Category: Cool Stuff

Biped robot kit

(via boingboing)
All geeky readers here, please raise your hands. Now, those of you with raised hands, keep them up if you’d like your own bipedal robot. Good. So, everyone who put their hands down – you can leave now – you’re not sufficiently geeky to be here. I deal with only high-level geeks, thank you very much. Those of you still here, check out the new Robo-One bipedal humanoid robot.

ROBO-ONE type bipedal humanoid robots were first introduced a little over four years ago. Almost all of the current designs have at least 16 or more servo motors, advanced controller boards, and fairly involved kinematics. That’s fine for the real devoted (maniac) robot fans, but as the robots have gotten more and more complex they have become way too difficult for the novice fans to master.

. . .

At the same time, Iwaki-san, the head of the Robot Force organization and a dedicated robot builder and competitor himself, believes that in order for number of robot players to increase dramatically, it must be FUN. Believe me, the Robo-Fight and Robo-Gong events are more fun than the proverbial barrel of monkeys, as we know from personal experience.

With that in mind, Robot Force set some basic design criteria for a low end, simple robot kit. In order to be considered a ‘humanoid robot’, their new robot would have to:

  • Have two legs and arms
  • Be able to walk around
  • Swing its arms to punch and fight
  • Get up from the ring mat either from a prone position or from its back

In addition, it had to:

  • Be easy for the customer to understand, build, program and operate
  • Have a low parts count with a minimal number of servos, since they are the most expensive single component in any humanoid robot design
  • Be low cost enough so that a large number of customers could afford it
  • Be a lot of FUN!

There you have it. Fun, easy to make, inexpensive, blah, blah, blah. What matters is this is a 3 servo robot that is designed to be more accessible than previous generation robots. And apparently, usable in robo-fights!!! Who doesn’t love a good robo-fight?

[tags]Robots, Robo-Fights[/tags]

Australia continues to host freaky-scary creatures

(via Dubious Quality)

Last week in his Friday Links section, Bill posted about fanged kangaroos and the ‘demon duck of doom’ found in Australia. Given the absurdly deadly creatures already known to inhabit the country on land and in the sea, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised to know there were even more deadly inhabitants in the past (psssst – this is the main link – the whole purpose of this post – if you skip the others, follow this one).

SYDNEY, Australia – Forget cute, cuddly marsupials. Paleontologists

say they have found the fossilized remains of a fanged killer kangaroo and what they describe as a “demon duck of doom.”

A University of New South Wales team said the fearsome fossils were among 20 previously unknown species uncovered at a site in Australia’s northwest Queensland state.

. . .

Vertebrate paleontologist Sue Hand said modern kangaroos look almost nothing like their ferocious forebears, which lived between 10 million and 20 million years ago.

The species found at the dig had “well muscled-in teeth, not for grazing. These things had slicing crests that could have crunched through bone and sliced off flesh,” Hand said.

Crunched? Damned kangaroos. I don’t think I want my bones crunched through, nor my flesh sliced off, thank you very much. Fortunately, these things appear to be gone now. Still, freaky-scary, I tell you. Oh, and freaky-scary is a technical term, I think. Although I haven’t verified that.

[tags]Australia, Freak-Scary critters[/tags]

Automated Master Lock crackers

I don’t link to Hack-a-Day very often, which is shameful on my part, as it’s an excellent site.  The latest article that caught my eye is one on Master Lock automated “cracking” machines.  And if you aren’t interested in the robotic crackers, there’s a link to a guide on opening these locks yourself in about 10 minutes.
[tags]Locks, Master Locks, Lock cracking[/tags]

Dollar based shirts

(via MAKE ezine blog)

Money origami is what this is. The directions are a little funky-reading at the important step of adding sleeves to the creation, but the end result is a pretty slick looking folded bill that looks like a shirt. I’ve tried this, and am pleased with the results. I want to add a clarifying point to the original creator’s guide:

Gently unfold the previous two folds, keeping the creases. On the lateral fold furthest from the collar, refold it strait across as shown. (On the flatbed scanner, this made a bit of a mess of it, but it is fairly easy in 3D.)

At this step in the guide, the picture shows a bill with the entire top edge unfolded.  I couldn’t make a sharp fold in the bill and keep the whole thing flat.  After fiddling around a bit and reading the next step, I realized that at this point, the bill didn’t need to be pressed flat while doing the step.  So fold the entire top end of the bill so it is squared off as shown in the creator’s pictures without keeping the paper flat until after the following step.

And that is not clear, either.  Just work through with the pictures and the guide and keep in mind that at the step I’ve highlight, getting the bill squared off is necessary and means the paper won’t be flat until you finish the step that follows it.

[tags]Money origami, origami[/tags]

Run your own windmill

(via Engadget)

Wind Energy Goes Mainstream with New Residential Small Wind Generator

Skystream 3.7â„¢ uses new technology to help homeowners take control of skyrocketing energy costs with clean, renewable energy

FLAGSTAFF, Az., June 27 – A new small residential wind generator from Southwest Windpower will give homeowners a new weapon in the fight against rising electricity costs. Skystream 3.7™ is the first fully integrated wind generator designed specifically for the grid-connected residential market.

