Here are parts two and three of Vi Harts' brilliant and dizzying exploration of the Fibonacci number, plant growth patterns, and the mathematics behind other cool, spiraly things.

Posted by Gareth Branwyn | January 27th, 2012 11:30 PM

Categories: Education, Science | No Comments

This was one of our predictions for 2012, not the rivers of blood, but drones being used by "citizen journalists" more and more - I think this is a good example, even if accidental. My friend Johngineer posted up a great list of "The future of Drones".

Posted by Phillip Torrone | January 27th, 2012 3:00 PM

Categories: News from the Future | 2 Comments

Veteran Thingiverse user Tony Buser has printed a model (intended to be an approximation of the fractal Hilbert curve) using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a support material. Once everything is printed and cooled, the PVA is dissolved away in a glass of water, leaving only the polylactic acid (PLA) model. This technique, when perfected, should [...]

Posted by Sean Ragan | January 27th, 2012 1:00 PM

Categories: 3D printing, Chemistry, News from the Future | No Comments

Two years ago I wrote about what a delight it was to discover the UT-Austin School of Architecture’s Materials Lab when I was on campus there, and it seems appropriate to resurrect the topic in honor of our theme this month. Kevin Kelly just posted a roundup of major materials libraries around the USA over [...]

Posted by Sean Ragan | January 27th, 2012 9:00 AM

Categories: Education, Hackerspaces, Science | No Comments

Need a hand? Build your own with the Telerobotic Gripper Kit from the Maker Shed! This kit includes everything you need to make the Teleclaw featured in MAKE: Volume 27, right down to the batteries.

Posted by Michael Castor | January 27th, 2012 8:00 AM

Categories: Kits, Make: Projects, Robotics | No Comments

Andrew and his brother built this great ping-pong ball launcher out of salvaged and repurposed parts. I especially like the 13-ball hopper made from two paper towel tubes taped together, and the clever K’Nex-controlled release mechanism. The launcher is controlled with an Arduino connected to a computer and activated via a remote desktop app from [...]

Posted by John Baichtal | January 27th, 2012 7:00 AM

Categories: Arduino, Toys and Games | 1 Comment

I like these hand-forged oyster knives from Kirk Davis and Michael Waller of Carolina Shuckers enough to actually consider eating a raw oyster, so long as I got to use one to open it, first. Reminds me of the work of Tai Goo. [via Dude Craft] More:Railroad Spike Rope Dart

Posted by Sean Ragan | January 27th, 2012 6:00 AM

Categories: Crafts, Food and Beverage, Metalworking | 5 Comments

Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley teamed up to create materials from the silk produced from Golden Orb Spiders in Madagascar. They collected 1.2 million of these spiders and extracted their silk over the course of three years to create two golden silk capes. This shawl is the world’s largest piece of spider-silk cloth ever created, [...]

Posted by bluemollusc | January 26th, 2012 8:48 PM

Categories: Crafts, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Looking for a great starter robot project? Doug Paradis is an active member of the Dallas Personal Robotics Group, and last year, they were looking for a way to help their beginner members strengthen their robot-building chops. Thus, the Tiny Wanderer was born. We produced a series of lessons covering 5 topics needed to make [...]

Posted by Goli Mohammadi | January 26th, 2012 7:03 PM

Categories: Maker Shed Store, Robotics, Uncategorized | No Comments

DIY methods for electroactive polymer actuators are hard to come by, and none of them are kitchen-counter simple. But compared to the wet chemical methods circulating in the academic research community, the purely mechanical process documented in this video from the Swiss ShapeShift project is relatively accessible. Click here to skip the how-to and go [...]

Posted by Sean Ragan | January 26th, 2012 1:02 PM

Categories: Electronics, Physics, Science | No Comments