Meet the Boxbot
Cellbot contributor Jason has scaled things up a bit with his Boxbot. Designed using SketchUp and output on a CNC ShopBot, the Boxbot uses $10 worth of MDF and a couple of $16 windshield wiper motors to drive its wheels.
Cellphones
Voice controlled smartphone robot
Looks like the folks over at cellbots.com have been keeping busy. The truckbot has been souped-up with neon green acrylic and voice commands. This project just keeps getting better with age.
In the Makers Market: “P8tch” redirectable QR code patch
When you buy a p8tch, you get a velcro-backed waterproof patch, in one of several cool designs, bearing a unique QR code. You also get a unique password that lets you log in to the system’s website at p8t.ch and specify what URL you want your patch to redirect to. You can stick it on anything and direct folks who scan it wherever you want, and when you want to use it for something else, instead of having to generate a whole new code, you can just change the re-direct URL online. A clever product concept and an awesome inexpensive gift.
Run Java apps on Android
Zurich-based Myriad has announced a new tool called J2Android that converts Java MIDlet apps to run on Android.
Android-powered Garduino remote control
I then wrote a spiffy little Android app that pairs up to the BlueSMiRF, reads the state dumped from the Arduino every 3 seconds, and then makes a pretty little Android UI. It shows me a Sun, Moon, or Clock depending on which state the Arduino is in.
Dirt-cheap robotics prototyping environment with Android
Tim Heath and Ryan Hickman’s Truckbot could be built for under $20 (excluding mobile). That’s pretty impressive for such an open and accessible robotics prototyping environment. Using a laser-cut cardboard chassis, $3 micro servos, and a bare bones Arduino, the duo have assembled one of the cheapest platforms to come along in some time.
Meticulously-crafted cell phone case by African “bamboobender”
No, they don’t call themselves that. “Bamboobender” is my hackish take on “sandbender,” which many of you folks will probably recognize as a term coined by arch-cyberpunk William Gibson in his novel Idoru. Very roughly, a “sandbender” is a craftsperson who makes a living by carefully hand-crafting ornate enclosures for mass-produced electronics. We don’t see a lot of that, at least in the first world (although mass-produced after-market “custom” enclosures and enclosure-decorations are common), probably because our personal electronics are still pretty ephemeral to us: we all know we’re probably going to be sporting a new phone and/or MP3 player next year. This example, however, comes from Cameroon, where, I presume, the device turnover rate is a lot lower. It’s the work of teacher and wordworker Lekuama Ketuafor, whose runs a sole-proprietorship cottage industry called Bamboo Magic. [via AfriGadget]
