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Back in the 1980s we had a little game system here in the States called the NES. In Japan, that system was called the Famicom. It looked mighty different, but played most of the same games. And while the Famicom has long-since been discontinued, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t get the occasional hack done to it just like the NES. Here, we have a Famicom, hacked to control a robot.
Ninagawa Izumi’s robot is controlled by the classic red and gold Famicom gamepad. While I’m not sure of all of the steps in the hack, it involved the use of a Bluetooth dongle, a Wii controller, an NES/SNES to Wii adapter, a PS to Wii adapter and a Bluetooth-to-serial adapter. All of this was put together to control a cute little ROBO-XERO humanoid robot with some googly eyeballs. Here, check it out in action:
Funny thing is, this isn’t the only controller that he’s operated his robot with…
Sweet, eh? I wish Nintendo would come out with their own line of robots operated by game controller. Heck, they could even skip the Famicom, and go straight for the Wii U controller. It would be cool if you could pilot a Nintendobot using motion control and get a ‘bots-eye view using the screen. I bet they’d sell at least a few more Wii Us if they started offering Wii U robots to go with. And yes, I know it wouldn’t be the first time Nintendo connected a robot to a console.
I have a tendency to be pretty modern in terms of my design choices around the house, so traditional chandeliers aren’t really my cup of tea. However, I might make an exception if I could have a chandelier that looked like an octopus.
These incredibly complicated chandeliers by artist Adam Wallacavage replace their candle-holding arms with lots of twisty tentacles. Each of these cephalopod chandeliers is made from various bits and bobs including lamp parts, epoxy clay and spray paint, among other things.
While his designs may be based on some of the more unusual and creepy looking creatures on the planet, Adam manages to infuse a bit of whimsy and elegance into his designs, primarily through his choices of colors and finishing touches.
You can check out more of Adam’s slithery octopus chandeliers on his Instagram feed.
Ironically, Adam is allergic to shellfish, as well as octopus.
Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.
If you’re looking to buy a product from a specific store, save money with updated and verified coupon codes here.
Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.
If you’re looking to buy a product from a specific store, save money with updated and verified coupon codes here.
At first, you might think what you’re looking at is just a cool illuminated wall sculpture. Well it is that, but it’s actually more. It’s actually a weather forecaster with a tangible user interface.
This interactive LED art was assembled by Instructables contributor and Parsons design student Adiel Fernandez. He built the wall unit using a set of three sconces found at CB2, rigged with a digitally-addressable LED scrip, cut into pieces that he placed into the sconces. His original concept was to simply rig the sconce with flickering LEDs to make them look like candles without the inconvenience of actual candles and flame, but ultimately ended up with a much more interactive pieces.
The wall sculpture is controlled by a small acrylic cube with icons on each side. Inside the cube is a gyroscope, accelerometer, XBee radio and lithium-polymer battery. Rotating the cube to face an icon upwards will switch the LEDs between 6 modes, described in the words of its creator as follows:
Power: “The cube is normally off to save power and will not recognize any commands or orientation. By having the power icon facing up and shaking the cube, the cube is now awake, will pulse the inner light that shines through the icons, and will recognize which side is facing up to allow other modes to be accessed. By spinning the cube while its on and the power side is up, a fun rainbow display is turned on and off.”
Flame: “When the cube is on and the flame side is facing up, the lights in the sconces will glow and flicker like real candle flames (a little difficult to see in the video). By rotating the cube clockwise, the number of candles lit are incremented and likewise, rotating it counter clockwise decreases the number of lights lit.”
High Temperature: “Having this side face up while the cube is on will display the high temperature of the day in red light. The lights will display the first digit of the temperature on the left side by lighting up the number of lights equivalent to that digit. The lights then pause then display the second digit of the temperature on the right side. For example, if the temp. is 47 degrees (like in the video), the lights will show 4 lights on the left, pause, then display 7 lights on the right.”
Low Temperature: “Similar to the low temp side, this side will show the low temperature of the day in a cool cyan hue.”
Precipitation (snow/rain): “This will display the percent chance of precipitation similar to how the other temperatures are displayed in blue. Its a little difficult to tell the difference between the cyan and blue in the video but easier in person.”
Travel (plane around the world): “For a bit of whimsy, I decided to make the bottom of the cube display the temperature of some fantasy destination set by the user in green light. In this case it’s set to Honolulu, Hawaii, hopefully making it easier to bare the cold winter with hopes of a future vacation.”
Here’s a look at the controller cube in action:
And here’s a brief demo of the wall as it lights up:
At this point, the temperature data is hard-coded into the system, but Adiel plans to get it wired up to an internet data source soon. There aren’t too many more details on the build available, but you can see what there is over on Instructables.
At first, you might think what you’re looking at is just a cool illuminated wall sculpture. Well it is that, but it’s actually more. It’s actually a weather forecaster with a tangible user interface.
This interactive LED art was assembled by Instructables contributor and Parsons design student Adiel Fernandez. He built the wall unit using a set of three sconces found at CB2, rigged with a digitally-addressable LED scrip, cut into pieces that he placed into the sconces. His original concept was to simply rig the sconce with flickering LEDs to make them look like candles without the inconvenience of actual candles and flame, but ultimately ended up with a much more interactive pieces.
