Awesome Awesome

Engineers from MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group developed a unique tangible interface – a modular system which can change shape and color, and detect inputs anywhere along its surfaces. If we ever need a robotic pet snake or caterpillar, we know who we’re calling.

“It’s not so much the fish… I like the challenge of keeping them alive.” We’ve seen a homemade 10,000 gal aquarium. Now let’s check out one that’s double that. It was designed and mostly built by Bill Wann, a natural born inventor.

People with cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s or other disabilities can have issues with stability or the angle of their hands, making it difficult to eat. The Liftware Steady can overcome tremors, while the Liftware Level keeps utensils flat regardless of the user’s hand position.

One of the cooler builds at SEMA 2016, this 1971 Challenger combines classic style with modern performance. It rocks a brand new 392 Hemi V8 crate engine packing 485hp, a lowered suspension, and Hellcat brakes. We love the “Bitchin Black” paint and minimal red accents.

A timepiece based on the band Snake Plissken wore to countdown until his arteries explode in John Carpenter’s classic Escape from New York. Beyond its countdown timer, it’s a smartwatch with world time, date, stopwatch, pedometer, compass, weather, and notifications.

Up until now, most projection mapping has been done on fixed or predictably moving surfaces. This incredible tech from Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory can project onto moving objects like paper or fabric, adjusting images up to 1,000 times per second.

Normally, when you need to move around the trailers from an 18-wheeler, you need a big rig to pull them. But with Verhagen Leiden’s V-move Elektrotrekker XXL, an individual can tow around an entire trailer much in the same way they’d pull a little red wagon.

Hypnotic footage of an Intralox conveyor system, which uses a series of active roller belts to move individual products into perfect formation for loading onto pallets. The objects seem to move into position as if by magic. This demo is equally enthralling.

If you’ve ever considered diving in a shark cage, you might rethink that after watching this video, in which a great white swam right through the bars, with a diver inside. Incredibly, the guy wasn’t injured, but we can imagine his wetsuit is a few shades more brown now.

The latest LEGO set to go from fan concept to production on LEGO Ideas is The Beatles iconic, psychedelic yellow submarine, along with perfect minifig versions of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, who can all ride inside. The 550 piece set drops 11/16 for $60.

A product demo reel for a crazy 1980’s musical instrument which combined a guitar with a MIDI synthesizer controller, which was basically the exact opposite of the Keytar. Why this thing never took off, we’ll never know.

The Japanese version of the Nintendo Classic Mini mimics the Family Computer’s body and controller. It also has a few exclusive games such as River City Ransom and Final Fantasy III. Nintendo, if you love money even a little bit, you should give this an international release.

Nissan Japan presents a brief compilation of their nation’s dedicated laborers, from craftspeople, to industrial workers, each performing their jobs with a sense of pride, regardless of how small or large of a task.

LEGO bricks are incredibly versatile, but one thing they can’t do today is bend and flex with movement. Flexo hopes to change that with their LEGO-compatible components, which allow the bricks to move and deform without coming apart.

Adafruit maker Phillip Burgess wanted an arcade cabinet he could take anywhere, so he set about making what is apparently the world’s smallest MAME cab. This ridiculously teensy system saves space by using its Raspberry Pi and its other components as the cabinet.

Yes, Transformers really do exist, as is evidenced by this video of Letrons‘ amazing BMW that can turn from a car into a giant mech on command. And yes, the car can actually drive via remote control.

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Maker Benjamin Uyeda used Inventables’ X-Carve 3D carving machine to cut hundreds of layers of wood, which he laminated together to make an impressive spiral staircase. The whole thing was made from 13 sheets of Purebond plywood. Full build video here.

We all know how the edge of a piece of paper can do some serious damage to your skin, but can its sharp properties do any damage to wood? Carpenter John Heisz decided to make a paper blade for his table saw to see if he could cut things with it, and the results were shocking.

We’re guessing that YouTuber Eli F doesn’t live near a public aquarium, so maybe that’s why he decided to build a massive reef aquarium into his living room. The water’s surface can be exposed to the sun to help nourish the living coral. See Eli swim and feed his fish here.

Engineers from MIT Media Lab and Microsoft Research have developed a method to produce temporary tattoos using thin layers of gold leaf to transform the wearer’s skin into touch-based input devices for controlling devices, a color-changing display, or as an NFC tag.

Master builder and effects artist Frank Ippolito saw what appears to be a photoshopped image of a refrigerator done up to look like Han Solo frozen in Carbonite. Inspired by the pic, Frank decided to build the actual fridge for himself. Tested shares the build process.

Qixels are tiny plastic blocks which fuse together permanently when you wet their sides. The new Qixels 3D kit now lets you create 3D voxel models one layer at a time, giving you a sort of Minecraft IRL 3D printer. Includes 600 blocks. 1200 additional blocks go for $18.