Robotic Butler | Robotic Fridge | Awesome
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
We thought the beer launching robot and the Twitter popcorn robot were cool, but a robot which brings you cool drinks on a hot summer day? Outstanding! The two robots talk to each other through a series of infrared sensors and navigation equipment. The robot pictured above on the right “docks” on the fridge which then delivers a cool drink into the robo-butler. The butler then delivers the drink back to it’s master. Superb build!
The project is from Norris Labs which features an assortment of fantastic robotics projects. They also have a Flickr stream with more detailed photos. Check out the video below to check out the system in action:
Video Demonstration:
sQuba: World’s First Underwater Car
Thursday, June 3, 2010Three decades ago James Bond (then enacted by British star Roger Moore) wowed the world with a car that could ‘fly’ under water in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. Only, it was animation and not an actual scene.
But Frank M Rinderknecht, the 52-year-old automobile visionary and boss of Swiss automaker Rinspeed, has turned a dream into reality with his ’sQuba.’
sQuba is the world’s first real submersible car that can ‘move like a fish underwater’. It can dive up to 32.8 feet (10 mt) below the surface of the water and can move at a sedate 1.8 miles per hour.
The sQuba has an open cockpit for ’safety reasons’ (so that people can get out easily anytime in case of an emergency). The occupants of the car have to breathe compressed air through built-in scuba masks.
sQuba is an electric car that uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and 3 electric motors for propulsion. It is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions.
The ’sQuba’s’ filling station is the water reservoir.? It is no surprise that the vehicle features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology.
The first car that could drive underwater was Quandt’s Amphibicar, built in 1968. Only 3,878 were produced but many are still being driven on roads.
Then Gibbs Technologies came up with Gibbs Aquada in 2004 which Virgin boss Richard Branson used to break the speed record for crossing the English Channel. However, the sQuba seems to be the most exciting of them all.
To drive on the roads, the sQuba ‘relies on a stainless coil-over suspension from KW automotive and large Pirelli tires mounted on custom-made forged light-weight wheels from AEZ with 17- and 18-inch diameters.’
Monster Tricycle Is Impractical But Totally Awesome
What can you do with a monster truck tire and a rich imagination? Build a kick-ass tricycle, of course.
We can’t all build our very own sports car, or make a Batmobile replica out of scratch, but a good idea and some technical skills go along way, and this monster tricycle is the perfect example. Making great use of a giant tire, some European managed to build an old-school, with a modern twist.
Judging by the video footage below, riding the monster tricycle requires great leg muscles, and I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if anyone were to ride it down hill, but it’s a great way to get noticed and become an Youtube sensation.
