Designed by Andreas Dober for Germany’s Anthologie Quartett, the Catena (Latin for “chain”) has a certain retro-steampunk look about it. Time is told using copper digits mounted on the outside of a bike chain that rotates around a single motorized gear. Now don’t bother trying to tell the exact time with this. The only numbers on the chain are the hours, so any attempt to figure out minutes is a crap-shoot.

While I dig the grungy minimalism of the clock, I don’t dig the $2300+ (USD) price tag. But I suppose if you’ve got really deep pockets, you can order one over at Unica Home.

On the other hand, I won’t tell anyone if you decide to make your own out of $20 worth of junk you find at a flea market.

[via Incredible Things]

The machine was put together mostly from items that Suzuki got from IKEA, so its very possible for you to make your own version of the machine. The Telegraph calls it a “Wallace and Gromit-style” machine, which I think is the best way to describe it.

That’s Suzuki, looking like he’s badly in need of food himself,  inspecting his creation. He said that he spent a total of £900 ($1,475 USD) for the parts. The machine, which measures 43 feet by 10 feet, took Suzuki and his friends about 88 hours to complete. It was put together at Platform 21, an exhibition center in Amsterdam.  Let’s watch it at work! (there’s more info for you if you can understand French Dutch (dank je Lars!))

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I wish Suzuki would post instructions for making the breakfast machine. Then again even if I had the instructions I’d be too lazy to go and build one for myself.

[via Geek]

CMU’s Snackbot is a roving wheeled ‘bot who’s primary purpose is to roam the halls of the University’s buildings, delivering tasty treast to students and faculty. Snackbot not only drives around bringing snacks, he also brings plenty of goodwill, with a pleasant-sounding voice communication system and calm demeanor unlikely to be rattled by even the most demanding snack customer. He features a sophisticated “multi-sensor fusion algorithms” which let him understand where he’s going, navigate through crowds, and can autonomously learn new objects.

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My only complaint is that all that he seems to be delivering in the video clip above is granola bars and souvenirs. What kind of snacks are those? Where are my Ding Dongs, Ring Dings, Big Wheels and King Dons? Even Snackbot’s early prototype delivered M&Ms, Twix and Oreos…

While Snackbot was designed for a nobler cause – studying human-robot interactions, bringing snacks to my office each day would be plenty reason for me to invest research dollars – as long as there are creme-filled snack cakes, that is.

[via BotJunkie]

He moves! He glides! He staggers in robotic fashion! And if he doesn’t talk crap about you in a series of boops and beeps, why, then I’d bet that’s the plan for the next version. If it’s not, it should be. I’ve had a lot of critters and things smart off to me in my day, but I’ve never been insulted by an itsy-bitsy robot, and that alone makes me wish I had the know-how to build myself a tiny R2.

He’s actually pretty impressive on the move. Check out the video:

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This R2 unit is an amazing 1/18th the size of the real R2, and was made with three of Solarbotics GM15 pager gearmotor (and, probably, a lot of spare time).

[via MAKE]

The “Speaking Piano” has been programmed to recite The Proclamation of the European Environmental Criminal Court World Venice Forum 2009, for all to hear. Artist/composer Peter Ablinger transcoded the voice of an elementary student into data that could then be interpreted by a computer and mapped to servos that play the piano keys. Why? Something to do with an artistic and political statement.

And while the humans in the video clip below are speaking in German, the piano speaks its truth in plain English. Turn up your volume, watch, and enjoy…

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Weird, wild stuff indeed. Alles klar, herr kommissar?

[via adafruit industries, hack-a-day and matrixsynth]

Created by Hi Tech Systems, the Comptometer is a fully-functional broadcast controller for video mixing and editing software.

The intricately crafted controller was built using wood, brass, Bakelite, Nixie tubes, and other tschotchkes and even has some working mechanical components.

Not being a broadcast video expert, I’m not really sure how one would use this controller in the industry, maybe this video will give you some clue. Something about Grass Valley, Sony, Odetics and a gas turbine interchange – you figure it out.

