Gizmodo Australia » maker faire 2008

DIY R2-D2 Is Even Better than the Real Thing

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Chris James’ R2-D2 won four Make Magazine editors’ choice ribbons at Maker Faire and it’s easy to see why: not only does it have every detail from the original—except having a little person inside—but this one is even more charming, capable of singing the Star Wars theme, and Indiana Jones sound bites. It only needs to have a built-in projector to be absolutely perfect. We asked Chris about the obvious next step: installing sensory inputs and artificial intelligence to make it truly autonomous. His take—and another video of R2 dancing with kids at Maker Faire—after the jump.

Modded Violin adds Steampunk-esque Styling, One Extra String

Gizmodo US Edition — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:22:00 +0000

Steampunk modding, love it or hate it, has caught on and led to everything from LCD monitors to Nerf rifles getting the treatment. And now we have this steampunk-ish modded violin, that’s seriously cut-down and gutted, and packs in tubes and wires and faux valves. Plus one extra string.

Made by modder Molly “Porkshanks” Friedrich, it was built for Nathan Johnstone of the band Abney Park, and debuted at a performance at Maker Faire the other day.

Molly seems to have ignored the fact that violins get their sound quality from the vibrations of their classic shape and structure, so we’ve no idea what it sounds like, particularly as it sports an extra string. But it does at least have LEDs inside those fake “valves” that flash when in time to its music. All we need now is Vanessa Mae to play it, wearing a suitably matching outfit, don’t you think guys? [MAKE via Slashgear]

Video: A Robot Drawing Beautiful Stars In The Sand

Brian Lam — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:32:29 +0000

Here’s a video of Sisyphus V drawing shapes in the sand using a magnetic arm on a 2-axis plotter. [Maker Faire]

Remote Plant Watering Via iPhone

Brian Lam — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:33:19 +0000

Peter set up a robotic watering can to take directions from an iPhone. When Safari’s screen state goes from horizontal to vertical, it sends a status update to a webserver via javascript that sets the watering can up or down. Pretty simple but clever setup. [Maker Faire]

Quote: Would a Modern Day MacGyver Still Use a Swiss Army Knife?

Matt Buchanan — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:35:00 +0000

While yesterday’s revelation at Maker Faire by MacGyver creator and real-life inspiration Lee D. Zlotoff that a MacGyver blockbuster was in the works was a pretty sweet surprise, today we asked him the most pressing MacGyver question of all: Would a modern day MacGyver still use a Swiss Army knife? [Maker Faire on Giz]

Wall-E Robot Toy In Action

Brian Lam — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:38:22 +0000

We just saw the Wall-E toy in action, and its a pretty interesting toy (Although not US$190 worth of interesting.) The best features include fully articulating tank treads, 10 motors, audio and vision sensors, remote control by both joystick and touchpad, individual shutters on each eye, and collision detection. Wall E also has a “follow me” mode that’ll allow a Wall-E to stick to a kid or dog and track it around the house. (We would have tried it out, but it was far to noisy and crowded at Maker Faire for Wall-E to track anything or anyone reliably.) [Maker Faire and Wall-E]

Build Your Own Multitouch Table With The Cubit

Gizmodo US Edition — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Engineers at Eyebeam, a New York arts and technology centre, are drastically reducing the cost of ownership for multitouch tables by taking them open-source. Schematics for the Cubit, a multitouch tabletop display, are available online for people who want to make a scaled-down Microsoft Surface for one tenth the Surface’s price.

The Cubit is a boxy tabletop with a clear surface. All a potential multitouch table owner needs to get started is a webcam with an infrared filter and a small image projector. Plug in the webcam, install the Cubit software, turn on the projector and start touching.

Eyebeam fellows Addie Wagenknetch and Stefan Hechenberger said they were releasing the Cubit in order to “prove that anyone could build [a multitouch table].” Besides offering the designs and software online, the two are selling DIY kits that include parts and instructions.

The Cubit was on display at the Maker Faire, along with several other open-source multitouch projects. Though open-source has long been focused on software, it looks like DIYers, like Eyebeam andBug Labs, are now taking the philosophy into the realm of hardware as well. [Technology Review]

Maker Faire: Remote Controlled Battleships Fighting With BB Gun Cannons

Brian Lam — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Why do I need goggles to watch R/C ships sailing in a pond? Because these replicas of WWII battleships fire C02-powered projectiles. In the video above, you can see munitions bounce off the plexi shields protecting the crowd and make splashes as they ricochet off enemy hulls. The Western Warship Combat Club is recreating Axis vs. Allies fights where each side tries to sink the other. At 1/144 scale. [Western Warship Combat Club Maker Faire]

Sisyphus V: A Robot Making a Zen Garden

Brian Lam — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:18:03 +0000

This isn’t a sandbox with a marble in it. Sysyphus V, a kinetic sculpture by Bruce Shapiro looks like a Zen Garden. But instead of a buddhist monk carefully raking gravel, it’s an autonomous steel sphere carefully crawling over and over, making polar geometric shapes that can best be described as iterative lillies or stars. A magnet on an arm on a two axis plotter sites underneath the half-ton set up, and Sisyphus is making its first appearance here, at Maker Faire 2008. An unrelated but cool Interview with Bruce, by Cool Hunting\, after the jump. [TaoMC at Makers]

Holy Crap: MacGyver Blockbuster Film Coming!

Adrian Covert — Sat, 03 May 2008 20:56:59 +0000

Today at Maker Faire 2008, MacGyver creator (and real life inspiration) Lee David Zlotoff announced he has a big budget MacGyver movie in the planning stages.

Zlotoff mentioned he somehow ended up with the movie rights years ago (extremely uncommon), giving him full control over the film. While few specifics were mentioned, and no formal announcement has been made, its extremely promising that the man with the power to make the film is getting the ball rolling. The question is…do you bring back Richard Dean Anderson as old MacGyver, or bring in a younger, Christian Bale-type to reprise the role of makeshift gadget god? [Maker Faire on Giz]