Technabob » claw

Kinect and Arduino-Controlled Delta Robot is the Crane Game of the Future

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:18:40 +0000

I am at times a crane game savant. You know the game at the store where you can win prizes by grabbing them with the gaping maw of a crane scoop. I once won two toys in a row from that thing, and now each time we go to the store my daughter begs me to win her some toys. A couple geeks have invented what may well be the next generation of that crane game.

Rather than using a joystick to control the crane built by students Miriam Dall’Igna, Criaco Castro, and Enrique Ramos, their contraption uses gestures. The project was for some sort of digital ecologies class at their college and it’s very cool. They took a Kinect and an Arduino controller and cobbled them together to control a claw that can pick things up.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The opening and closing of the gripper and the position of the arm are all controlled by gestures using the Kinect to sense the movement. Check out the video above to see the thing in action. I love it when the guy leans forward and the hand almost punches him in the face.

[via Make:]

Robo Catcher is Way Cooler Than the Old Arcade Claw Game

Technabob — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 06:01:35 +0000

Remember those games from the arcade where you have to try and grab a prize by delicately positioning a claw around your booty of choice? Those things always frustrated the crap out of me. At least this new version of the game looks like a bit more fun, thanks to its plentiful use of robotic technology.

Mechatrax’ ROBO CATCHER is a new take on the classic claw game that replaces the claw with a small humanoid bipedal robot. Instead of trying to direct the claw to grab your prize, you steer the robot towards a prize capsule, direct it to pick it up, and walk it to the prize drop at the edge of the machine.

Sound like fun? Check out the videos below to see ROBO CATCHER doing what he does best.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If you haven’t seen one around your neighborhood yet, ROBO CATCHER is coming to a Japanese arcade near you – if you happen to live in Japan, that is. And if you happen to have ¥990,000 (appx. $10,790 USD) to spare – plus shipping, you can buy one for yourself.

[via Gigazine]

Little Robot Clock Tells Time, Holds on to Your Stuff

Technabob — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:50:42 +0000

I always dreamed of the day that I could have my own tiny little robotic army that hangs out on my desktop to do my bidding. While these little robot clock dudes don’t exactly do all of my bidding, they do tell the time, and they look good doing it.

The aptly named “Little Robot Clock” has tiny articulating joints with clips in place of hands so he can hang on to your notes and whatnot. Of course, you don’t have to use those clippy claws for good. They can also be used for staging tiny robot battles in your cubicle.

I bet you can’t buy just one. But then you may say “why do I need so many clocks on my desk”, and I respond “set them each to a different timezone and shut the f*ck up.” You can start building your own desktop robo-clock army for $20.50 (USD) each over at Brando.

Mini Claw Machine is Grabilicious

Technabob — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 22:09:22 +0000

Remember those irritating claw machines from the arcades and carnivals? You know, the ones that always had one really great prize inside that weighed 10 pounds more than the claw could lift? Now you can get your own miniature one for your cubicle.

This battery-powered mini claw machine provides all the fun and frustration of the full-sized version. You control the X/Y position and height of the “claw” with three little joysticks. Get the position just right, then move in for the kill to see if you can score a tasty treat. It even plays some circus-y music while you precisely position the grabber over your prize (if you find that annoying, you can disable the tunes.)

Designed to vend your favorite candies (or other small baubles,) I bet this thing would be a great diet aid if you’re used to regularly emptying out that bowl of sweets on your desk. If you’re feeling really whimsical, why not put your brand new iPhone in there and dare some co-workers to try to lift it out?

Available from Perpetual Kid, the Sweet Machine Candy Grabber is $38.99.