Hobbies & Toys News
News: PAARRRTY! Robo-Drummers and Pole Dancing Stripper Bots
Artist Giles Walker's robot peep show/DJ installation piece gives us a little glimpse of what strip clubs could look like in the future (well, let's really hope not, guys). Walker also teams up with Frank Barnes and his robot drummers (second video in the gallery below, check it out - pretty sweet). Previously, Sexxxy Roxxy: World's First Sex Bot (NSFW).
News: Creepy (Yet Kinda Attractive) Android Chick Laughs and Smiles
Hiroshi Ishiguro is at it again, but this time "it" has a winning smile. Japanese researchers have developed a humanoid robot that can laugh and smile, mimicking a real person's facial expressions. The android, called Geminoid F, is modeled after a woman in her twenties, with long black hair, silicone skin and lifelike teeth.
News: Dollhouse Baker Obsessively Crafts Tiniest Cakes In The World
Via CAKES! CAKES! CAKES!:
News: Insane LEGO Replica of World's Most Expensive Car (Working 7 Speed Transmission!)
Sheepo HL's LEGO replica of the Bugatti Veyron is more than just a perfect facsimile, it also runs! It has a fully functional seven-speed gearbox, retracting spoiler, independent suspension, and more. DO NOT miss the videos below. Amazing. Previously, Obsessively Authentic LEGO V-8.
News: 3,000 Bricks Make 1 Amazing Amy Winehouse LEGO Portrait
Pretty impressive, as far as LEGO portraiture goes. Via The Telegraph:
News: Meet the Human-Spined Robot, Kojiro
Kojiro the robot has muscles, tendons and a flexible spine- just like you! Combine Kojiro with the doppelganger bot and you'll have something supremely sci-fi freaky.
News: Help! Child Swarmed by Bots
This kid looks less than pleased (skip to 2:37). The goal of Swarm-bots is to show how many small robots can work together to achieve a larger task (such as dragging a little girl's body across the floor):
News: Star Wars Foosball Table Made Entirely of LEGOs
An incredible LEGO feat: the Rebel vs. Empire Star Wars LEGO Foosball table. Built entirely, in and out, of LEGOs.
News: Slithery Snake Bot Scales, Sidewinds & Rolls
CMU’s Biorobotics Laboratory modular snake robot slithers in all sorts of different ways. Check out the three videos in the gallery below.
News: 16-Year-Old Builds Wicked LEGO Star Wars Diorama
Paul Yperman, you've got some competition (see previous entry, Star Wars LEGO Droid Ship). 15-year old Sven Junga's LEGO Stargate diorama (including a Daedalus from Stargate Atlantis) is nothing to shrug about. Incredibly impressive.
News: Fully Articulated LEGO Arm Mimics Human Movement
LEGO technic builder Sariel presents a mighty impressive weekend project: a motorized LEGO hand that emulates actual human movement. This feat of plastic engineering runs on a combination of electric motors and pneumatic valves.
News: Danes Build Holy Grail of Amateur Rockets
A group of Danes, known as the Copenhagen Suborbitals, have constructed the world's largest amateur rocket. This beast stands at 9 meters tall, and unlike the typical wood-based models, the Heat 1X is a real metal rocket.
News: Motorized LEGO Avatar Helicopter is Badass Na'Vi Killer
Another amazing LEGO feat (+more Avatar mania). Check out this elaborately constructed helicopter, with blades powered by an actual LEGO motor! Scroll down to see it in action. Previously, Man Spends 2 Years & 30,000 LEGOs Building Star Wars Ship.
News: Humanoid Robots To Take Over the World
Don't worry, the robot apocalypse is not upon us...yet. Wired reports it may be closer than you think:
News: Man Spends 2 Years & 30,000 LEGOs Building Star Wars Ship
Paul Yperman’s Droid Control Ship has been two years in the making, and required a whopping 30,000 LEGO bricks to build. Says Brothers Brick, "Paul’s build differs in the surface textures of the model. He uses tiles and greebling elements in shades of gray to add realistic-looking details, which really enhances the appearance of this amazing creation."
News: Insane Eco-Punk LEGO Crawler Town
LEGO maniac Dave DeGobbi has created a small, traveling "eco-punk" city which exists on a mobile platform.
News: LEGO 1858 Remington .45
Meticulously crafted LEGO replica of a Remington .45, circa the Wild Wild West, 1858. Created by Flickr user Arkov.
News: Teeny Tiny Models of Natural Disasters, Fires and Outerspace
Matthew Albanese makes painstakingly detailed model scenes ranging from eerie landscapes to outerspace to outright natural disaster. He crafts the models with tile grout, cotton, phosphorous ink, and lights them from within by 6-60 watt light bulbs.
News: Hobbyist Builds World's Tiniest Engines
Jim Moyer builds tiny engines, with as much attention to detail and craftsmanship as some of our other favorite hobbyists (check out obsessive model airplanes and teeny tiny weapons). The engine demonstrated in the first video below is supposedly the smallest V-8 engine in the world, a 1/6 scale model of the 327 cubic inch motor in a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette. More images and info at Jim's site. Previously, Obsessively Authentic LEGO V-8.
