The whole thing is chrome plated using a “six-layer chrome plating” technique to reduce the signs of aging and degradation. It looks like the bidding for this thing starts at 900,000 yen (~$11,000 USD), though there are no bids yet. Does anyone care to guess how much it will sell for?

[via Obvious Winner]

Most drones in the military arsenal have a pilot, even if that pilot is half a world away. The X-47B will be able to take off, find its target, attack, and return home and land all on its own using internal systems. While it’s still years away from being used in the field, the X-47B would be the first fully-unmanned aircraft system in the military.

Humans would still program flight plans and targets, but Northrop program manger Carl Johnson said, “It will do its own math and decide what it should do next.” Let’s hope the math is does comes up with an answer other than humans are a risk to its survival. While it is currently illegal for a machine to make its own military decisions, I don’t think Skynet really cares about such rules.

[via TheAtlanticWire]

Shawn started with a 3D model of the helmet loaded into a papercraft modeling program called Pepakura Designer, which output pieces of paper to cut and glue into a model. Once the model was created out of paper, Shawn covered it inside and out with layers of fiberglass resin. Then he sanded, polished, and painted it in multiple coats to give it that distressed, war-worn look. The result is pretty awesome, and it definitely looks like one a Space Marine Terminator would have no problem wearing.

Shawn created this as a display piece and in total, spent about $45 on materials, which is pretty cheap compared to what he ended up with. Of course, many more hours of his time and talent went into it as well.

If you’d like to see how he went from 3D data to paper model to completed helmet prop, head on over to Shawn’s blog for the complete build log.

[via Make:]

Yes, you heard me right. This awesome prop, created by special effect artist Robert Haiduga of Nephalim XFX is based on the T-800′s endoskeleton arm in Terminator 2, and it actually moves. This is a custom-built animatronic arm, and each joint moves thanks to a total of 12 servos. Movements are programmed on a PC and stored on an SD card. It even comes with sound effects to make it more authentic.

Including its base, the arm measures about 43 inches long, and appears to be made using metal components to really make it look like a robot. Each finger can move individually, and the wrist and entire arm can rotate as well. In action, it’s sufficiently freaky to induce nightmares. But enough talking, it’s time for showing. Here’s a video showing one of Nephalim’s Terminator arms in action:

Pretty awesome, no? So why aren’t there 1000 people lined up to buy one? Well, since each arm takes many, many hours to build, they’re not cheap. You’ll need to pony up $3600 (USD) if you want your very own Terminator arm. And then on top of that, you’ll need to spend millions on a security system to keep Skynet from stealing it.

[via eBay]

This is the third version of the Robotic Hand, courtesy of Thingiverse user Armjunkie. It improves on the original by using fewer non-3D-printable parts, less plastic, and less sanding. The hand also requires less force to move.

I wonder how long it will take for hackers to make their own 3D printed robots. Skynet won’t be far behind, since the technology already exists to make self-replicating robots, ones that are self-aware, and killer ones too.

[via Make:]

When YouTuber programming4fun found this awesome 3D model of the metal T-800 from Terminator 2, he was inspired to make his own “special” personal assistant. Using a Microsoft Kinect to do head tracking, he was able to not only make it so the floating Terminator head looks like a floating hologram, but used the speech recognition so he could ask it do his bidding.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Damn, I was hoping that its voice would sound like Ahnold. At this point, the T-800 personal assistant seems pretty docile – unless you mention John or Sarah Connor, but that’s to be expected. Now as long as we don’t ever combine this technology with the ham-boning robot, we should be pretty safe for now.

The fountain isn’t new (it was unveiled in 2007), but it’s the first time I’ve seen it, so it’s new to me. It sure reminds me of a Terminator T-1000 coming up for air. The fountain spits out recirculated water, and as its facets turn, it is reminiscent of the melting molten T-1000 at the end of T2. As they rotate back into position, you eventually see it as a full-blown head again.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The sculpture even has a dedicated webcam so you can enjoy it from your desk anywhere in the world. It’s definitely an interesting sight to see if you’re ever in Charlotte.

[via designyoutrust and Colossal Art + Design]

Unlike other glasses of this kind, the STAR 1200 has transparent heads-up displays so that you can view the “real world” as usual, but when something from augmented reality appears, it’s overlayed onto your vision.

The glasses themselves contain motion sensors to track head movements too. Vuzix previous AR glasses used cameras mounted on their lenses for their augmented reality glasses, but the see-through displays are likely to offer a major improvement in usability.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

From what I can see from the demo and the images, the idea is pretty awesome. Now, all that’s needed is for enough decent augmented reality content to be generated, and we can kind of have our own Matrix. Vuzix expects to launch the STAR 1200 glasses this August.

[via CrunchGear]

To make matters worse, there are 400 of these blasted end-bringers, each chip individually numbered. Members of the Resistance, make sure to snag all of them up and destroy them before the robots get their hands on one. You can pre-order them from Hollywood Collectibles for $169 (USD). That’s a small price to pay for our continued existence. Although if you multiply that by 400, it’s almost not worth it.

[via Chip Chick]

Whatever happened, you can commemorate the week Skynet did/didn’t become self-aware with this Terminator Endoskeleton Model T-800.

Celebrate Judgment Day with this 18-inch rubberized figure, complete with evil red that light up. It sells for $39.99 (USD) over at ThinkGeek.

While I doubt that real Terminators are going to start roaming about in 2011, these collectibles can remind you of a future that never was (or may still be ahead of us).

