Quadrocopter drone learns new tricks
GRASP Lab‘s quadrocopter can now dip through a thrown hoop or right itself after being thrown into the air. [Via Engadget, thanks RocketMan!]
Fun & Games
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
MakerBot minifigs
Spotted in the MAKE Flickr pool, by user tmo-photo, these 200% scale Lego minifigs printed on a MakerBot.
Collapsing “swoon” chair
It’s a full-size chair version of one of those little wooden toys with segmented legs that collapses when you release the internal tension. I’ve heard them called “swoon toys.” This furniture-scale version called Lazy Chair, by UK designers Fresh West, stands back up rather more slowly than the toys; it takes about 45 seconds in the video above. There’s also a click-to-collapse Flash version at the designer’s website. [via NOTCOT]
WarioWare DIY: Personal microgames and video game snapshots
WarioWare DIY: Personal microgames and video game snapshots – The brilliance of WarioWare D.I.Y. is it gives gamers the power to create video game snapshots, not just in the sense of brief video game experience, but also personal, perhaps clumsy interactive scenes. Instruments like Klik & Play, modding tools, and (pirated copies of) Adobe Flash […]
Twelve-person tire swings
Awesome party toy for dirt cheap, provided you’ve got the necessary outdoor space (and the, ah, secure 40-foot overhang). Made from used tires, wooden poles, and “a whole lot of metal bolts and cables” by Jan Köaut;rbes, these swings are suspended from the superstructure of the Mmabatho Sports Stadium in South Africa. [via Recyclart]
Monster quad bike, complete with lawn chairs
Tom Wilson’s Big Dog is 11 feet, 4 inches long, stands eight feet high at the tops of the chairs and weighs 490 pounds. It uses go-kart brakes and axles. recycled bikes and patio chairs. Love the wheels! They’re golf cart rims with spokes welded to them and drainage pipe used for the outer rims.
Dustin Wallace’s latest work-in-progress
Sculptor Dustin Wallace, whose intricately machined Transformers for grown-ups and sheet metal origami robots I have been raving about for some months, now, is at it again. These are a selection of choice work-in-progress shots from his latest build, called Sentry. Besides the arm blades, when finished, it will have hoses and canisters containing liquid on its back and a glowing LED in the eye.