This interesting concept comes from Körös Benedek and features three analog bands that travel 360 degrees around it’s surface. Individual bands have the hour, minute and seconds on them. You get the correct time by reading the break in the middle of the bracelet as the bands move into position.

Should it ever become a reality, it would be made from materials like stainless steel, plastic, and rubber. Too bad we can’t buy one right now. I’m sure they would sell very well.

[via Yanko Design]

These quirky timepieces will display the time as an constantly evolving artwork on your wall. The fact that it does so with bright, lively, and vibrant displays is just one of the major features of its design.

Both hands of the clock are connected with a flexible surface made from Tyvek. The movements of the clock are based on the mathematical notion of Riemann surfaces, including the log(z) function.

The Manifold Clock is a Product Design project from Studio Ve, that’s based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The project is currently up on Kickstarter, where almost half of the $15,000 has been reached by interested contributors, with about 1 month to go. If you’re interested in getting one of these gorgeous clocks for yourself, then a minimum pledge of $45 is needed.

Watch designs featured by Tokyoflash are usually extremely complicated, which makes reading the time off of them – which happens to be the main purpose of watches, by the way – more difficult than necessary. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I chanced upon the Trax MkII Concept Watch.

The watch was designed by Peter Fletcher from the UK, and draws on obvious military themes as its inspiration. That’s pretty much apparent as it uses tank-like treads to tell the time. Unlike other watch displays that flash a series of LED lights and leave all the time reading interpretation up to you, the Trax MkII tells it like it is: with good, old-fashioned digits.

As the time changes, the numbered treads move into position. Just read the numbers found between the LED illuminated brackets in the middle to know what time of day it is – in military time, of course.

On the design, Peter explains: “I wanted to come up with a watch design based on driven belts. The first thought that popped into my head when thinking about belts was caterpillar tracks and what caterpillar tracks are usually attached too. So I decided to use tanks as an inspiration for this watch concept.”

Execution of this particular design will require a fairly complex mechanism to be built, but if you’d like to see it produced some day, be sure to cast your vote over on the Tokyoflash design blog.

[via Ubergizmo via Geeky Gadgets]

We first showed you this LEGO Great Ball Contraption about a year ago, but this video is much better quality and heck, it is still mind-blowing so it’s worth another look. It scoops up mini soccer and basketballs, then dumps them into a truck which drives over to a rotating ferris wheel kind of thing where the balls take a ride over to an elevator then…Just watch the video. There are too many cool things going on.

It was built by a guy known as akiyuky, and it truly is hypnotizing. You just can’t stop watching it. I just love it. Akiyuky, I salute you. I raised a fistful of bricks to you good sir and look forward to your next creation. What’s that you say, you’re already working on an update to your Great Ball Contraption?

[via geek]

Robot builder Florida Robot built all but one of these robots, which include C-3PO, R2-D2, B9 from Lost in Space, Bender and a couple of others. Robby the Robot was already built by Fred Barton, but he modified it in order to “motorize and computerize some of his systems.” Apparently in need of some extra space in his house, these robot’s creator has put the entire robo-menagerie up for sale on eBay.

As you can see in the video above, both Robby and B9 light up in sync with audio tracks from a classic episode of Lost in Space, called “War of the Robots.” C-3PO, on the other hand, seems a bit more dignified. He’s got an awesome shiny vacu-metallized finish, and his eyes LED light up when someone approaches. Despite the fact that he’s supposed to be fluent in over 6 million languages, this 3PO isn’t talking, though.

And if that’s not the only droid you’re looking for, R2 is up for sale too.

He’s completely motorized, and can be driven remotely. His dome turns, his lights work, and he even makes all sorts of appropriately droidly sounds.

Now Bender, on the other hand. He seems too busy smoking and drinking to utter a word or even move. Still, he looks pretty cool just lazing around – though you might want to keep an eye on your valuables.

Last but not least in this awesome robo-collection are these boxy ‘bots who are inspired by an image on a 1958 issue of Fantastic Universe magazine, featuring a pair of robots sitting on a bench, waiting for the bus to come.

They’re also mechanical, and their heads move back and forth and eyes blink when a motion sensor detects someone approaching. They’re also completely charming.

Wow. I am so not adding that song to iTunes. That’s what you get when you let robots sing, I suppose. That and Mr. Roboto. I think all robot videos should actually be set to ELO’s Mr. Blue Sky.

But I digress. If you’re ready to adopt this lovingly-built family of robots (or you’re readying your own robot theme park), head on over to eBay and check out the auction now. The seller says that local pickup is available in Clearwater, Florida, and I can’t imagine how you’d ship these.

(This article has been significantly revised because the whole “Cryptex” concept from The DaVinci Code flew over my head. My apologies. And now, we return to your scheduled programming.) The Crypteks USB drive doesn’t just have a mechanical lock like the DIY Cryptex drive. It has additional security features aside from the mechanical lock, like 256-bit AES hardware encryption, a read-only mode and the ability to set the number of wrong password attempts before the drive goes Men in Black and wipes its contents.