A combination of new technologies, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, resulted in a product that quietly produces electricity for a fraction of the cost of current technologies. Skystream’s low cost and low profile provides homeowners an affordable energy supplement that’s appropriate for installation in many residential areas around the country. With no batteries, Skystream 3.7 connects directly to the home to supply power. When the wind is not blowing, the home is powered by the electric utility. Depending on the local utility, excess electricity can be sold back to the utility or used at a later date.

Here’s your chance to save yourself some money on power bills.  According to the press release, typical payback is 5 to 12 years.  Of course, if you are thinking about getting one, you might want to check your local zoning codes before trying to set one up in the back yard.  And the company recommends at least an acre of land to install your new windmill  So those of you in major metropolitan areas might not want to buy one.  If you do get one, be sure to protect it from knights who might tilt your way.
[tags]Wind power, Windmills, Don Quixote[/tags]

Tunnel digging as a hobby

med_hobby_digging.jpgModern Mechanix so often puts up cool stories. I need to think more about this tunnel digging idea from the August 1932 issue of Modern Mechanix magazine. I could go for a few extra levels in my house.

ONE of the oddest hobbies in the world is that of Dr. H. G. Dyar, international authority on moths and butterflies of the Smithsonian Institution, who has found health and recreation in digging an amazing series of tunnels beneath his Washington home.

Almost a quarter of a mile of tunnels has been completed, lined with concrete. The deepest passage, illustrated in the accompanying diagram, extends 32 feet down.
Every bit of earth was removed unaided by Dr. Dyar, being carried out in pails. He found the tunnel-digging an appealing form of exercise to relieve the intense strain of his work day, which involved much close work with high-power microscopes.

The catacombs are constructed in three levels, with steps and iron pipe ladders leading between different tiers. The idea first came to Dr. Dyar when he sought to make an underground entrance to his furnace cellar.

I suspect I might have trouble convincing the wife that digging under the house is such a good idea, though.

[tags]Tunnel Digging, Modern Mechanix[/tags]

First US digital computer

More modern marvels from Modern Mechanix.  This time, it’s a nice little write-up on the first digital computer in the U.S.  Originally published in Popular Science in 1944, the write-up now is probably only of interest to really geeky people (like me).  Some interesting facts about the IBM ASCC (Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator) from the site:

  • It cost $250,000 in 1944 dollars.
  • It could calculate using numbers with up to 23 signifigant digits. These were set with an array of 1,440 dials (check out the picture below)
  • It took 3/10 second for add/subtract, 5.8 for multiplication and 14.7 seconds for division.
  • It weighed 35 tons and was powered by a 2 horse-power motor. (With mhz, ghz, mb, gb, tb, dpi, ms, bps, etc don’t you think it’s time hp got back into the computer lexicon?)
  • It contained 500 miles of wire

And some of the article in question:

SOME boy may soon work his way through Harvard University by watching a 51-foot switchboard all night in an air-conditioned basement. Behind its polished panels, electricity will be solving the longest and most difficult mathematical problems ever conceived. It will be doing everything that is known to be mathematically possible with such numbers as 12,743,287,341,045,502,372,098.

Even Commander Howard H. Aiken, U.S.N.R., the professor in charge of this 35-ton calculating machine, says he does not know what you would call a number that long. It is billions of billions.

But the young man running this figure factory will not need to be a mathematician. If anything goes wrong, a red light will flash, he will make a few simple adjustments, and the mountain of machinery will go swiftly on with computations that professors have not lived long enough to complete.

We need to get that flashing red light thing back on computers for when things go wrong, though.  The only flashing red light on my system at home goes on whenever the hard drive lights up.  And the only warning light I get is that bright blue screen that comes up for those special Windows crashes.

[tags]Supercomputers, IBM, ASCC, Modern Mechanix[/tags]

Enermax’ new keyboard = t3h sexay!

(via Engadget)
crystal-keyboard2.jpgEnermax has just announced it’s Crystal keyboard, available for purchase in Japan beginning July 10th for the equivalent of $86. Made of aluminum and connecting to your system with USB port, the keyboard features a very-low profile make, 2 port USB hub, Audio control keys, Blue LEDs (because Blue LEDs are t3h sexi0rist), and extremely high duty cycle keys (rated at 10-million key presses). Keep in mind, however, that this sucker weighs nearly 2.5 pounds. That’s well over one-third the weight of my laptop. So carrying this will certainly be adding a bit of a load to your laptop bag.  It sure is pretty, though.  And Enermax warns the keyboard is “not safe to look at due to risk of hypnosis.”
[tags]Enermax, Keyboards[/tags]

Papercraft Pirates of the Caribbean ship

(via boingboing)
To celebrate today’s release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, we’ll highlight a cool pirate themed papercraft project. I love looking at papercraft projects, but never have time to do them. This one, I’d really like to work on. After all, who doesn’t love a pirate?

wickedwenchpapercraft.jpg

[tags]Pirates of the Caribbean, papercraft, Pirate ship, Disney[/tags]

Sperm have a sense of smell

Here’s a little bit of news that I doubt many people knew. The fine folks at SEED magazine have published a short about the sense of smell that sperm have.

