiliIn Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.
Everybody loves robots, but the initial ardor for building one can quickly be snuffed out by the complex reality of actually programming it to do anything. That’s where Linkbot comes in, a new project from the Barobo team that brought us the Mobot. It’s designed as a modular system that can be expanded infinitely with accessories like a camera mount, gripper, and wheels, thanks to three separate mounting surfaces — which also have standard #6-32 screw attachment holes on the mounting plate to attach personality-enhancing cutouts. Despite the expansion potential, though, it can still be used right out of the box to do robotics without touching a lick of code. That’s thanks to several built-in modes like BumpConnect, which permits wireless connections between the modules by touching them together; and PoseTeach, to program complex motions by hand in a similar (but less time-consuming) manner to stop-motion animation techniques.
For those who want to step it up a notch, the system lets you go far past basic mech fun. The Linkbot itself has two rotating hubs with absolute encoding, along with an accelerometer, buzzer, multicolored LCD and ZigBee wireless system with a 100m line-of-sight range. There are also optional breakout and Bluetooth boards to connect sensors like range finders, IR proximity sensors, photo detectors and thermostats. The outfit’s BaroboLink software for Mac, PC or Linux is included to program the Arduino-compatible bot in several languages as well, and can even translate previously created PoseTeach motions into computer routines. So far, the company has created working prototypes and even shipped them to local schools, so if you’re interested, you can pledge a minimum $129 toward the company’s $40,000 target to grab one. That’ll net you a Linkbot, two wheels, the BaroboLink software, access to the MyBarobo community — and hopefully a jolt to your robotics confidence.
Filed under: Robots
Source: Kickstarter
May 19
I always admire these guys who can take junk parts and scrap metal and turn them into cool robots. I’ve made some very basic robots out of junk before, but nothing like these guys. The latest inventor to build himself a scrap parts robot is Chinese inventor Tao Xiangli.
Photo: Suzie Wong/Reuters
Just because it is made from scrap doesn’t mean it was cheap. He spent about $24,000, and it took him more than 11 months to build the robot. He made it from recycled scrap metal and electric wires that he bought from a second-hand market.
This beast weighs about 500 pounds and stands about 6-feet-tall. Thank God Tao didn’t give this thing the kiss of life. It would make short work of us humans and make some art of it’s own. With blood and entrails.
[via NBC News via Obvious Winner]
May 19
There’s a new kid on the Arduino block, and it’s called the Arduino Robot. Launched yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area, it’s the company’s first product that extends beyond single microcontroller boards. The Roomba-like design, which we first saw in November 2011, is the result of a collaboration with Complubot. It consists of two circular boards, each equipped with Atmel‘s ubiquitous ATmega32u4 and connected via ribbon cable.
The bottom board is home to four AA batteries (NiMH), a pair of motors and wheels, a power connector and switch plus some infrared sensors. By default it’s programmed to drive the motors and manage power. The top board features a color LCD, a microSD card slot, an EEPROM, a speaker, a compass, a knob plus some buttons and LEDs. It’s programmed to control the display and handle I/O. Everything fits inside a space that’s about 10cm high and 19cm in diameter.
Pre-soldered connectors and prototyping areas on each board make it easier to customize the robot platform with additional sensors and electronics. It even comes with eleven step-by-step projects and a helpful GUI right out of the box. The Arduino Robot is now on sale at the Maker Faire for $275 and will be available online in July. Take a look at our gallery below and watch our video interview with Arduino founder Massimo Banzi after the break.
Gallery: Arduino Robot at Maker Faire 2013
Via: Make
Source: Arduino
May 18
This flying robot seems pretty creepy. Not only can it fly around, it can attach itself to walls like some sort of flying lizard. It won’t be long until these things have tentacles and attach themselves to our faces, while we thrash around suffocating. Thanks, researchers, thanks.
Airburr was developed at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, a branch of the European École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. It is designed specifically to traverse cluttered environments, like those in the aftermath of a disaster.
The big news here is that AirBurr now has the ability to fly into a room and attach itself to a wall and act as a remote monitoring outpost. While perched, the AirBurr also shuts its engines down, preserving battery power. It uses an instant adhesive pad to attach to smooth surfaces. The video doesn’t show it detaching from the wall, so I’m guessing they haven’t worked that part out yet, though we’ve already seen technology which can do that.
May 18
I’m not a fan of Warhammer 40,000 myself, but this Blood Angels Space Marine costume looks so awesome, I want to check it out and see what I have been missing. Youtuber Pilerud scratch built this Warhammer 40K Space Marine Blood Angel Tactical Sergeant, 7th company, 9th squad, costume himself.
He obviously loves Warhammer, having devoted 400 hours over 10 months to making this badass costume. The completed outfit weighs 25kg (~55 pounds) and stands about 215 cm tall (~7 feet). I am about 183 cm without armor. He used foam and hot glue and as well as other tricks to make it look more like the miniatures. Mech sounds are provided by ThinkGeek’s awesome little Mega Stomp Panic box. Check it out in action in the video below:
The cost? About €2500 (~$3206 USD) I love how everything moves as he is walking around. It’s all very fluid. Nice job!
[via Geeks Are Sexy]
May 17
MIT’s cheetah robot runs faster, more efficiently, can carry its own power supply (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
When it comes to hunting down humans running speeds, MIT’s cheetah might come second to Boston Dynamics’ own high-velocity quadruped, but by substituting pneumatics with motors, MIT’s version apparently runs far more efficiently. At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the Institute of Technology showed of its newest version, which reached a top speed of 13.7 mph. To accomplish this, the runner still needs parallel support bars to constrain movement in one dimension, reducing any roll, yaw — and the chances of a pretty expensive fall. The team says the new version’s cost of transport (COT is power consumption divided by weight, times velocity) is around 0.52. In comparison, Honda’s Asimo has a hefty COT of 2.
This impressive efficiency is down to the use of electric motors over hydraulics, with a new “three phase permanent magnet synchronous motor” providing the necessary torque. Researchers also used biometric principles to conserve energy and reduce stress on joints, including Kevlar tendons across the back of the legs. With all those efficiency increases, it mean that MIT’s cheetah can theoretically run while carrying its own power source. We’ve added a video after the break, where you can see the bot hit its top speed while carrying some battery dummy weights.
Filed under: Robots
Via: Spectrum IEEE
Source: MIT Biomimetics
May 16
Robot Flies Humans For 500 Miles
Posted in: Today's Chili
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