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[via The Steampunk Workshop]

The Ora watch tells time on a series of three crisscrossed analog time strips. The top strip tells time in minutes, overlapping a smaller band with the hours, and a narrow third belt with the current day of the week.

The mechanism requires an intricate and complicated set of motorized gears pull each band into the correct postion as the time changes.

Designed by Alexandros Stasinopoulos, the Ora is merely in the conceptual stages at this point, so you won’t be able to stop by your local watch shop and buy one of these any time soon.

So it’s all really cool except for the fact that it doesn’t actually exist.

[via designboom via dustbowl]

Created by Mike Libby of Insect Lab, these steampunk bugs combine mechanical components with REAL bug carcasses. Libby takes preserved insect specimens and delicately adorns them with watch gears, springs and other antique analog elements.

As these are serious Art (with a capital “A”), Libby’s insects aren’t inexpensive. The one-of-a-kind bugs cost anywhere from $400 to $2500 (USD) and more. If you like these, you can always pick up one of his 11″x14″ giclee prints for $120 each.

You can check out the full collection over at Insect Lab. Don’t blame me if you can’t sleep tonight.

[Thanks for the tip, Jay!]

While each finger can’t be independently controlled, they’re still pretty amazing. Check out the video below to see these marvels of mechanical engineering in action:

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The cream of the crop handmade miniature hands cost a bank-account-draining ¥180,000 (appx $1935 USD), but the craftsmanship and engineering feat alone could justify the high cost for true robot fanatics. And don’t forget you’ll still have to spend another ¥16,000 (appx. $171 USD) per hand on a Kondo KRS-4014SHV servo motor to drive each one.

If your pockets aren’t deep enough to afford a pair of GOD HANDs, Crafthouse is offering a pair of hands called the Melissa Hand Type-1, retailing for “just” ¥60,000 (appx. $645 USD). Because they’re mass-produced, the Melissa hands are quite a bit bigger, so don’t expect to put them on a really small robot. Still, they’re pretty cool.

[Crafthouse via Moriyama's Diary via Plastic Pals]

The creature’s mouth/face tilts back, it’s accordion lungs expand – there it is, the gears turning. You scream, but your voice is drowned by what you can only describe as an anime villain and/or pervert’s laugh.

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The machine is called wahha go go, and I don’t know what diabolical inclinations motivated Maywa Denki to create this. I’m just thankful that the sound in the video wasn’t loud or I’d have yelped like a little girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. Although I also half-expected Happosai to show up, with a sackful of bras on his back.

[via The Automata/Automaton Blog]

But these animals don’t just look good–they are fully automated. Those gears aren’t just for show!

One of the animals–the cheetah–is two feet tall and weighs 40 pounds… and it would look fantastic in my living room.

[Chase Studio via LikeCool]

Is it awesome? Of course it is–it’s a damn Transformer. It may not be a fancy little car or anything, but it moves and changes smoothly. And now we’re one step closer to things like world destruction and some guy emotionally yelling, “Optimus!”

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At least there’s not a do-it-yourself tutorial along with this video, at least, not that I’ve seen. There’s just this video, but when you’re talking about more than meets the eye, maybe that’s enough.

[via Hack n Mod]

Just in case this piece wasn’t already flashy enough, it glows when plugged in. Unfortunately, it was the only item in seller Artype’s shop, but I can only hope we see more from this one.

Where do you think all those gears came from? Watches, cigarette lighters… who knows what items died so that this flash drive could live. I’d say that one’s worth a little mechanical genocide.

[Etsy via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Then I realized that it wasn’t real, and only a graphic rendering by artist John ‘Jazz’ Vernon. Damn you and your photo-realistic rendering skills! My only hope is that since John’s company RodVisions does conceptual renderings of vehicles before owners invest tons of money painstakingly restoring them, maybe, just maybe, somebody is actually getting ready to make a real version of this car.

I’d be more than happy to do donuts on your lawn with this bitchin’ Camaro.

