technabob » crabfu

remote-controlled steam tank: it’s aliiiiive!

lambert v. — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:39:42 +0000

Artist/Steampunk da Vinci I-Wei Huang aka Crab Fu made this awesome remote-controlled steam tank. It uses alcohol or solid fuel tablets and can last for up to 15 minutes on a full tank of water. It’s a frankentank made of a Wilesco D49 Marine Double Piston Steam engine, a Mamod SE3 boiler, a Tamiya 1/16 clutch drive, an aluminum chassis, and steel tracks. It’s controlled using a 2-channel Futaba.

Once again, this building and hacking stuff is beyond my understanding, but even so I love how it looks. A little polish, grit and flourish and this thing could be made to look like a 19th century toy.

The steam tank doesn’t have weapons, but it is literally on fire. So maybe it could just stand beside its enemy until the latter melts. Or gets bummed out.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Want more steamy steampunk? Check our Crab Fu’s website for more steam-powered creations and steampunk sketches.

[via gizmo watch]

crabfu golf robot hits the links

technabob — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:51:51 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a very good golfer. If you take par, then multiply it by a factor of 1.5x, that’s about what I usually hit. So I guess I was pretty pleased to see that this little robotic golfer doesn’t play any better than I do.

CrabFu’s Putter Bot is a remote-controlled robot that’s designed to do just one thing – putt the ball.

Nope, it can’t hit a 200 yard tee shot, nor can it get out of a sand trap, but it should be able to gently tap the ball into the hole from a few club-lengths away.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Of course, that assumes that the person controlling the Putter Bot can actually aim. I counted 4 strokes on that last putt. Maybe with a little more practice, it could hit a proper two-putt.

[via Make:]

crabfu tortoise robot hits the ground crawling

technabob — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:33:47 +0000

The guys over at Crabfu Motionworks have been responsible for some weird and wonderful robotic creations over the years, and their latest is no exception.

The Crabfu R/C Tortoise ‘bot crawls along the ground like a turtle, with a set of 4 sub-micro servos controlling its pokey little legs.

I just love the clever usage of cable ties to keep the tips secured onto his little legs. Each leg is tied to an independent channel and axis on the remote joysticks, which let it move around by wildly gesticulating your thumbs.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The way it ambles about, I don’t think this tortoise will be beating any hares in a race anytime soon.

[via MAKE:]