The Crypteks USB has already earned more than twice its target goal on Kickstarter. The fundraiser will still be up for 22 days, so sneak your way to its project page if you want to be one of the first to own a Crypteks USB drive. Those of you who want to play it safe with your money (but apparently not with your data!) can avail of the retail version when it drops mid-2012. My only complaint about this drive is that it’s USB 2.0-spec only, which is kind of disappointing considering the drive costs $130 (USD) for the 8GB version and $160 for the 16GB version.

[Crypteks via The Verge]

The GIF Player is a mechanical device which displays the images from an animated GIF by spinning them in sequence on a rotating disk. The machine was created by Pieterjan Grandry, and is based on a 19th century animation gizmo called the phenakistoscope.

It’s really a rather simple concept, in which images from the animation are spun in a circle below a window which only exposes a single frame at a time. With enough speed, the images create the illusion of movement.

The cool thing is that each animation can be printed onto a single record-like disc, so you could have an entire library of animations at your disposal with this.

While Pieterjan doesn’t provide build instructions for the GIF Player, I can’t imagine it would be that difficult to make your own. Heck, you could probably just hack one together using an old record player and putting that inside a box with a circular cutout.

[via It's Nice That & Coudal Partners via Laughing Squid]

If you’ve ever tried to cut a square hole with a regular drill, you know this is next to impossible, and you usually end up resorting to getting a saw or a file out to finish the job. But this unusual milling bit from Japan’s Dijet can cut squares in metal like nobody’s business. Here, check it out in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Pretty amazing, no? It’s hard to tell exactly how it works, but it appears to have some specially angled carbide cutting blades on it which gradually whittle away at metal in 15 degree increments. At least that’s what it looks like in the diagram. I wonder if you’ll ever be able to walk down to the Home Depot and buy one of these, or if it’s only designed for industrial milling equipment.

[via bookofjoe]

I still think they were a marvel of engineering, and kind of miss the old clicking sound they used to make so you knew another minute had past. A few companies are actually making them again, and if this concept is ever produced, you could be wearing a flip clock on your wrist.

Designed by a guy named Gordon (sorry, I don’t know your last name Gordon, feel free to let us know), the Retro Flip watch is the perfect thing for those of you with retro design sensibilities.

The watch would contain a miniature version of that 1970s flip clock, set into a cylindrical oval watch body with a curved face. While Gordon has offered up the concept in a variety of modern finishes, I personally love the one with the burled wood finish. I would actually buy and wear this watch if it were produced. Though I wouldn’t look forward to “falling back” this week when daylight savings time ends and you have to flip through all of the numbers again to set the watch back one hour.

While I’m not sure of the practicality of manufacturing a flip clock in miniature, show your support for the Flip Clock over at the TokyoFlash Design Blog, and maybe if it gets enough votes, they’ll actually produce it. For now, just look at the pretty pictures.

The watch is called the Sparc MGS by Ventura Watches. It has a LCD display on the face and above the watch face is another crystal that covers a little mechanical nano generator. The generator creates the power that is needed to run the watch when you move around.

It has a way to store the power that allows the watch to run for 45 days without moving. The face displays the time, date, and has dual time zone capability. It also has a LED backlight. The watch runs some sort of OS leaving the chance for upgrades open as well. The only bad part about his watch is that the black version you see here costs $5,500(USD).

[via WristWatchReview]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

An Arduino Mega, Arduino Nano, 12 Maxbotix sonar sensors, 4 motors, Xbee radio, custom gun turret, Hitec Digital servos, MP3 Sound Board, lots of LEDs and more were used to create it. And metal armor plates of course. Another cool aspect of this bot is the old-school robot voice that it uses. This is one awesome creation. Robert and his daughters make quite a robotic team.

[via Arduino Forums via Robot Living]

The side-scrolling Super Mario Bros. tribute was created by Adam Kumpf using the Teagueduino open source hardware platform, along with a few basic inputs and outputs. The game is controlled by the potentiometer on the side, allowing Mario to “jump” above and below the advancing obstacles on the belt below. Notice how it picks up speed the further you get into the level. Magnets behind each obstacle provide collision detection, and the box uses a servo to close if you bump into a baddie. No more game for you! Check it out in the video below to see it in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ok, I know that Mario is running the wrong way, but dodging obstacles like that isn’t exactly how you play Super Mario Bros. anyway. It’s more like Spy Hunter. Just turn it on its side, change the icons, and add some bullets and oil slicks, and you do.  Still, it’s a pretty impressive little creation, and you can grab the source code for making your own over at the Teagueduino discussion forums.

