Lego Mindstorms Construct Sorts Bricks By Shape
akiyukyi’s brick sorter uses a digital scale and a webcam to sort bricks into broad categories like gears, Technic beams, plates, and so on. [Via The NXT Step]
Fun & Games
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
Ornithopter Drone Actually Looks Like a Bird
By the crazy German mad scientists at Festo. SmartBird is an ultralight but powerful flight model with excellent aerodynamic qualities and extreme agility. With SmartBird, Festo has succeeded in deciphering the flight of birds – one of the oldest dreams of humankind. This bionic technology-bearer, which is inspired by the herring gull, can start, fly […]
Arty Photos of TVs Being Turned Off
I recall turning my folks’ little black and white kitchen TV on and off over and over again, as a child, just so I could watch the screen flash as the tube lost power. This modern project, from photographer Stephan Tillmans, is called Luminant Point Arrays. [via adafruit]
Make: Live 3/23/11 – Kinetic Contraptions (video)
Make: Live ep05 is all about mechanics and motion! Thanks to our guests Lenore Edman, Windell Oskay, and Dustyn Roberts. If you missed a few minutes of the show, catch up on it here! Subscribe to the MAKE Podcast in iTunes, download Make: Live episode 05 in its entirety (m4v or Vimeo), or watch clips […]
Mil-Surplus Heli Helmet Game Headset Probably Cooler Than Yours
Probably heavier, too, to be fair. el8id modified this bargain-bin surplus helicopter helmet—which came ready-made with speakers and a mic—to communicate with a gaming console or a cell phone as a bluetooth headset, and also…
Father / Son Supervillain World Control Panel Build
Those of you who have been following the progress of Steve Lodefink’s World Control Panel in our last two Flickr pool roundups (1, 2) will enjoy these videos of the completed panel in action. So, too, will almost everyone else. The uppermost vid has a truly rockin’ soundtrack (which I would be grateful to have someone identify), and the one immediately above features Steve’s son, Harlan, explaining the operation of the panel with all the diabolical enthusiasm one would expect from a promising young superspy. And Steve’s photo set has some great details on the build itself. [via Boing Boing]
Score Coins Like Mario, But in Real Life
Instructable user Bruno created this fun real life Super Mario Bros. coin block, which pops out legal tender when it’s hit from the bottom. A 555 timer controls a servo motor to push the coins out of the top while an MP3 player plays the appropriate sound effect. Luckily for us, Bruno painstakingly detailed the […]