Tag Archives: automaton

We All Live in a Wooden Submarine

Posted on by

Because one can never have too much whimsy, Taiwanese carpenter and automata maker Chi-Chun Yin constructed the ‘Ark III’, a wooden submarine automata crewed by a bunch of different animals. With a turn of a crank (cleverly doubling as the sub’s propeller), the entire crew is brought to life. It’s absolutely bursting at the seams with whimsy!

Yin says it took about six months to complete the project from conception to completion, which is impressive considering the wooden birdhouse I started constructing six months ago is still in pieces, one of which is glued to my arm.

I’ve always wished I was better at carpentry and woodworking, but I’ve come to realize they require some amount of skill and patience, two things I have in very short supply. I did make a ship in a bottle once though. Okay, I bought a ship in a bottle once.


[via Laughing Squid]

A LEGO Jeopardy! Kinetic Sculpture Built in Tribute to Alex Trebek

Posted on by

We all pay our respects in our own way, and LEGO builder and YouTuber Douglas Hughes decided to construct this kinetic Jeopardy! sculpture in honor of the late, great Alex Trebek. Featuring contestants Ken Jennings (most wins), Brad Rutter (most money won), and James Holzhauer (most records), the figures move and buzz in, complete with light effects. I’ll take Best Gameshow Host Of All Time for $1,000, Alex.

The methods of how Douglas was able to achieve the desired movement from the characters with minimal moving parts is pretty clever, which he shows at the end of the video, and discusses in detail in his build diary available on Bricknerd. I wish I had that sort of ingenuity, but I’m just happy if I remember to put my socks on before my shoes.

A fitting tribute to Trebek for sure. Me? I’ll pay my respects to Alex the only way I know how: continuing to yell completely wrong answers at the television from 7:00 to 7:30 PM nightly.

[via Boing Boing]

LEGO Automaton: LEGONardo da Vinci

Posted on by

This awesome LEGO robot was inspired by 18th Century Swiss watch and automata creators Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri Maillardet. It is a LEGO automaton that draws sketches on paper and comes from the mind of Italian robot maker Daniele Benedettelli.

Legonardo
He is made from LEGO bricks and actuated by Lego Mindstorms NXT. Fittingly, he is named LEGOnardo. If you’ve ever seen Hugo, or read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it’s clear that its builder drew inspiration from that story. The drawings that the robot creates on paper are the product of custom software that Daniele designed himself. He can draw far better than I can.

Check out the video above to see LEGOnardo in action and to see how he was assembled in the brief  clip below.

Obviously Daniele has a love of both robots and LEGO. They come together here in a fascinating creation that looks just like it’s creator.

[via Gizmodo via Damn Geeky]

The Ethiopian Caterpillar – Robot Bug of the 19th Century

Posted on by

I’m always mesmerized by the intricate craftsmanship found in antique automatons. I think it’s something about the fact that people could build robotics without any electrical or electronic components that is truly amazing. One of the more incredible automatons to pop onto my radar screen of late is this mechanical caterpillar that dates back to 1820.

ethiopian caterpillar

The Vers de Sois caterpillar was apparently created by Swiss clockmaker Henri Maillardet nearly 200 years ago. This detailed, jewel-encrusted caterpillar can actually crawl across a flat surface when wound up. Check it out in action:

Sure, it’s a bit noisy, but still impressive, no? Well, all of this incredible miniature automation doesn’t come cheap though. The Vers de Sois caterpillar recently sold at auction for over $415,000(USD). I think I’ll stick with my HexBugs for now.

[via Worldtempus via Neatorama via Richard Kadrey via Gizmodo]

Robot uses glue gun to make tools, hopes to ace Survival Skills 101

Posted on by

Robot uses glue gun to make tools, hopes to ace Survival Skills 101

Looking through Engadget's annals of robotic achievements, we see droids juggling, dabbling in competitive sailing and even manning prisons. Cool as they are, those functions aren't going to mean a thing when Mr. Automaton is lost in the wilderness, damaged and without a helping human hand in sight. Researchers at ETH Zurich are working to change that scenario, as they're currently developing a "self-reconfigurable" device that packs a glue gun for creating the tools it needs on the fly. It might not be the quickest method -- as you'll see in the video below, making a glue cup takes a good hour -- but it's effective enough for transporting and pouring water. That's not to say that the prototype is ready to fend for itself; it built the cup, but only under human direction. The researchers' next step is adding in autonomous capabilities so the bots can repair things -- and even build other robots -- without being told to do so. A sea of self-regenerating droids? Sounds harmless to us.

Continue reading Robot uses glue gun to make tools, hopes to ace Survival Skills 101

Robot uses glue gun to make tools, hopes to ace Survival Skills 101 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 May 2012 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink IEEE Spectrum: Automaton Blog  |   | Email this | Comments