[via Reddit]

This is an impressive research project as illustrated by the latest Swarmanoid video, which won an award from the AAAI(Artificial Intelligence Conference) 2011 Video Competition. Put simply, researchers use a heterogeneous swarm of robots to achieve distributed mobile manipulation. You might liken this to various cells or nerves in your own body all working together and performing various tasks with the help of your limbs and brain.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The Eye-bot, the Foot-bot and the Hand-bot all work together to become much more than the sum of their parts. In the video it is given the task of finding and retrieving a book. Separately this might pose a problem for each type of bot, but together in the “collective” it can handle the task easily. It’s just a matter of exploring, finding the book and doing it.

[via Hizook]

Take, for example, this automaton which looks like a human hand.

This  interactive hand sculpture has sort of a steampunk vibe to it, with its structure and mechanical parts made from brass, along with wood accents and the articulating hand itself made from resin.

It kind of reminds me of Thing from The Addams Family, but it’s just a cool mechanical hand that taps impatiently as you turn its hand-crank. Here, check it out in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Pretty cool (and a little creepy), no? This very special automaton sculpture was handmade by UK artist automatonman, and is being sold in a limited edition of just 20 over on Etsy. While it does sell for a rather pricy $750 (USD), you’ll be in great company, as one of these already sold to Pan’s Labyrinth/Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro.

While I can’t read Russian, Google translate tells me roughly that the drive was made by a guy going by the moniker “Tarator”, and was modeled using AutoCAD software. He then output the designs to mechanical drawings so each of the components could be fabricated from metal. It’s not clear what materials were used to make it, but it looks like brass to me.

The drive is encased in a metal sleeve that acts as a 5-wheel combination lock, restricting access to the top-secret data payload stored within. I’m not quite sure how all the pins and gears work together to lock it down, but it must have taken some serious engineering talent to pull this off.

[via Fancy]

The campaign is called Two Will and has a mechanical Rube Goldberg contraption powered by the kinetic motion of balls that types a message on the tablets as they roll. I will admit that the first time I saw this ad, I had no idea it was for Sony and I thought those were iPads. I bet Apple will think the design is too close to the iPad and a lawsuit will be coming.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Lawyers or not, the videos are so cool you have to see them. I love how the marbles bounce off the square into the bucket to send the tablets scooting down the path.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So far, we have just the first two “episodes” of the video series, and Sony plans on posting a total of five over on their YouTube page.

The clock will be put into a cave inside a mountain and will have five chambers that people can visit. The five chambers will celebrate certain milestones in the clock’s life. The chambers will be for 1, 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000-year anniversaries of the clock, and each will have a special something inside that the clock will activate. The builders are only going to design the animations for the first and tenth anniversaries and are leaving the later dates to future generations.

The year-one chamber will have an orrery that will have the planets and other things to celebrate the first century of man in space. The clock will have a hand that moves once per year and one that moves once per century. It has a bell system that will let the clock activate a different chime each day for 10,000 years. Epic.

For more details on the project, head on over to the 10,000 Year Clock web site.

Yes, the TROBOT 4.0 is actually the 4th-generation of miniature six-axis robots from Toby Baumgartner, designed to provide the smoothest movement yet, along with a more durable mechanism, improved precision and payload capacity than its predecessors.

Development of the pint-size, open-source TROBOT 4.0 is being funded by a Kickstarter project, and your contributions will help to bring the latest ‘bot to life. If fully funded, all pledges $300 and higher will receive the TROBOT 4.0 mechanical kit (minus servos), along with source code for controlling it. Toby expects the servos will cost somewhere around $300 to $500, so a complete system will run under $600 to $800 (plus the time to assemble the kit).

For starters, ALPHA’s drive-train is completely enclosed inside the frame. The rear wheel hub contains a three-speed gearbox, and there’s an electronic clutch allowing you to switch between fixed-gear mode and freewheel mode. The bike has an LCD screen mounted on the handlebars to display stats that can be downloaded via a removable SD card. There’s even integrated LED lighting. Plus, all of the electronics are powered by the dynamo that’s in the front wheel hub.

Just like you’d expect from something this cutting-edge, the frame is mostly made out of carbon fiber, with some aluminum bits.

The ALPHA bike isn’t for sale, but it’s possible that some of these technological advances could trickle down into production frames over the coming years.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Core77]

What we needed were two Etch A Sketches – or perhaps this sweet Connect A Sketch concept by product design student Andrew Little. Little designed the Connect A Sketch for the 2011 Dundee Degree show and the London exhibition, New Designers. He took a couple of the Etch A Sketch tablets we all know and love, and connected them together somehow so that what is drawn on one screen shows up on the other screen as well.

The cool part is if the other guy shakes the screen to clear it, the second user will get a notification to shake their screen to keep up. I would like to know the tech the designer used to make this thing.  What sort of tech do you think is behind the wonder of the Connect A Sketch?

[via Designalittle and Ubergizmo]