Robot Arm Builds Complex Sandcastles You Could Never Create With a Bucket and Shovel [Video]

If your only pursuit when visiting the beach is to construct the most epic sandcastle imaginable, you might want to leave your pail and tiny shovel at home and instead get your hands on this fantastic castle-crafting robot arm. More »

Stone Spray Robot, The In Situ Robotic 3D Printer

The Stone Spray robot was created as a 3D printer to produce architecture out of soil. While technically speaking, this robot wasn’t designed to create art, the results of its efforts and the research project sure look like some interesting sculptural works.

stone spray robot 3d printer architecture beach

Stone Spray was created by Anna Kulik, Inder Shergill and Petr Novikov as a way to produce eco-friendly, efficient and innovative systems to “print” architecture in 3D. The device collects sand and dirt which is then sprayed from a nozzle with a binding component. This mixture solidifies and creates forms that look like they were sculpted.

stone spray robot 3d printer architecture columns

The movements of the ‘bot are controlled by a computer, so it can allow designers to have a direct input in the resulting shape, unlike other 3D printers. The spray is multi directional, and can even be sprayed vertically. While the prototype only produces pretty rudimentary small structures, here’s a rendering of the sort of thing a larger version might be able to produce:

stone spray robot 3d printer architecture

While I’m not sure of the practical applications for the Stone Spray robot, it sure produces some unique artistic output. Check it out in action in the video below:

[via designboom]


The Science of Building the Perfect Sandcastle [Science]

Everyone knows the secret to building sandcastles is a little water. But while too little leaves the sand useless, too much makes it heavy enough to cause disastrous landslides. Fortunately, scientists have unravelled the secrets behind sandcastle building for you. More »

I Still Can’t Believe a Normal Camera Can Resist These Tortures [Video]

Apparently, some people love the Pentax DSLRs because they can stand sand storms and heavy rain. I never imagined they could be subjected to this kind of hardcore testing. That’s probably why US Army soldier Alex Jansen, now deployed in Afghanistan, loves them. More »

Manual 3D Sandcastle Printer: The Most Tedious Way to Have Fun at the Beach [Toys]

Somewhere, mankind lost its way. The latest proof being that instead of relying on good old buckets and other moulds for building sandcastles, kids are now given tools like this plastic sand and water funnel which makes them painstakingly build up a sand structure layer by layer. More »