Make:

Table of Contents

Surprising Robots by Mark Frauenfelder in Welcome
Real robots think for themselves. Page 1

Reader Input in Reader Input
DTV antennae, fine print, energy ideas, and love for Roy Doty. Page 12

Make: Money by Dan Woods in Maker's Corner
Sell MAKE subscriptions and your club keeps 50 percent of the proceeds. Page 15

Positive Externalities by Cory Doctorow in Make Free
Fight against the greed of a small band of vocal dinosaurs. Page 17

Magical Moths by Bruce Stewart in Made on Earth
Michelle Stitzlein builds 11-foot-wide moth sculptures. Page 18

Cardboard Shredder by Keith Hammond in Made on Earth
Mike Sheldrake makes cardboard wave vehicles. Page 20

Mad Bots by Thomas Walker Wilson in Made on Earth
Clayton Bailey has made about 100 life-sized robot sculptures, all carefully constructed from found objects whose previous incarnations contribute something unique. Page 21

Faux Favela by Thomas Walker Wilson in Made on Earth
Benjamin Van Oost’s Favela sculpture is made entirely of trash — recycled boxes, pieces of metal found on the street, toilet paper rolls, and aluminum cans. Page 22

Open Source Soaring by Abe Connally, Josie Moores in Made on Earth
Mike Sandlin has created a lightweight set of gliders that are “intended to provide open air soaring, forgiving flight characteristics, convenient transport, simple ‘garage technology’ construction, and a high level of crash safety.” Page 23

Bus Tag by Carla Sinclair in Made on Earth
Austin-based artist Magda Sayeg and her group of urban knitters, Knitta Please, have gone on several covert midnight missions to knit cozies for anything from car antennas to street sign poles and trees. Page 24

All We Can Say Is, WoW by Laura Kiniry

 in Made on Earth
With help from artist Marisa Jahn and Steve Shada, MIT Media Lab research assistant Cati Vaucelle created the WoW Pod, “a cocoon that structures a relationship between your physical body and your avatar,” she says. Page 25

How to Study Tree Rings by Forrest Mims III in Country Scientist
Tree rings can tell us about past precipitation, climate, major volcano eruptions, and forest fires. Page 26

Custom Memory Game by Julie A. Finn in 123
Give an old standby some new flavor and create a perfect rainy-day activity when you make your own memory game out of materials you already own. Page 29

A Feel for Engineering by Todd Lappin in Maker
Ugo Conti's Proteus boat behaves like a water skipper. Page 30

Homestar by Lisa Katayama in Maker
Takayuki Ohira creates planetariums for everyone. Page 36

Set in Stone by Ithai Benjamin, Vikram Tank in Maker
An interactive concrete interface. Page 38

Speed Week by William Gurstelle in Maker
What Cape Canaveral is to astronauts, the Bonneville Salt Flats are to those who love to drive fast. Page 40

Doing Da Vinci by Jeanne Storck in Maker
A new TV series puts the inventions of perhaps the greatest of all makers to the test. Page 43

Worst-Case Internet by Mike Outmesguine in Maker
The Network Relief Kit brings online connectivity to disaster sites. Page 44

The Make: Mech
Mr. Roboto: Cut and fold your own paper bot! Page 45

A Drone of Your Own by Chris Anderson
Build the world’s cheapest, easiest to hack, and funnest autopilot. Page 46

Meet the Blimpduino by Chris Anderson
Introducing a new kit to build the fastest, most nimble blimp around. Page 52

Drones of Yesteryear by Marc de Vinck
Reconnoitering the UAV exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum. Page 53

Bot State of the Art by Gareth Branwyn
Robot engineers and enthusiasts discuss what’s currently holding their attention. Page 54

Pest Control by Bob Parks
The director of the Harvard Microrobotics Lab builds a better housefly. Page 58

Teaching An Old Bot New Tricks by Robert L. Doerr
Make a vintage robot smarter. Page 62

The Accidental Pioneer by Gareth Branwyn
How a neurophysiologist’s experiments in brain behavior created the first autonomous robots. Page 68

