Technabob » demolition

Guy Digs Up Basement Using R/C Scaled Models, Must Not Be Married

Conner Flynn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:48 +0000

Excavating a basement is not all that unusual, but doing it with miniature scale models of construction equipment is something I have never heard of before. But it is awesome. Why not do it with R/C equipment? Sounds like fun. Oh yeah, that’s right. Because all I would be doing is digging my own grave, because my wife would kill me.

That’s because it has taken Joe 7 years to do it… so far. For those of you who like numbers, that’s an average annual rate of 8 to 9 cubic feet using just R/C tractors and trucks. You might call him dedicated – or even obsessed.

He even transports the excavator on an R/C truck to the basement, unloads it, digs and uses other trucks to transfer the dirt up to the ground through a spiral ramp. There’s even a miniature rock crusher in on the action! This is an amazing undertaking to say the least.

You can see a little bit of the project in the video above, or you can check out many more videos up on Joe’s Youtube channel.

[via Scale 4x4 R/C and Houston Imports via Carscoop]

Freaky Robot Hides in Walls Only to Punch Through When Necessary

Hazel Chua — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:39:29 +0000

Hollywood leaves little to the imagination, especially when it comes to the future of the human race. Artificial intelligence, mechanical extraterrestrial creatures, and even man-made robots that eventually “grow” a brain and decide to go against their human creators.

And then, of course, there’s the Zwischenräume, and it’s here, right here, right now.

It’s technically an “art project,” so it’s not some prototype for a robot some company may have in the works for the future. But what it does is hide behind walls and pummel through so that it can check what’s on the other side. It sounds interesting, yet beyond creepy and freaky at the same time.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The following is how the artist describes the Zwischenräume:

The installation embeds a group of autonomous robots into the walls of a gallery. They punch holes through the walls to inspect what’s outside, signal each other, and conspire. As if the walls had ears and a hammer to pierce holes for their eyes to see.

I just think it’s a poetic way of describing a wall-punching robot that knows no boundaries.

[io9 via Geekologie via Dvice]

Blown Up Cooling Tower Falls Wrong Way and Gets Caught on Video

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:58:34 +0000

Yep, somebody is gonna get fired over this. Anytime you combine explosives and something that stands 275-feet in the air, you get my attention. If you have never been to see a building get demolished by explosives, you are missing some fun. We went to watch a bank get blown up downtown when I was a kid. Some idiot forgot that while the debris would fall straight down, the fracking cloud of dirt and smoke might just bellow out a bit. They had us all back about three blocks and I coughed for two days after sucking up enough dust to be mistaken for a vacuum.

There were some undies obliterated in Springfield, Ohio this week. A demolition company had set up some charges around the base of a 275-foot tall smoke stack at the former Ohio Edison Mad River Power Plant. I’m no demolition expert, but everything I have seen of blowing stuff up the charged go off really quickly. It appears one in this case took longer than the others did and when it finally went off, the tower fell THE WRONG WAY.

If you have ever wondered what “screaming like a bunch of little girls” really sounds like, watch the video. The tower fell on the power station next to it and left some 8000 homes with no power. D’oh. At least no one was hurt.

Husqvarna Demolition Robot: the Ultimate in Automated Destruction

Range — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:56:43 +0000

Destroying things is fun. Destroying things with robots is even cooler, especially with large robots that are basically used in construction and have a full-sized jackhammer on board. That’s the DXR 310 in a nutshell.

I love how Husqvarna uses the words “compact” in the description of this robot, but I’m not sure what they’re comparing it to for size reference. It’s certainly impressive and a lot safer for construction workers than trying to do this stuff themselves. However, I’m a little concerned these things might become sentient and take over the world. This could someday be just the reason why we all need to bow down to our robot overlords!

The robot is definitely reminiscent of Skynet’s more rudimentary Terminators, but thankfully, this robot isn’t autonomous (yet). It’s basically a gigantic R/C controlled ‘bot, which is kind of awesome in my book. Here’s the corporate video, although I have to say that I’m disappointed that it’s just a series of stills, not a full-blown video of the ‘bot destroying stuff. Boo.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[BotJunkie via Make:]

Cynomy Demolition Robot Concept: Remote-Controlled Destruction

Lambert Varias — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:58:09 +0000

One of the best things about robots is that they’re not alive, which means choosing between a robot and a human to perform a risky task is a no-brainer. If it gets wrecked, no one’s going to be in pain or grieve. Except probably the accounting department. When robots become self-aware this is probably one of the reasons why they’ll want to kill us all, but for now we can enjoy imagining cool and practical concepts like Cynomy, a remote-controlled demolition robot.

Designed by S. Dogan Sekercioglu, Cynomy is meant to be used in hazardous environments like nuclear plants, chemical factories, sewers, my bedroom etc. She has two robotic arms that are controlled by a human operator’s own arm movements, and can be fitted with different tools depending on the need. Instead of air, her wheels have electric motors, which she can synchronize and even move in opposite directions, allowing her to turn in tight spaces.

I’m waiting for Sekercioglu’s designs for Cynomy’s sisters, as well as their super robot mode. There is a super robot mode Mr. Sekercioglu, right?

[via tuvie]

A Fire Breathing, Car Killing Robot of Your Very Own

Technabob — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:57:21 +0000

Remember the Robosaurus? Let me refresh your memory. The gigantic robotic dinosaur looks like a metal, fire-breathing Tyrannosaurus Rex, and might be just about as fierce. Capable of picking up cars, then crushing them with its razor-sharp jaws, I certainly wouldn’t want to run into one in a back alley.

So it’s with much glee that I report that the Robosaurus is up for auction. That’s right, you can own the giant beast and put it on your front lawn to chomp on unpleasant neighbors (or at least melt their cars). That’s assuming you can get it past your nosy neighborhood association — though they’d be the first ones I’d feed to the giant metal automaton.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Created by inventor Doug Malewicki all the way back in 1989, the 40-foot tall robot can shoot 20-foot flames from its nostrils, and can crush metal with up to 20,000 pounds of force. If you’re interested in throwing your hat into the ring for this bad boy, you can find more details at Barrett Jackson Auctions.

[via AutoBlog]