From the DIY Laser Guy: "I present my most terrifying laser creation as of yet… the remote controlled death ray drone bot! This beast packs a potent 2W blue laser that fries anything in it’s path. It can walk around and shoot it’s death ray at the touch of a button."
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The natural world might be awe-inspiring, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t share similarities with the technological world that we inhabit. In fact, as biologists have come to look at creatures in closer detail, they’ve discovered that some of them have been using basics of engineering—that we now take for granted—all along. Here are five of our favorite creatures that have evolved into biological machines.
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Halloween’s still some time in coming, but that does not mean your Boy Scouts instinct cannot kick in by being prepared all the time. After all, it is those who tend to make the earliest preparations be in the best position possible to handle whatever curve balls that life throws their way. Well, you have had enough of ghosts and ghouls being littered all over your front lawn and want something that is slightly different, then you might want to check out the $199.99 12′ Inflatable Animated Spider.
We are talking about a 12′-tall inflatable spider which ought to send those who suffer from arachnophobia scurrying away even from half a block down, as something this large, looming over your lawn, would definitely send chills down one’s spine. Not only that, it does not remain stationary at all, as it is capable of moving its gruesome looking 30″-wide head back and forth. The spider’s head will swivel 60º side-to-side, as though it is deciding on its next victim, and its eyes will be illuminated by a couple of integrated LEDs each, where these will change colors from a devilish red to a supernatural green from time to time. We’re glad to say that you need not use your lung power to inflate this bad boy, as it comes with a 4-watt air blower that offers constant inflation in under five minutes, ensuring that its eight legs remain spread all the time to either side.
[ 12′ Inflatable Animated Spider copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
If you want a realistic and creepy spider robot and have a spare $1,350(USD) Robugtix will be happy to sell you this lifelike robotic spider called the T8. Put this in your home and it will likely scare all of the real spiders you have creeping around in your home. They will be lining up to leave your abode.
The robot has a 3D printed outer shell and limbs. Inside it boasts a total of 26 servo motors and that is where it gets its realistic movement.. That and a special inverse kinematic software algorithm you run on a computer to drive it. I’m torn. I want to kill it with fire. But I also want to buy it! Decisions, decisions.
The T8 Spiderbot will be available this September. It’s a good thing it has a single large eye, otherwise you might mistake it for a real spider.
For those of you without such deep pockets, there’s another option in the decidedly less realistic looking, but nonetheless just as creepy-walking Iitsii hexapod, which will ship late August for $250.
[via Engadget]
Whether they run, jump or swim, there are plenty of robots around to be fearful of. None have quite exacerbated our arachnophobia as much as Robugtix’s T8 octopod, however. The 3D-printed spiderbot not only looks the part, but employs 26 servo motors to drive its unnervingly life-like movement. Bigfoot’s baked-in “Inverse Kinematics Engine” deals with all of the background computations, so you don’t have to be a coding genius to work it. Instead, users send “short and simple commands” to the bot via wireless XBee or any other method you can hook up to its Rx / Tx pins. Expected to ship at the end of September, the T8 is available now for a special pre-order price of $1,350, and you can add $85 to that if you want one of Robugtix’s analog-stick controllers for real-time direction. If that sounds a bit pricey, there’s another option in the much cuter $250 iitsii hexapod, which is predicted to ship late August. Check out the shudder-inducing video of the T8 below, then follow it up with the iitsii demo to help you forget.
Filed under: Robots
Source: Robugtix
This robotic spider dress made by Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht and Austrian software developer Daniel Schatzmayr is creeping me out but also turning me on at the same exact time. I don’t know what to think—if those crawling spindly robot legs are scary or if they’re just sexy. More »
It’s sort of like Burning Man meets CES, meets a giant rideable robotic spider. eatART’s eight-legged, 1,600 metal arachnid made the trip from Vancouver in order to cruise around the grounds of the Las Vegas Convention Center — and thankfully we had a great view from our CES trailer. The big bug has been kicking around since 2006, but this is its first trip to the Consumer Electronic Show. We’d tell you more, but it’s probably best to just watch the thing in action after the break.
Continue reading eatART’s Mondo Spider cruises around CES 2013 (video)
Filed under: Robots
Source: eatART
I’ve got enough problems with spiders. They just creep me out. I can handle the occasional daddy long-legs or jumping spider, but giant spiders – forget about it. And giant metal robot spiders are the stuff of my worst nightmares.
This particular giant metal robot spider measures almost 7 inches across, and can even play a tune – thanks to the built-in vintage music box on its back. It plays a warbly version of the nursery favorite Frère Jacques, which is sure to add to the creepiness factor as you keep one eyeball on it while you sleep at night.
It was created by Catherinette Rings and Daniel Proulx and can be found over on Etsy for $700(USD). While that may seem like a lot of money for a robot that can’t actually move – it’s a small price to pay to know exactly what your bad dreams will be about for the rest of your days
Well this is exactly the type of story that is going to burrow deep into my brain tonight and manifest itself in some sort of horrific, vivid nightmare. Apparently a woman living in South-Central China turned up at a hospital with a live spider living in her ear. Eeesh!
She came to the hospital complaining of an itching sensation in her ear, and when the doctor took a look, out peeped a nasty, creepy, crawly arachnid. The spider had been living in her ear for at least three days before she went to the hospital.
While the doctor considered yanking the spider out of the woman’s ear, there was concern it would only dig in deeper and set up shelter inside her ear canal for the winter. So in a stroke of genius, the doctor poured saline solution into her ear, and the water caused the spider to float out and scurry away.
On a related note, Amazon has plenty of earplugs on sale today.
[via ChinaDaily via M.I.C. Gadget]
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