Remember Keepon, the simple, yet super-engaging little yellow dancing bot? His designers, the folks at BeatBots, have created his cousin Spazzi, the solenoid-powered dancebot, and Spazzi is one of the stars of our newest issue of MAKE, Volume 27, the Robots issue.
Old technology can be simply amazing. Centuries before Arduinos, servos, and electric motors, Japanese artisans came up with the mechanisms for the Karakuri Somersault Doll. The technology for this doll was reconstructed from original figurines by the kit builders at Gakken, so you can recreate one yourself! The kit includes everything you need to build the doll including the screwdriver.
In the last couple of years quadrotors have become a leading platform for aerial robotics. Precision control, maneuverability, and the ability to pack on a payload make quadrotors the choice when designing an aerial robot.
Gareth’s 2010 post about Petaluma, CA, propmaker Shawn Thorsson’s insane HALO costumes was one of our ten most-trafficked posts of the year, so when Shawn sends in a link, we sit up and take notice. This time it’s a ray gun propcasting project featuring one of the pistols from Mass Effect 2. Among other clever tricks, Shawn shows you how to recycle old, cured molds to use as filler when making new ones, thereby saving on expensive silicone.
Make reader Anders Haglund sent word of Edward Ford’s Project ShapeOko, which strives to build a complete and open DIY desktop CNC machine (including electronics) for around $300.
MinM, from the Maker Shed, is a tiny smart LED that’s designed for wearable technologies, UAVs and handheld devices. It has all the features of its bigger brother, the BlinkM but in a smaller package.
Jasmine Orchard found a “pre-loved” toy fire truck, repainted it, and wired it up with a lightbulb to upcycle it into really cool table lamp. Perhaps if you’re nostalgic for the days in which you played with toys like these, this is great inspiration for incorporating your favorite plaything into your current decor. [via Recyclart] […]
