Tag: Motor

When it comes to digital clocks, they typically use segmented or dot-matrix displays in order to tell the time. But one thing most of these displays have in common is that have no moving parts. Not so with this unusual timepiece, which looks like a digital display, but is actually mechanical.

LEGO bricks are some of the most awesome things on earth. They’re incredibly versatile for building all kinds of structures, and you can make some pretty impressive machines with them when you combine them with Technic and Mindstorms parts.

LEGO’s Mindstorms and Power Functions lines both have remote controllers, but shockingly they transmit only via infrared. Polish company RC Bricks wants to expand LEGO enthusiasts’ tools with its Servobrick Pro, two motors that receive signals over radio, just like most RC models.

Paper boats are fun craft projects for kids. And not just kids who lived in the 1800s either. I’m sure some kids and adults still make paper boats and set them in the water, watching the wind move them along.

Electric bikes can be expensive and sometimes just plain ugly, which really sucks, because if you are lazy, you want one. There are some conversion kits available, but they make the bike look too weird. Rubbee to the rescue!

Check out this cool clock made from an old hard drive. Built by modder Svofski, the clock tells time on the face of the hard drive’s rapidly spinning platter. The Strobeshnik hard drive clock uses a stroboscopic effect to make it look like the numbers of the clock are persistent on the face of the drive platter – which Svofski galvanically etched to make the cool cutout numbers.

No, these bug-eyed critters aren’t going to bite. On the contrary – these insect-inspired mini robots are actually quite harmless. In between farming blueberry crops, Adam Claflin of MiddleCreekMerchants makes the little Wigglebot robots (shown above) from a few bent wires for legs, a coin battery for a body, and a pair of colorful LEDs for eyes.

Would you believe this cute little robot toy costs less than $10 bucks? Zibits are a new series of low-priced miniature robots that are perfect on your desktop or for your kids (or cats) to play with.

Despite its disproportionate body-to-wingspan ratio, there’s something ever so graceful about a dragonfly in the air. Now, thanks to the guys at Japan’s Tamiya, you can can watch these amazing natural creations any time the sun is shining.

Now I’m not one to pack a ton of stuff when I travel. As a matter of fact, if it doesn’t fit in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of me, it’s not going with me.

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.

Back when I was a kid, I tried to get on a skateboard a couple of times. But just about every time I did, I couldn’t manage to build up enough momentum to ride for more than a few seconds without wiping out.

RoboPhilo is a compact personal robot that offers a level of sophistication you usually don’t find in robots for under $1000, let alone in one that costs less than 500 clams.   The humanoid ‘bot comes “ready to walk,” which means you won’t have to spend hours putting together the intricate servos and wiring that might have to with other hobby robots.

(Sub)urban warfare has a new face, and it goes by the name of Paintball Panzer. The pint-sized tank has a turret-mounted paintball gun which lets you fire rounds of paint ammo while keeping you safe and sound from the tomatoes and eggs which may be thrown at you in return.

I first told you about artist Daniel Rozin’s cool interactive mirrors about a year ago. He’s now showing off his latest creations at New York’s Bitforms gallery. Here are a couple of my favorites: The Weave Mirror uses 768 individual strips which are woven together into a grid.

In my travels, I’ve seen a few clocks made from old hard drives. They’re typically made by stripping out the guts of an old hard drive, slapping a cheap $2 clock mechanism through the platters, then call it a day.