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bandai luminodisc led pov top: spin til you win

bandai_luminodisc

This flying saucer-like apparatus from Bandai is a modern day take on a classic kids’ toy – the spinning top.

Just flip open the collapsing handle on the Bandai Luminodisc and give it a spin. As it goes round and round, a persistence-of-vision LED display tells you how many rotations your spin made. If you…

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April 21st, 2009 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: cool toys just plain fun

breakdancing r/c car arrives just in time for nobody to care about breakdancing

breakdancing_rc_car

I’ve been waiting all my life for the day that somebody came up with a gadget that would finally combine my passions for radio-controlled race cars and breakdancing. That day has finally arrived.

You can certainly drive this R/C car around the floor just like any other, but the real fun kicks in when you…

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April 14th, 2009 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: cool toys strange + wonderful technology

elekit tornader robot is really a ball

tornader robot spin elekit japan sphere

This robot kit from Japan lets you build your own ball shaped robot that can pull off all sorts of wild and crazy moves as it gyrates around your floor.

While the Tornader robot from Elekit can drive slowly around the floor like most remote-controlled vehicles, the real fun starts when you set the Tornader…

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December 31st, 2008 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: cool toys robots

persistence of vision led clock gets a major upgrade

This amazing wall clock can display intricate animations thanks to the optical phenomenon known as persistence of vision (POV). Using a small spinning “blade” covered in red, green and blue LEDs, along with sophisticated microcontroller circuit, this clock can dynamically change its look with just the push of a button.

The clock comes with a…

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November 16th, 2008 comments (1) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: just plain fun timepieces

led hard drive clock lights up the night

Hard Drive LED Clock by Ian Matthew

Hardware hacker Ian Matthew decided to see if he could turn a hard drive into a clock. But this isn’t one of those lazy designs where you just stick some clock hands through a hard drive platter. On the contrary, Ian went way over the top.

A narrow slot cut into the platter allows a…

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August 3rd, 2008 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: hacks + mods strange + wonderful

orbitwheels turn rollerblades on their side

orbitwheels image via core77.com

In the beginning, there was the roller skate, then came the skate board and later the Rollerblade. So what’s the next conveyance that we’ll be strapping to our feet to roll around the street?

Orbitwheels move sort of like inline skates, but a wheel rotates around your feet, instead of under them. The large donut-shaped…

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July 27th, 2008 comments (3) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: gadgets just plain fun

tops with frickin’ laser beams

Laser Top

The guys from online shop MyVirtualZone just tipped me off to these little playthings. The appropriately named Laser Top has a little laser beam that projects out of the side as you spin it around.

While I actually think the effect of the LEDs and the laser are pretty cool when its spinning, I think…

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September 4th, 2007 comments (10) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: cool toys gadgets just plain fun

spinning led clock uses image persistence to tell time

Virtual Clock

By rapidly spinning a blade that contains an array of flashing LEDs, this wall clock tells time in a visually striking way.

A thin LED arm, loaded with 33 LEDs spins at 30 revolutions per second to create the illusion of a complete image. When the blade is spinning at full speed, it tricks your…

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June 23rd, 2007 comments (2) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: gadgets timepieces

fan displays moving images on spinning leds

LED Art Fan

ThinkGeek is at it again. This time they’re offering up a fan which can load up animated GIF files from your computer and display them in full color on the blades of the fan.

Inspired by those light-up LED spinner rims that might have turned up on Pimp My Ride, The LED Art Fan hooks…

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June 6th, 2007 comments (2) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: gadgets just plain fun

robot thrill ride seems like a bad idea

Robot Ride

Some sick individual strapped their buddy to a seat at the end of a FANUC industrial robot’s arm and then ran him through the spin cycle.

They captured all of the fun and festivities in this video clip:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7472502197006303244
I wouldn’t want to be the one sitting in that chair. I’m feeling a bit nauseous…

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February 26th, 2007 comments (2) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: just plain fun robots