[via GeekAlerts]

This isn’t a small scale model, nope, it’s a full 1:1 scale replica, so it’s going to scare someone – at least the person sitting opposite you at your desk. The details are quite intricate, and it has acrylic teeth as well as a chrome finish. The finishing touch involves eyes that light up red and some blue LED lights hidden in the neck area to give that creepy machine glow.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This replica also plays the official T2 theme song through its speakers. All this doesn’t come cheap. The Terminator 2 Judgment Day T-800 1:1 Scale Endoskull Replica sells for $600 at Entertainment Earth.

[via GeekAlerts]

If the fact that the beloved Spongebob has been turned into a Terminator isn’t disturbing enough, when you flip it around, you can actually see that Spongebob Terminatorpants is actually a machine that’s meant to be driven by an army LEGO people. This unusual LEGO build was made by AFOL member Rack911 Haung, who clearly has an imagination.
Inside, there’s a control room, watch room, weapons room and storehouse that can be accessed when you turn it around. Despite the weirdness of it all, I have to say that it put a smile on my face.

[via The Brothers Brick]

This bust boasts an impressive number of details, and looks slightly menacing. The glowing red eyes are the perfect way to give anyone the heebie-jeebies. The overall Terminator looks awesome, and thanks to the nice base, it has a really finished look.

This bust is a remake of one that Martin made in 2006, which itself was terminated. You can check that one out over at Brickshelf.

[via The Brothers Brick]

What gives me the creeps? This video…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

In the clip, we get to see BEAR pumping iron, breaking down doors, smashing things, and carrying humans around like they were ragdolls. Lifesaving, my ass. This little guy could really be trouble if it fell into the hands of the wrong evil genius.

All we need now is for Cyberdyne Systems to merge with Vecna, and we’ll all be robot food.

[via College Humor]

Bryant foretells, “Set in the year 2029, you are placed in the boots a of soldier serving for humankind against the ruthless army of machines. The final campaign will feature nine chapters… Confront the many killing machines at Skynet’s disposal including the HK aerial, the HK tank, the mini HK, and the legendary T800 with an arsenal of futuristic plasma weapons. “ Bryant says that this is more of a proof of concept than an actual game, but perhaps he’s just saying that to fool any robot who might be listening. Here’s a teaser for the Alpha v.1.0 Demo of FPS Terminator:

The game has even caught the eye of Gears of War designer Cliffy B, who tweeted about the mod a couple of days ago. Incidentally, FPS Terminator uses the Unreal Development Kit, which as some of you may know was released by Epic Games, of which Cliffy B is a part of. You can download the Windows-only Alpha v.1.0 Demo of FPS Terminator at ModDB.

[via CVG via Wire.vg]

I love how Husqvarna uses the words “compact” in the description of this robot, but I’m not sure what they’re comparing it to for size reference. It’s certainly impressive and a lot safer for construction workers than trying to do this stuff themselves. However, I’m a little concerned these things might become sentient and take over the world. This could someday be just the reason why we all need to bow down to our robot overlords!

The robot is definitely reminiscent of Skynet’s more rudimentary Terminators, but thankfully, this robot isn’t autonomous (yet). It’s basically a gigantic R/C controlled ‘bot, which is kind of awesome in my book. Here’s the corporate video, although I have to say that I’m disappointed that it’s just a series of stills, not a full-blown video of the ‘bot destroying stuff. Boo.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[BotJunkie via Make:]

Sariel says that the most complex part of this was obviously the hand with all of its moving parts. The arm is fully articulated as well, and uses a combination of electric motors and pneumatic valves for movement.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m amazed at how little time he needed to make this, though if you watch the preceding video, you’ll notice that the arm isn’t that easy to control. Still, the range of movement that has been achieved is impressive. The arm can fully rotated. The index finger and the thumb can be independently controlled from the other fingers. It can exert a maximum pressure of 20PSI.

All that’s left for Sariel is to build a LEGO Terminator!

[via Nowhere Else]

Don’t get me wrong. I respect the artistry and Terminator appreciation that went into this creation. The case even has that neat LED strip, so the Terminator can even creep you out in the dark. Seriously, that is the creepiest rendering of the Terminator I’ve ever seen. Good job, guy. You have created a casemod I will never forget, and I’m pretty sure that means success.

Then again, maybe in the dark, he’s friendlier. Like he’s reaching out the hand of a pal. “Hey, bro! Wanna hang out? I’ll get us some beers. Hang on–I’ll be back.”

You know he’d say that all the time.

If you’re curious about the evolution of the project, start here in the creator’s photostream.

Those sinister eyes aren’t just pretty rocks–they’re Swarovski crystals, which explains the $150 (USD) price tag. What isn’t explained, however, is why this admittedly cool USB drive only has a 2GB capacity. Seems a lot of money to shell out in support of the fourth Terminator flick considering the memory stick doesn’t exactly have a lot of heft to it.

Also, at this point, I’m pretty sure that there is a novelty USB drive to support just about everything. Too bad they aren’t cheaper!

[via CrunchGear]

I found these images over on Klonoaxero’s Flickr page, where he says he recently picked up this suspicious looking Danish retro Terminator grenade controller from a friend. From what I recall, the controller had a DB-9 Atari connector so it worked with most game systems and PCs that supported that standard.

I’m kind of surprised that the Terminator’s tagline was “THE ULTIMATE CONTROLLER” – I was thinking something like “THE LAST CONTROLLER YOU’LL EVER PLAY WITH.”