A new study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry shows that sperm have a sense of smell. Further, it’s so sophisticated that even an ovarian scent that’s diluted 100,000 times will cause the little gametes to turn tail and swim in its direction. The study’s authors note that sperm have olfactory receptor proteins—much like those in our noses—which reside over their outer membranes. The researchers used mouse sperm for their study, but they are confident their results apply to man-sperm as well. Apparently, sperm does not hold much of a species bias, as sperm from one mammal will respond to ovarian chemicals from another.

(source: Discovery News)

I just had to post this, as how often can one post about sperm, use the term man-sperm, and speak about SEED magazine all at the same time and not be discussing something dirty? I didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to educate and use funny words at the same time. I’ll avoid the offensive or suggestive jokes I could make at this time.

However, since we’re on the subject, here’s another sex-related article from the same page.

Hold the Screaming Orgasm

Norwegians like their nights long, their herring pickled and their sex sober. According to a survey of 1736 people by Arcus, the only wine distiller in Norway, 52% of Norwegian men and 59% of Norwegian women think sex is better without social lubricant. However, 27% of men and 20% of women responded that it’s preferable to have a few glasses of wine before doing the deed. This study is the first step in Arcus’s grand plan to find out exactly when and how Norway wants its booze.

(source: Aftenposten) Thanks to Seed‘s Deputy Art Director Adam Billyeald for his translation assistance.

[tags]SEED magazine, Science news[/tags]

Hero MMORPG free play

(via Joystiq)

Not sure what to say about this one, so I’ll take the lazy method and steal Joystiq’s content tonight:

Martial arts-inspired MMORPG Hero Online has announced that an open beta will begin on June 30 and last for at least a month. For those of you tired of WoW and the others, this is a good chance to get your feet wet in something new. Since it seems there are so many new MMOs coming out, who knows if this thing will last. But hey, can’t argue with free, can you? For those not in the know, the game features the following:

  • Hero is created by martial art novelists.
  • Player characters learn many skills and forms.
  • Hero utilizes a reward system that keeps track of how many monsters a player kills from log in to log out.

Honestly, looking over the site and features, the game seems to be a bit slim in the content department. Has anyone here been playing the closed beta? If so, what are your impressions?

Come on, now! Who wouldn’t want to at least try a martial arts based MMORPG? This could end up the ultimate show of Real Ultimate Power!

That said – I’m signing up for the open beta, and will almost certainly try this game out when its final release comes.

[tags]MMORPG, Real Ultimate Power[/tags]

How a Fireworks Magician Tames Dynamite

Here’s a pretty cool old article at Modern Mechanix. I just hate that I didn’t see it in time to post for the July 4th holiday. It’s a Modern Mechanix magazine 1934 article about how fireworks speciailists deal with dynamite in a safe manner.

Flaming dynamite and exploding mortars are the chief tools of the fireworks expert. In this vivid, intimate story one of the aces of the fireworks army takes you behind the scenes to reveal, for the first time, the thrills and dangers of his roaring trade.

MILLIONS of Americans thrill yearly to the glittering wheels, flaming rockets and spectacular bombs of the giant fireworks displays; but the men who fire them are the men nobody knows—the world’s most mysterious showmen. . . .“One of the important things to keep in mind about fireworks,” said Briese, “is the difference between display work and the over-the-counter business—that is, the sale of firecrackers, pin wheels, rockets and the – like to the consumer. Accidents are far less frequent in display work because trained men do the firing.

“The noise-makers are the most dangerous pieces. In fact, a stick of dynamite is about the most hazardous unit we employ.

. . .

“The worst accidents in the fireworks business occur at the factories but they are rare now. Only small quantities of material are Handled at a time and most of the work is done in isolated sheds, spotted over a . wide area. These sheds are of flimsy construction. If an explosion does occur, the walls and roof give way, reducing the shock to any persons inside. The big display sets with all their sparks and fire may look hazardous but they are not as dangerous as the simple sticks of dynamite and the bombs. A big display may contain a ton of material but only 300 or 400 pounds of this may be explosive powder. Chemicals make up the balance of the material; and whereas they’ll burn, of course, they won’t explode violently.

. . .

How Displays Are Fired

“Shooters wear no special safety equipment, not even goggles.. The firing is done with a ‘port fire’ a five-foot flare made of two rocket sticks spliced together. It burns about five minutes and gives plenty of brilliant light so the operator can see the ‘match,’ or fuse, where the piece is set off. Sometimes part of the set doesn’t go off because of a broken connection. We keep watch for this and reach up with a port fire and start it going.

Fascinating. A very good, if somewhat lengthy, read on how fireworks shows are (or were in 1934 at least) put together.

[tags]Fireworks, Modern Mechanix, Dynamite[/tags]