Technabob » cart

MIT Student Constructs Mario Kart Racer, Cafeteria Runs out of Bananas

Conner Flynn — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:06 +0000

Charles Guan, an MIT grad student, has created a working replica of the vehicles from Super Mario Kart. It is powered by four motors attached to the wheels and can reach speeds upwards of 26 mph. It can also do some crazy turns when the driver leans into the curves.

Even more amazing than the kart itself is how quickly he made the thing. He fabricated it in just three weeks. The vehicle, called the “Chibikart,” is built to be as lightweight as possible. The frame is just 30-inches long and 18-inches wide. Check it out in action in the video clip below:

So, how did he make it so fast? Guan installed a 32-volt battery and electrical system along with an e-bike controller from China to run the power plant of the vehicle. Installed underneath the seat, this drives each of the electrical motors installed in the four small wheels. Sweet. Now he needs to build more and hold Mario Kart races once a year.

[via Kotaku via Geek]

Batman Tumbler Golf Cart Would Definitely Improve My Golf Game

Technabob — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:17:31 +0000

Okay, it really wouldn’t help me score less than a 35 handicap, but this Batman golf cart would definitely cheer me up the next time I four-putt, or can’t hit past the ladies’ tee box. This his undeniably great Tumbler-inspired golf cart was recently spotted on the Warner Bros. studio lot.

Originally thought to be owned by Christopher Nolan, it turns out the cart is actually the work of a serious Batman superfan, who just happens to work at the studio.

Still, Nolan should be duly impressed with the build quality of this mutant golf cart, which looks very much like Batmans’ Tumbler vehicle.

We’ve also gotten our hands on this exclusive photo of the Bat-golf-prototype:

[This LA Life via /Film]

Runaway R/C Ramen Noodle Cart: Why? Why Not?

Technabob — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:56:52 +0000

The latest in a long line of strange and wonderful gadgets from Japan, this remote-controlled vehicle is modeled after one of those Ramen noodle carts you might see on the streets of Yokohama (mama).

The tiny noodle cart runs on 4 AA batteries, and can cruise along at up to 5 kilometers per hour. Luckily, it’s not really a runaway cart, and can be stopped, started and steered with the included RF remote control. Now if you scroll down, get ready for the world’s most annoying, seizure-inducing animated GIF image…

You were warned. Why they couldn’t actually shoot a video of this thing in motion and upload that to YouTube, nobody knows.

Priced at ¥1380 (appx. $15 USD), the runaway noodle cart is currently available only in Japan over on Rakuten. I’m hoping the guys over at Strapya-World decide to export these to other countries like they have with other such goodies.

Springboard: Interactive Shopping Carts

Technabob — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:56:49 +0000

As our society gets more and more used to advertising at every turn, it’s no surprise that interactive advertising is making its way to the place where we’re most likely to be ready to purchase, our shopping carts.

The Concierge system provides shoppers with a wireless, touchscreen computer which can provide interactive advertising and other content to shoppers. The system can be set up to automatically display relevant products after scanning a bar-coded frequent shopper card. It can also scan products in the cart, letting shoppers keep track of their shopping list and their current cart total. The Concierge can also be set up to allow for self-checkout in your cart, and can be outfitted with a wireless credit/debit card reader to facilitate purchases without waiting in line. Other features include an live product search, store directory and a recipe database.

Each cart runs on an embedded version of Windows CE, with 802.11g WiFi connectivity, 2GB of Flash memory and a 500 MHz MIPS CPU. The Concierge was developed by Springboard, an IT company focused on marketing products and information systems for retail.

[via GeekSugar]