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unicycle robot by murata has much better balance than me

murata_unicycle_bot

This jolly little robot gets around not by walking or crawling, but by rolling along on a single unicycle wheel.

Murata’s Seiko-chan (Murata Girl) self-balancing unicycle robot first came onto the scene back in 2008, but has recently been upgraded so it can tool along 3 times faster than the original. An ultrasonic sensor and…

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September 26th, 2009 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: robots strange + wonderful technology

metaphys lunacalante cd player exposes its disc

Metaphys Lunacalente CD Player

This CD stereo out of Japan features a unique design that has part of the spinning CD stick out of its case. From what I can tell, you insert the disc into a slot on the top of the case, then a motor pulls it in and about 1/4 of the disc sticks out of…

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August 18th, 2007 comments (2) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: design home entertainment

original xbox 360 design prototypes surface

Original Xbox 360 Design Prototype 1

Chiaki Murata’s Xbox 360 design is now commonplace in living rooms around the world. But back in 2003, the system was still just in the conceptual stages. Now, the Japanese industrial designer has released some great images of a couple of his original design concepts that didn’t make it.

I’ve never seen a picture of…

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July 14th, 2007 comments (2) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: design video games

led candles react to wind just like the real deal

METAPHYS Hono 24000 LED Candles

These minimal LED lights are designed to act like a real candle by flickering in the wind, and automatically turning off when you blow on them.

The clever design even includes a giant “matchstick” which turns the candle on when struck against the side of the tubular silicon fixture. Each candle comes with its own…

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March 10th, 2007 comments (1) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: design just plain fun