[via Steampunk Workshop]

Created by Swedish designers Humans Since 1982, the Clock Clock installation features 48 electronically-controlled analog clock hands which automatically rotate into the proper positions to form a giant digital display.

Here’s a video of Clock Clock in action to give you a better idea of how it works:

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If you happen to be in Sweden this summer, the Clock Clock will be on display at the Röhsska Design Museum June through mid-August 2009.

Brilliant idea. Maybe someday they’ll build a miniature version I can put up on my mantle.

[via dezeen]

Designed by Boston Dynamics, working with researchers from The University of Pennsylvania’s Kod*lab, the RiSE V3 robot can work its way up poles without cracking so much as a sweat. The 28-inch long quadruped robot can make its way up vertical terrains at a rate of 21cm (a little more than 8 inches) per second. That’s definitely faster than I could climb a telephone pole.

Created for use in search and rescue missions, reconnaissance and surveillance, the four-legged robot has claws crafted from surgical needles, letting it grip vertical surfaces. With claws like that, I’m really glad that Skynet hasn’t gotten their hands on an army of these. Yet.

While the RiSE V3 robot manages to quickly shimmy its way up a pole in the video clip below, they’ve still got it tied off to a rope so their precious creation doesn’t come crashing to the ground when it reaches the top of the pole.

And in another cat-like move, I’m not sure if they’ve figured out how to get it to climb back down to the ground safely.

[via Technology Review via Designboom]

The theater group La Machine terrorized performed at the Yokohama Bayside Area, bringing with them their 40 ft tall, 37-ton giant robot spiders. Finally, something weird and robotic that’s not from Japan.

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As you saw from the video, the spiders can move their legs but are really anchored to a crane. They also spout water from their mouth and butt. Yech. The robots are operated by 13 of the luckiest people in the world, people who get to control and ride on giant robot spiders. But La Machine’s performance isn’t limited to the robots alone; the production includes live music as well as fireworks. You can check out La Machine’s gallery for more pics; The Boston Globe also has some amazing pictures from La Machine’s performance in Liverpool, England last year courtesy of photographer Peter Carr.

[via hacknmod]

Created by the horological artisans of Switzerland’s Jaquet Droz, this analog clock is a true thing of wonder. La Machine à Ecrire le Temps (The Machine that Writes the Time) took thousands of hours of hand and machine craftsmanship over nearly a decade to build.

The clock uses over 1200 mechanical components to work its magic including 84 ball bearings, 50 cames and 9 belts. Crafted primarily from metal, the unusual clock is hand-wound and then activated by a single touch.

And if you don’t believe how truly amazing this mechanical contraption is, check out this video of the clock in action:

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And now that they know how to make one, they’d be happy to create one (of a limited edition of 28) for the low, low price of 400,000 Swiss Francs (appx. $351,000 USD). So mortgage the house, pawn the Bentley, sell some internal organs on the black market, and place your order now.

[Jaquet Droz via BornRich via The Awesomer]

The position of the left eyeball signifies hours, while the right one is minutes. Depending on the time of day, the eyes might be looking up (like at high noon), down (6:30), right (9:45) or left (3:15). The wackiest times of day are probably 3:45 and 6:00, although 3:50 is a pretty goofy time too:

The only thing missing from the clock is a couple of bubble-shaped plastic domes over each of the eyeballs. Speaking of googly eyes, I think this clock would be perfect for this guy…

[via 25togo]

Strenco’s ST-2 Steambot lumbers along thanks to a tiny copper Wilesco steam engine that’s been implanted in his chest cavity.

Now don’t expect to just flip a switch to get this retro robot going. You’ll need pop his head off, fill him up with water, and light a tiny (stinky) Esbit fire in his belly before his mechanical innards get started.

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And despite the wild gyrations of his internal steam engine, the robot moves at a snail’s pace once up to full speed.

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Only 300 of these $600 (USD) limited-edition Steambots were created, so good luck finding one. A couple of places to start on your robot quest include MiniSteam, ManuFactum and General Robots.