Friday, 10 April 2009

Mouse Mouse: When Technology Meets Taxidermy

Evolution? Not quite. But certainly one of the most morbid hacks I’ve ever seen. Combining the body of a real mouse, with the functionality of the peripheral variety this Mouse Mouse sports a scroll wheel, USB connectivity and an optical sensor – though I was kind of expecting a double trackball.

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Monday, 29 December 2008

Dog-Powered Vehicles: Get Around. With Your Hound.

Ever feel that walking the dog is a chore? How can a drained, overworked human possibly keep up with the boundless energy of a young canine companion? Well, thanks to these Dog-Powered Vehicles, you can take your pooch out for a run while you relax. Reclined on a Terra Trike or standing stationary on a dog-powered scooter, you steer the way and exercise is optional.

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Wednesday, 3 December 2008

Video: RepRap Rapid-Prototyping Robot Prints Shot Glasses

We’re seeing a lot of interesting 3D printing technologies come up lately. From Concrete-Jet Printers that can build entire houses, to the recent Mcor Matrix that builds 3D models from paper and glue. Well, now we have the RepRap, an open-source collaborative effort that uses plastic extrusion to model three-dimensional, leak-proof shot glasses.

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Wednesday, 26 November 2008

Gesture-Controlled Trackpad Light Switch Concept Is Not Dim

The traditional light switch is a great invention. Cheap, reliable and simple to operate. But these days, when we engineer increasingly complex lighting setups with dimmer switches and central control panels, we need something a little more intuitive.

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Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Video: Levitating Magnet Defies Gravity

Here is an interesting project that uses the Hall Effect to make a magnet hover in mid air. A microcontroller is used to make rapid adjustments in the strength of the electromagnet (the coil above) to center the permanent magnet and keep it still. Even with outside influences – in this case a poking finger (video below) – the permanent magnet quickly returns to to the center.

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Tuesday, 18 November 2008

Lego Safe: 305 Billion Combos, No Match For A Heat Gun.

While this Lego safe is…well…made of Lego, it’s more secure than you might imagine. With 305 billion possible code combinations, motion sensor alarms, a weight of 14 pounds and the fact that no thief would ever think you’d be stupid enough to secure anything of real monetary value behind Lego – it should work a treat.

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Monday, 6 October 2008

Video: Woody’s Pumpkin Creep Will Traumatize Trick Or Treaters

I’m grateful I haven’t run into this in the dark! A control electrician called Woody has used his talents to put together an altogether terrifying robotic pumpkin. The creature rapidly grows from a mere pumpkin on the ground to a man-like monster within seconds, its eyes glowing red to the accompaniment of deathly gut-churning growls.

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