News: Creepy Baby-Bots
OK, first thing's first: need to get this insane picture out of the way. I think this might classify as horror movie creepy.
News: LEGO Semi Trucks Look Like the Real Deal
Don't be fooled. These cleverly photographed LEGO model trucks are just what I said they are... models, not life-sized. Still, they are beautifully designed and constructed. Check out creator Maciej D.'s flickr page for more images.
Star Wars LEGO-gasm: 4' 6" Rebel Frigate
As Gizmodo says, "4 feet 6 inches of brickgasm". Star Wars-gasm. LEGO-gasm. Perfect combination. "The Lego version of the classic Nebulon-B Class rebel frigate Redemption is 4 feet and 6 inches long. That's 172 studs long, and I'm not talking about The Hoff. It's big enough to dock one mini-Millennium Falcon and three X-Wings."
News: Ceiling Robot Pranks From Above
Office workers beware, or a snarky robot may unleash a barrage of ping pong balls upon you. A somewhat sinister individual from the CKBot group at UPenn’s Modlab concocted the prank.
News: 2009's Wackiest Inventions
As 2009 comes to a close, the Telegraph presents a compilation of this past year's wackiest inventions. As always, here at WonderHowTo, we are inspired and impressed by ingenuity. The contraptions below range from utter silliness (engagement ring bra) to downright amazing (see-through concrete). Check it out.
News: World's Largest RC Model Airplane
Built by three Belgian guys, this bad boy holds the Guinness Book of World Records for largest RC plane. It has a span of 8.9m, 4 X 160cc engine, it weighs 210 kg and is built on a scale of 1/5 of the B29.
News: Merry Christmas Bots Play You a Song
A Merry Christmas robot medley of song and dance, courtesy of Bot Junkie.
News: Ex-Dentist Crafts Insanely Anal Model Airplanes
Young C. Park, retired dentist of Honolulu, Hawaii, has satisfied a life long interest in model airplanes with his meticulous, incredibly detailed models of the Corsair and P-51 Mustang. Pictured below is Young Park's Corsair.
News: Make a Baby (Without the Birds and the Bees Part)
Reborning, the insanely creepy (!!) art of transforming vinyl dolls into strikingly realistic newborns, known as "living dolls" or "unliving dolls".
News: Motoman, the LEGO Loving Bot
Motoman the Robot uses a 3D vision system to assemble LEGOs. "Motoman’s high resolution color cameras and object recognition make picking out and connecting LEGO pieces easy...he’s able to get the pieces with one hand while assembling the LEGOs with the other. "
News: Get Yourself a Doppelganger Robot This Christmas (Just $225K)
This holiday season, two lucky consumers will have the opportunity to purchase a robot twin, specially made by Japanese robotics firm Kokoro.
News: I Want a Robo-Chef in My Kitchen
This year's FOOMA International Food Machinery and Technology Exhibition had a few robots I wouldn't mind hanging around my kitchen. The sushi-bot's hand is amazing... if only it could make the sushi, not just transport it. Oh well. There's always next year.
News: Super Robot Has Powers of Levitation
This robot hasn't levitated any humans yet (especially not pictured Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall), but it looks like the sky may be the limit with the Robo-Air Jet System.
News: Robot Dance Off Gets Creepy
As November was coming to an end this year, the "6th Robo-One Gate in International Robot Exhibition 2009" dance competition took place. The contenders are just a little bit creepy, to say the least. Particularly exhibit A, Britney Spears wannabe, "LOVE & JOY, Yuhi Kimura", by Doka Harumi.
News: Creepy Crawler Ant Robot
Wow, this robot has incredible movement. "A-Pod is an ant inspired hexapod robot with a 2 DOF abdomen (tail), a 3 DOF head with large mandibles. 6 legs with 3 DOF each. Total 25 servos. This video demonstrates body movement and mandible control... The robot are remotely controlled with a custom 2,4 GHz RC transmitter."
News: Repair the World One (LEGO) Brick at a Time
Jan Vorman has installed quick LEGO-fixes all over the world - from Italy to Germany to Israel to Holland.
News: Master Nerd Births Perfect Copy Cat Bot
Can't help but smile at this goofy, endearing nerd "master" (Vitalijus Rodnovas) guiding his copy-cat protege robot (coined Waldo). The rig allows Waldo to mimic Rodnovas' body movements in actual real time.
News: Motorize Your Paper Airplane
Sure, you've folded paper airplanes before. But I bet they don't stay airborne for very long. But they will, thanks to this clever little hack.
News: Dexterous Bot Kicks Human-Butt at Pen Spinning
You can try and try, but all the practice in the world can't compete with this robotic hand's pen spinning skills.
News: World's Fastest Clapper
Behold, Kent "Toast" French, the Guinness World Record holder for fastest clapping. You might say, fast clapping? What kind of feat is that? Well, just watch. The video below gets pretty intense... Kent can clap 721 times in 60 seconds. That's 12 claps per second.
On EBAY: Mario Mania + LEGOs = Ultimate Fanboy Idol
To Mario enthusiasts everywhere: Mario mania has been lovingly expressed all over the web for some time now (including How-To). The most recent accomplishment brings together two classic favorites: Mario plus LEGOs.