The wall sculpture is controlled by a small acrylic cube with icons on each side. Inside the cube is a gyroscope, accelerometer, XBee radio and lithium-polymer battery. Rotating the cube to face an icon upwards will switch the LEDs between 6 modes, described in the words of its creator as follows:
Power: “The cube is normally off to save power and will not recognize any commands or orientation. By having the power icon facing up and shaking the cube, the cube is now awake, will pulse the inner light that shines through the icons, and will recognize which side is facing up to allow other modes to be accessed. By spinning the cube while its on and the power side is up, a fun rainbow display is turned on and off.”
Flame: “When the cube is on and the flame side is facing up, the lights in the sconces will glow and flicker like real candle flames (a little difficult to see in the video). By rotating the cube clockwise, the number of candles lit are incremented and likewise, rotating it counter clockwise decreases the number of lights lit.”
High Temperature: “Having this side face up while the cube is on will display the high temperature of the day in red light. The lights will display the first digit of the temperature on the left side by lighting up the number of lights equivalent to that digit. The lights then pause then display the second digit of the temperature on the right side. For example, if the temp. is 47 degrees (like in the video), the lights will show 4 lights on the left, pause, then display 7 lights on the right.”
Low Temperature: “Similar to the low temp side, this side will show the low temperature of the day in a cool cyan hue.”
Precipitation (snow/rain): “This will display the percent chance of precipitation similar to how the other temperatures are displayed in blue. Its a little difficult to tell the difference between the cyan and blue in the video but easier in person.”
Travel (plane around the world): “For a bit of whimsy, I decided to make the bottom of the cube display the temperature of some fantasy destination set by the user in green light. In this case it’s set to Honolulu, Hawaii, hopefully making it easier to bare the cold winter with hopes of a future vacation.”
Here’s a look at the controller cube in action:
And here’s a brief demo of the wall as it lights up:
At this point, the temperature data is hard-coded into the system, but Adiel plans to get it wired up to an internet data source soon. There aren’t too many more details on the build available, but you can see what there is over on Instructables.
Several years back, I spotted these watches that could be programmed to display scrolling messages. The problem was that they were pretty tricky to program, and had significant limitations in terms of the length of messages you could display. Fast forward to 2013, and we have LinkMe, a dot-matrix LED moving message board which can display messages sent over Bluetooth.
Instead of just outputting silly messages, the elliptical LinkMe bracelet can display messages sent to you via SMS, Twitter or Facebook. Simply configure the companion smartphone app to display messages from specific senders and you can read messages without having to take the phone out of your pocket. In addition to working as a display for messages, the LinkMe works as a watch, and you can also program custom messages so you can use it like a wrist-worn billboard too.
Matt Sandy, Colin Glaum and Tim Goldburt – the team behind the LinkMe – are currently raising funds for production of the LinkMe over on Kickstarter. For early backers, a pledge of at least $99(USD) will get you a LinkMe bracelet in red. For $120, you can get the limited-edition blue model, which looks even cooler, IMHO. You’ll need to get in on the project before May 5, 2013 if you want one of the first batch.
Remember how much I liked LG’s 29″ Ultrawide IPS Display? Well good news! LG has been kind enough to provide one lucky reader of Technabob or The Awesomer with the chance to win one of these displays.
For those of you who aren’t up to speed on the display’s specs, here’s a rundown of the basics:
29″ diagonal IPS LED backlit display
2560×1080 resolution
21:9 display ratio for multiple side-by-side windows or widescreen movie playback
5 million-to-1 dynamic contrast ratio
Dual Link Up for viewing content from two devices at once
DisplayPort, HDMI, HDMI/MHL and DVI inputs
Screen Splitter software for easy window organization (Windows only)
Built-in USB 3.0 hub
Built-in stereo speakers
For your chance to win this awesome display for yourself, simply follow the entry directions in the form below before 12:00am CDT on 3/25/2013. The more tasks you perform, the more entries you win.
Thanks again to LG for the awesome prize, and good luck, everyone!
Terms and Conditions: Open only to U.S. Residents. Winner MUST provide a valid contact Email address. Contest ends 12:00am Central Daylight Time on Monday, March 25th, 2013. Not open to employees, staff or agents of LG Electronics or Awesomer Media. Prize provided by LG Electronics. Approximate Retail Value: $699(USD).
If you’re ever in Las Vegas, New York, Beverly Hills, or Yountville, California you must stop by Bouchon Bakery and buy a batch of their French Macarons. They’re the tastiest damned thing you’ll ever eat. So when I saw that they were making flash drives that looked like these delectable pastries, I started drooling.
Yes, I know that I cannot eat a flash drive, but it doesn’t make these brightly-colored pucks look any less appetizing. PQI’s Macaron USB Flash Drives look just like my favorite tasty treat, so I’m not sure that I could resist trying to take a byte out of my flash memory. While you definitely won’t want to dip these in your afternoon tea, they are water-resistant, dust-resistant and shock-resistant, so they might hold up to my stomach acids for at least 10 seconds before disintegrating.
No word on where you can buy these yet, but I suppose that’s a good thing, as I wouldn’t want to end up in the ER getting my stomach pumped anyhow.
Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.
