Hasta La Gadget!

The Antikythera Mechanism is what you call truly old school technology. Argued to be the world’s oldest known computer, this ancient Greek invention was used some time circa 100BC to calculate and “predict celestial events and eclipses with unprecedented accuracy.” Skipping past the two millennia in which it lay lost on a sea floor somewhere, the Mechanism has now been recreated by an Apple software engineer by the name of Andrew Carol, who has lovingly pieced 1,500 Lego Technic blocks together, creating 110 gears and four gearboxes in total. Each box is responsible for performing one piece of arithmetic, and when the resulting machine is fed with appropriate calendar data, it spits out a (hopefully accurate) prediction for the next time a solar eclipse should occur. All well and good, but we’re really just amazed by the beauty of those gears working. Check them out after the break.

Continue reading Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video)

Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect hacks aren’t the only projects using depth cameras these days, Intel’s Seattle research lab has also been working on a whole range of projects using what it describes “Kinect style” cameras, and it’s now showing off some of the results. Among the most interesting are a pair of projects that combine a depth camera with a projector for some rather inventive augmented reality applications. One of those examples can effectively bring Legos to life (as pictured above), while the other adds a whole new degree of interactivity to everyday objects, namely groceries — which could let you manage a grocery list using actual fruits and vegetables, for instance, or even warn when you’ve left a tub of ice cream sitting on the counter too long. That’s just scratching the surface, though — the group has also devised a system that can map a room just by walking around with a depth camera, which can then of course be navigated using the very same depth camera and a pair of 3D goggles. Head on past the break for a couple of videos, and hit up the source link below for the rest.

Continue reading Intel research projects bring Legos to life, make groceries interactive

Intel research projects bring Legos to life, make groceries interactive originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Glass balls, tacky sequined stars, little trains—most ornaments suck. But these custom Lego designs from Giz illustrator emeritus Powerpig, do not suck. They are the coolest tree-adornment we’ve seen in some time. Here’s how to make you own. More »

Watch out, humans: An invasion of self-replicating Lego robots could be at hand.

Software engineer by day, Lego maniac by night Will Gorman has created the MakerLegoBot, a machine that can take a virtual 3-D model and assemble it using Lego bricks.

The machine is itself built entirely out of the Lego system, which raises the possibility — theoretically at least — that the machine could, with some modifications, build a copy of itself. The 3-D assembler uses three Lego Mindstorms NXT Bricks, along with 9 NXT motors.

“There is a recursiveness to this whole thing,” says Gorman.

“I love the idea of self-assembly and the Star Trek replicator and I love Legos,” he says. “I wanted to bring those two worlds together.

The MakerLegoBot is a tribute to the emerging trend of 3-D printers and self-replicating machines such as MakerBot and RepRap.

Over the last two years, enthusiastic do-it-yourselfers have embraced 3-D printers that can take blobs of plastic and shape them into objects you desire. DIYers are using Makerbot and RepRap to fabricate iPod docks, plastic bracelets, hair clips and miniature teapots at home. Such devices are helping plant “the seeds of the next industrial revolution,” according to Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson.

More mainstream 3-D printers use plastic, not Lego, but the principle of converting 3-D designs into real objects is similar.

Here’s how the MakerLegoBot works: A feed system that’s about two-and-a-half feet tall and can hold about 35 bricks connects to the LegoBot. The object that the MakerLegoBot is to assemble is designed in MLCad, a modeling program. A Java app that runs on a PC takes the file from the MLCad software, determines a set of print instructions and sends those instructions over USB to the LegoBot.

The machine retrieves a brick from the feed system and places it in the exact location where it should be. It uses an axle-based release mechanism to leave the brick in place.

The current design works with 1×2, 2×2, 3×2, 4×2 and 8×2 Lego bricks. So far, the machine can’t print Lego blocks or use NXT blocks and motors — a major limitation. It just works off ordinary Lego bricks, which must be fed into it by human assistants. Of course, a MakerBot might be able to fabricate a Lego brick, raising some interesting possibilities for a collective robot uprising.

For now, system can build objects that are up to 12 bricks tall.

Gorman has posted instructions on how to build the MakerLegoBot on his site.

And as this amazing video shows, the MakerLegoBot goes to work assembling the blocks.

See Also:

• MakerBot fabbed open-source wristwatch
• Young Engineer Uses Webcam, Laser to Build Budget 3-D Scanner
• HP Plans Line of (Relatively) Affordable 3-D Printers
• Chris Anderson and the Democracy of Making (And Selling) Things

Photos: Will Gorman

Building things out of Lego? Lots of fun. Building a thing out of Lego that itself builds other things out of Lego? That’s totally mindblowing, and that’s what Mindstorm master Will Gorman managed here with his MakerLegoBot masterpiece. The machine takes input from a PC running MLCAD, a sort of industrial design tool for blocknauts, and then churns out anything you like — so long as it is comprised of 1×2, 2×2, 3×2, 4×2, and 8×2 bricks. These are fed by the machine and methodically placed in exact position, as shown in the video below. If you’re hanging out in The Netherlands this upcoming weekend you can also see the thing in action at LegoWorld in Zwolle, or just build your own with the detailed plans at the source link below. But, before you start assembling, know that you’ll need 2,400 bricks and nine Mindstorms NXT motors.

Continue reading MakerLegoBot is made of Lego, makes things out of Lego, is so meta it hurts (video)

MakerLegoBot is made of Lego, makes things out of Lego, is so meta it hurts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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