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If you liked the gymnasitc robot that does the horizontal bar, you may want to check out the latest video by the creator hinamitetu. It shows how the hands of this robot work, although it seems that they broke off from the robot. Probably from one of it's falls?
I guess I don't want my fingers to be caught up in this one.......
Not directly related to robots but thought this is really cool.
An interactive full-color LED display made by nahitafu. LEDs are normally used to emit light but they can also become photo sensors because a weak electric current flows when they detect light. So he was able to control the colors of the LEDs depending on how much light they get. According to nahitafu, it's not difficult to do that with one LED, but it's not easy to make it work this nicely in arrays. Look at how it glows when he moves his fingers.
His dream is to make large wall displays with this.
Hobby roboticist IKETOMU-san built a 5-legged robot using servos and parts that he found idle at home.
Because he's using the KHR-1 body, it was difficult to make a hexapod - thus a robot with one less leg. He thinks that "the 2 legs in the front can be used as arms in a battle competition" and that "we could probably think up some new and interesting competition by making the legs longer."
IKETOMU-san has been working on bipedal robots since 2004. One of his newest work is below. I'm starting to notice that some of the most talented hobbyists in Japan are starting to move beyond the "traditional" humanoid robots. It's going to be really exciting to see what comes next.
Some new videos up on Kawada YouTube channel. Humanoid NEXTAGE is meant to work side-by-side with humans and safety is key. So the following video shows how the robots slow down and stop working when a person comes from the back to check on their work.
Engine oil company BP Castrol based in Tokyo unveiled the world's first engine-driven "free kick" machine called Castrol-1. Moriyama-san has the story on his blog NODE and Game Watch.
You can watch the newest videos from the press conference - where Castrol-1 showed off his kicking skills at 206 km/h - on the Game Watch site (just click the photos), but here's a slow-motion video taken a few days before at the work-shop where the machine had been under development.
And at real time,
So why this? Castrol BP is one of the sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2010 and it wanted to show the world it's emphasis on "best performance" and the joy and excitement of challenging new ideas.
The machine was developed by artist Kogoro Kurata who has a lot of experience with steel. The kicker is made by steel and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. The mechanism is almost the same as a normal automobile engine using differential gears. Rotating speed can be adjusted. The kick is initiated by "changing the foot from the right to the left on the break pedal" says the article. I'm not sure how this really works but it's a safety measure so that the kicker doesn't move with, say, just one push of a button. Also the artist Kurata-san says that it is soccer after all and you want to be using your feet.
There are 2 cameras each facing the front and the ball. The machine weighing 2 tons moves around on electric motors and not the engine. Last but not least, the engine uses "Castrol EDGE" oil.
