Technabob » foam

FoamBot Builds More Robots Out of Foam

Hazel Chua — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:00:46 +0000

Robots that have the capability to build other robots sound pretty freaky. I mean, there have been so many sci-fi movies released that somehow all end up having the same basic storyline: man invents powerful robot, robot outsmarts man, robot builds robot army, robot army takes over the world.

These robots used to exist only in the world of fiction – until recently.

Meet the FoamBot, the modular robot that can “multiply” by building more robots out of foam. What makes a modular robot different from a regular old robot is that it is actually built to adapt to its surroundings or perform new tasks where needed, depending on the situation.

The Modular Robotics Lab at the University of Pennsylvania took things further by coming up with a new way to create and construct new robots using spray foam. Here’s the FoamBot at work, slowly building a quadruped bot:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

And here’s the FoamBot again building a creepy snake bot:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The foamy robot can also be used for other purposes, such as shooting out foam to deploy permanent doorstops and to pick up hazardous objects. The Modular Robotic Team sees a bright future for the FoamBot, saying: “By carrying a selection of collapsible molds and a foam generator, a robot could form end effectors on a task-by-task basis – for example, forming wheels for driving on land, impellers and oats for crossing water, and high aspect ratio wings for gliding across ravines. Molds could also be made of disposable material (e.g. paper) that forms part of the final structure.”

[via IEEE Spectrum via Dvice]

Zigstand: Convertible Smartphone Stand Made Out of Foam

Hazel Chua — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:30:48 +0000

After a long hard day at work, you recline in your office seat, prop your feet up on the table (if the boss is out of the office, that is), take your ~~smartfoam~~ smartphone out of its hoodie, and prop it on the Zigstand.

What’s the Zigstand, you may ask? Well, it’s the latest in a large family of smartphone stands but what makes it different is that:
a.) It’s made of foam, and;
b.) It’s convertible.

Then you may ask again, “how is it convertible?” You might want your phone in a more upright position (60°, to be exact) on your table while you’re at work so you can see when new messages or calls come in. Or you can also flip the Zigstand over so it will cradle your device at an angle of 30°, which is perfect for when you want to plug in a connector or cable at the bottom.

The Zigstand is available from Geek Stuff 4 U with a price tag of ¥2,109.00 (~$26 USD). And don’t worry; it only requires some simple assembly.

Sound/Chairs Get Their Shape From Audio Waves

Technabob — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:45:36 +0000

This wild piece of modern furniture may look like an abstract shape from the mind of its creator, but it’s actually been precisely engineered from a 3-dimensional waveform plot of a brief audio clip.

To make his Sound/Chair, designer Matthew Plummer-Fernandez started with a 3D plot based on the volume, time and frequency of a short piece of audio.

He then fed the data into a computer-controlled water-jet cutter, which carves the body of each individual chair from a block of Polyethelene foam (the original prototype was hand-cut by the designer himself).

In the process of coming up with the right audio recipe for his Sound/Chair, Plummer-Fernandez experimented with 719 unique sounds before he found the one that was just right for a comfy chair, with proper arm-rests. (It also looks like it might give you an unintentional back and butt massage from the look of all those nubby surfaces).

The Sound/Chair is available now from upscale UK retailer Selfridges in limited quantities for the low, low price of £3950 (appx. $7015 USD).

[via CoolHunting and MocoLoco]