The Clothbot was designed by a team from the Chinese Academy of Science, and it uses a special set of gripper wheels to help it ascend textiles. The tiny robot weighs just under 5 ounces, but is incredibly adept at handling the challenging surface of fabric. In the demo video below, we see Clothbot climbing a shirt, and then pair of pants:

Why, you may ask, would you need a robot that can climb your pants? Its creators think that the Clothbot could be the foundation for small robotic pets that could climb on us, or the slightly more ridiculous idea of a robotic cellphone which could saddle itself on your shoulder to free your hands – guess they never heard of a Bluetooth headset. They also suggest the idea of robotic “body inspection.” Um, no thanks. On the other hand, tiny robot pets that climb on us sound kind of fun – at least until Skynet gets a hold of them.

[via IEEE Spectrum]

Just think: self-cleaning underwear, self-cleaning aprons, self-cleaning baby clothes, self-cleaning shirts, and so on and so forth. It seems too good to be true, but it’s all made possible because of a chemical compound called 2-anthraquinone carboxylic acid or 2-ACQ.

The compound was developed by a team of researchers from the University of California: Davis. Ning Liu, who came up with a method to incorporate 2-ACQ into cotton fabric, explained: “The new fabric has potential applications in biological and chemical protective clothing for health care, food processing and farmworkers, as well as military personnel.”

2-ACQ forms a strong bond with the cellulose in cotton, so it’s extremely hard to wash off. When the compound is exposed to light, it produced reactive oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals, that combat bacteria and cause organic compounds such as pesticides and other toxins to disintegrate.

[via medGadget via Oh Gizmo!]

So even though they’re meant for cleaning up kitchen messes, when I saw these Stain By Number tea towels from Fred & Friends, I immediately thought of getting them and using them as placemats the next time my sister comes around for another visit.

As the name implies, you won’t be using any paint or coloring materials to fill in the colors to make the picture come to life. Instead, you’re expected to use various food items to stain the indicated area with the specified colors. This might encourage the kids to make an even bigger mess, but at least it’ll seem more like art this way.

The Stain By Number dish towels will be available this October over at Perpetual Kid, and will sell for $14.99 for a set of three.

[via Oh Gizmo!]

Brisbane Australia textile artist pulsewidth has created these miniature versions of classic synthesizers from throughout the ages. Each tiny fabric synth is handcrafted from felt, cotton, embroidery thread, wool stuffing and embellished with tiny metal brads for the knobs. My personal favorite has to be the Mini Minimoog:

The most amazing thing is that pulsewidth’s intricate fabric creations measure in around just 3 to 5 inches wide and about 2 to 2.5 inches deep. That’s sure some precise sewing needed to get this level of detail.

From the Juno 106 to the Arp Odyssey and the Korg MS-20, why not pick up a whole bunch and make your own mini-Kraftwerk or Tangerine Dream? Have a favorite musical instrument? pulsewidth would be happy to make a custom mini version for you too. Me, I’d like a felt Yamaha DX-7.

There are a variety of mini synthesizers for you to peruse over at pulsewidth’s Etsy shop all priced at $65 (USD). Be sure to check out her entire collection of wondrous felt creations over on Flickr.

Sewn from felt and embroidery thread by Flickr contributor craftytails, it’s not clear if it’s a Linksys, Netgear or some other evil router lurking beneath the angry (but soft) exterior, but given its fabric construction, it’s unlikely that it’ll ever connect to the Internet at anything faster than 802.11b speeds.

Then again, my experiences this weekend prove that just because your wireless router is packed with actual electronics doesn’t mean that it’ll actually work.

[via Craft: - thanks for the tip RoadsideScholar!]

Now you can make the same fashion statement, without the need for all those pesky electronics. BraveMoonman has created these oh-so-awesome felt calculator watches so you can show your true self without worrying about batteries dying or LCD displays failing when you bump into a wall.

Each of these soft calculator bracelets is lovingly handstitched from felt and velcro, and they come in a variety of bright colors (I don’t know what to say about the hot pink), as well as the classic grey band.

As the Oakland, CA creator of these non-functional timepieces says: “If people ask you for the time, say ‘It’s time to look cool!’”. I say: “If people ask you how much 2 + 2 equals, tell them ‘higher than you can count. duh.’”. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to BraveMoonman’s Etsy Shop and wrap your wrist in one of these. Now.

This plush computer was handcrafted by artist Mandy Jouan of Sappy Moose Tree (I just like saying that). I think it would look really good alongside the soft Xbox 360, NES and Guitar Hero controller.

Surprisingly, the pillowy PC has a big smile on its face, even though it’s running Windows Vista

[via CRAFT]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Developed by computer graphics researchers Volker Scholz and Marcus Magnor, the texture replacement technology uses a complex algorithm which encodes the coordinates of textures in a sampled video sequence, then replaces them with a new texture map, complete with shadows and all the fabric folds.

Designed for use in movie and video post-production, it’s only a matter of time before we start to see directors changing out costume designs long after the film is in the can.

Pac-Man, his ghost pals Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde, and a slightly out of place Pooka from Dig Dug are all realized in three squishy dimensions. The pillows range in size from about 8-inches to 12-inches tall, and will look great sitting there on your sectional sofa next to the cat.

You can pick up the whole set for $99 at ClubNAMCO.

The hand crafted guitar bears more than a passing resemblance to the PS2′s cherry red Gibson SG, complete with colored fret “buttons” on the neck. It’s made from terrycloth, fleece and felt accents, then stuffed with poly fill and a dowel to keep it from flopping around.

This one is already spoken for over on Etsy, but if you’re a big fan of the popular game, maybe you can persuade the artist to make you one too.

These “BooRu-BooRu” dolls look like some sort of bizarre Teletubbies on crack. They have a soft cloth body and hide their controls in the eyeballs, ears and tummies. Each of these battery-powered speakers has a built-in FM radio, amplified speaker and can connect to an MP3 player.

If you’re looking for a really trippy way to play back your tunes, you can pick one up from Korea’s Story Shop for 35,000 KRW (about $37 bucks.)

Nintendo fan and seamstress extraordinaire blueblythe, hand-sewed and embroidered this amazing stuffed-felt tribute to the classic 8-bit gaming console of yore.

She not only cranked out a console, but two game cartridges, a controller, a light gun and interchangeable velcro screens of Mario and Duck Hunt.

All I can say is… Brava Blythe! If you ever decide retail these, sign me up for one!

[via Craftster via Kotaku]

Individually crafted by artist Anna Lee (a.k.a. ‘Annamatic’,) these cases are definitely geared more toward girls, kids or men who are extremely confident in their masculinity. Choose from “Mr. Devil,” a little red demon, “Bubba,” the leather-clad bear, or “Hamlet” the pink pig designs.

The cases cost just $15 each and are available from Annamatic’s shop over on Etsy.

[via Smidigt]