How-To: Pneumatic pop-up Halloween screamer
Instructables user Back Roads just posted this tutorial describing the low-cost pneumatic system he hacked together to build this haunted house prop.
Robotics
Making a robot can be an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s the perfect combination of creativity, engineering and problem solving. However, if you’re just getting started in robotics, it can also be overwhelming. To make things easier for those who are just starting out, we’ve put together some tips and tricks to help makers bring robots to life! From the basics of assembling your robot to software implementation, these pointers will give you everything you need to get started on your robotic adventure!
Intern’s Corner: My robot of mass destruction
Every other week, MAKE’s awesome interns tell about the projects they’re building in the Make: Labs, the trouble they’ve gotten into, and what they’ll make next. By Eric Chu, engineering intern Let’s admit it. We’ve all had thoughts of building our own robot of mass destruction. Well, I was able to do just that for […]
Brazil-worthy robotic arm
I love this funky robotic arm that looks like it’s something from the set of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. The arm is constructed of techno-junk, recycled PCB material, cassette motors, 15-gauge wire, fishing line. The “brains” for the arm is a 6502 CPU from the 1980s. Tres retro! While you’re on the site, check out some […]
Crawling wooden automaton
A newly posted work from Japanese kinetic sculptor Osamu Kanda, whose elegant praying mantis automaton I blogged two weeks ago. This one is called Crawl. [via The Automata / Automaton Blog]
Giant wriggley spider driven by windshield wiper motor
This creepy leg-waving giant spider prop is based on Village Haunts’ Spider-Wiper, which we covered back in 2006. I really like the close-up of the drive mechanism at 0:12 or so. Here’s what it looks like with the skin on.
Amazing pancake sorting robot
Wow! This robot sorts over 400 pancakes per minute. Right around 1:15 it gets amazing, it seems like it’s sped up, but they need to slow it down in the video to show it off! … via jk.
Beautiful generative art made with Roombas
Ever wonder what path your Roomba takes as it clears the floor? Well, here’s an easy way to find out, and create some fine artwork in the process.