Technology

Tea Serving robot kit

Tea Serving robot kit

404401This kit is made of computer designed precision modern materials, but is as close to the original design as possible. The driving force of the original tea-carrying doll came from a spring made of whale whiskers (actually whale teeth). All the other components, such as its gears, body and escapement for speed adjustments, were made of wood. How does it work? When a tea cup is placed on the tray, the stopper is released by the whale spring attached to the doll’s arms; the spring forces the stopper to engage again when the cup is lifted from the tray. [via] Link.

HOW TO – Make A Robot Car – Part I

HOW TO – Make A Robot Car – Part I

Robot Car 2.ThumbnailMake pal jason Striegel writes “I wish I could say I had a half-million dollar budget to put towards a Stanford style Grand Challenge vehicle, but I’m afraid I’ve already earmarked that money for thermoptic camouflage and bionic calf implants. Still, it seems like you just can’t be a self respecting hacker these days unless you have an autonomous Humvee or two. So, I decided it would be a worthwhile project to create a smaller scale robotic car. After a quick treasure-hunt under the sofa cusions and a trip to Radio Shack, I had everything I needed.” Link.

Super-simple DIY synth plans

Super-simple DIY synth plans

Synth-1
“From Ray Wilson, inventor of the Soundlab Mini Synth comes the Wacky Electronic Noise Maker Thingy. It’s a much simpler circuit, which produces surprisingly cool pulsing, bleeping type noises. You can hear sound clips here. It’s made with a handful of components, a few pots and switches and a 9v battery. There’s a very clear schematic, a PCB design and a stripboard layout.” Thanks Tom! Link.