Runaway Robots by Mark Frauenfelder
Rovers at the first annual SparkFun Autonomous Vehicle Competition have minds of their own. Page 72

My Robot, Makey by Kris Magri
Build this simple autonomous robot that’s programmed to follow objects around. Page 76

Rok-Bak Chair by Larry Cotton
This recliner is very comfortable, easy and inexpensive to build, and can be assembled or disassembled in a few minutes. Page 88

Speed Vest by Mykle Hansen
Make a lightweight night-cycling vest that displays your current speed in glowing, 7-inch-tall numbers easily visible to cars. Page 100

Batteries From Everyday Things by Cy Tymony in 123
Power an LED with lemons or spare change. Page 110

Kustom Tonkas by Todd Lappin in DIY: Home
Turn a classic toy into a hot rod for kids of all ages. Page 111

Homebrew Alarm Purse by Ed Bringas, Norene Leddy, Johana Moscoso in DIY: Spy
The Alarm Purse is a simple, fashionable way to add an audible alarm to your handbag. Page 114

"Solar Joule" Bracelet by Edwin Wise in DIY: Circuits
Solar-cell links are cleverly boosted to drive an LED jewel. Page 117

Burnout Sounds by Andrew Carrell in DIY: Circuits
Guitar effects from old compact fluorescent light bulbs. Page 120

Breaking and Entering by Graham Cattley in DIY: Circuits
Open and repair a damaged proximity swipe card. Page 121

Mini Fume Extractor by Marc de Vinck in DIY: Workshop
Candy tin device helps keep your air clean and your lungs healthy. Page 123

DIY Drawer Organizer by Conrad Hopkins in DIY: Workshop
Got commercial organizers that fail to fit? Make your own. Page 126

Jeweled Finish by Brian Dereu in DIY: Workshop
Give your metalwork a gleaming texture that makes light dance. Page 128

MIDI Camera Control by Josh Cardenas in DIY: Imaging
ESPN-style coverage with a video crew of one or two. Page 129

Eye Contact Device by Don McLane in DIY: Imaging
Look more trustworthy while video-conferencing. Page 133

Greener Waves by Keith Hammond in DIY: Outdoors
Surfboard kit uses a new epoxy technique without fiberglass. Page 134

Easy Boombox by Matthew T. Miller in 123
Instant speakers from earbuds. Page 139

Servomotors by Tod E. Kurt in Skill Builder
Beef up on robotic musculature. Page 140

Robots Within Reach by Nick Dragotta, Saul Griffith in Howtoons
Extend your grasp. Page 149

Cottage Economy by George Dyson in Retrospect
Pamphleteer William Cobbett launched the sustainability movement - in 1821. Page 150

Makeshift: Against the Wind by Lee D. Zlotoff in MakeShift
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to make your way back to shore after falling asleep in a kayak and awaking to rough seas. Page 152

Papuan Speargun by Tim Anderson in Heirloom Technology
This speargun gets its power from a strip of red rubber. Page 154

Trouble at the Robot Invitational. by Michael H. Pryor in Aha!
Trouble at the Robot Invitational. Page 155

Toolbox by Gareth Branwyn, Marc de Vinck, Mark Frauenfelder, Keith Hammond, Tod E. Kurt, Tim Lillis, Pete Marchetto, Steve Norris, Sean Michael Ragan in Toolbox
Titanium nail puller, autonomous blimp kit, Mad Science, and extra heavy duty screwdrivers. Page 156

Golden Star Origami by Donald E. Simanek in Toys, Tricks, and Teasers
Make a five-pointed star with a single cut. Page 164

Rudolf Diesel and the Fire Piston by William Gurstelle
Build a fire piston. Page 166

Maker's Calendar by William Gurstelle in Maker's Calendar
Page 169

Eyeglasses by Tom Parker in Make Money
Correct myopia with pinholes. Page 175

The ElliptiGO Glide Bike by Brent Teal in Homebrew
Page 176