To be honest, the performance of this pneumatic cannon isn’t really blowing me away — but the noise it makes is cracking me up. Can you spare fifteen seconds to watch the video? I knew you could. → Read More
Remember a couple weeks back, we saw that sweet crossbow that shot machetes instead of bolts? Well, the creator of that engine of destruction has put together a new contraption: a slingshot that fires six 20mm steel balls at once. It powers through that watermelon like there’s nothing there. → Read More
There may be some truth to the idea that some people get turned off coding because it’s often restricted to simple input-output stuff at first, tied to a screen filled with text. Carnegie Mellon, a hotbed of roboticism, has decided to make introductory programming (with an eye to to robots) a little more accessible. They’ve put together a little robot that’s easy to code for and can be used to bring hacking and coding to the real world right off the bat. → Read More
This is the twee-est disk drive I’ve ever seen! Those of you who are old enough will remember the Atari 400 and 800 systems, with their separate disk drive, the 810. This Rossum character has put together a working replica of the 810 that takes MicroSD cards – at about a hundredth the size. → Read More
There are definitely some slick-looking electric motorcycles and bikes out there — but this ain’t one of ‘em. On the other hand, it does look like something you could keep working in a Mad Max type environment. And in the end, isn’t that really what it’s all about? → Read More
Here’s an interesting little project that anybody with some foil, gaffing tape, and a scintillator can do. It’ll let you see for yourself the natural radiation associated with elements like 40K Potassium, and of course any radiation coming off things like reactors or Godzillas. → Read More
Yep, it works and only cost $200 and 70-100 hours of the creator’s life. A good investment. [Kotaku] → Read More
Having an adjustable mic stand is essential for home recording or podcasting. Those mics are so sensitive that you really have to place them in the right position. Unfortunately, decent articulating mic stands can be expensive. But, if you’re close enough to an IKEA store to buy an IKEA TERTIAL lamp, then you can make your own. It’s as easy as removing the bulb and head of the lamp and attaching a microphone to the end with a microphone mount. → Read More
Model rockets are about the best things on Earth, second only to Super Mario World, of course. This Bullet Bill DIY rocket combines the two in an unholy matrimony. The entire construction process is documented over on Instructables. Word of caution: It’s not the easiest thing to build and is probably the wrong first model rocket project. Start out with some hobby store kits first. Or just jump in the deep end and build this sweet, sweet Bullet Bill rocket. The worst thing that could happen is it blows up and, well, that’s potentially awesome, too. Launch video after the jump. → Read More
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories put together an impressive automatic drink-making machine last year which they called the Drink-Making Unit. This year they’ve reinvented it with a whole new style and twice as many ingredient options. And in keeping with the descriptive style of naming, it is known as the Drink-Making Unit 2.0. → Read More
There are cosplayers and then there’s this guy, or as he calls himself, the Real Tony Stark. His homemade Mark V armor is nearly good enough to pass as a legitimate movie prop. The man even built-in glowing eyes, a lighted arc reactor and sound effects powered by an Arduino controller. The video after the jump doesn’t exactly do the whole project justice. Jump over to his 89 photos on Cosplay.com for what’s probably a tiny peek at the sheer amount of work he put into the suit. It’s nuts. → Read More
I realize this is a bad day to show off something amazingly cool, but this turret is worth the abuse. Basically it’s a Tupperware cake container with an airgun inside. It uses a small microcontroller and an IR sensor to accept commands and it can swivel and tilt up and down to take on attackers from all sides. A press of the green button fires and a press of the red button stops the gun. → Read More
So you want your very own Hasselblad, but don’t want to spend the $40K? Well, this is right up your alley, though some assembly is required. → Read More
Up here in Seattle there’s a band called A Gun That Shoots Knives. That’s a good idea, but until we get the technology for that ultimate weapon worked out, we’re going to have to use A Crossbow That Shoots Machetes. → Read More
I love that there are tons of tinkerers out there just putting together robots for no other reason than “hey, this might work.” Home hacker Lars Kristian Roland made this one, a simple rover bot with a gripping claw (it runs on modular hardware and an Arduino, naturally) — but the twist in this case is that it’s controlled by a Chronos watch that has a built-in accelerometer and antenna. → Read More
Matt over at Gizmodo points out a nice bit of DIY work done by Andrew Scrivani, a left-handed photographer for the NY Times. His right arm is out of commission for a while, and left-handed SLR bodies are expensive as hell, so he went to his gear closet and put together this little hack. Basically it’s just a rigid bracket for him to hold while he fires the remote with his incapacitated hand; he can’t do everything, but he can at least hand-hold the camera and get the shot. More details at Scrivani’s blog. → Read More
This is some full-bore M.C. Escher stuff here, people. This cartridge contains a full NES and can play other NES cartridges. The cart uses a Famicom clone, sometimes called a Nintendo-On-A-Chip, and a few ports drilled into the plastic case. → Read More
Skrikitty skrikitty scratch! This odd little turntable lets you rock the wheels of steel from the comfort of your own wrist, in turn becoming the most popular of your peer group excepting the kids with real talent and/or good looks.
You can read the full Instuctable here or just watch the video a few times. Your call. → Read More
Although a post that begins with “over the past six months I have set up fairly complete printed circuit board fabrication lab in my apartment, cheaply and safely” can be somewhat disconcerting, I believe that a man with the chops to make a PCB fab in is apartment is a man worthy of knowing. Luckily, that man, one Jared Foster, has made these fancy persistence-of-vision business cards to share his info with you. → Read More
