Awesome Robots

We love BattleBots, but we don’t all have the skills and resources for that. GJS’ Ganker is a promising alternative. It’s a highly mobile and articulated robot with customizable weapons and armor and sensors to detect hits and keep score.

Roboticist David Zarrouk’s and his team’s SAW (or “Single-Actuator Wave“) robot is both completely awesome, and serious nightmare fuel. This innovative robot can move on land or in water by wriggling its 3D-printed spine, and uses just a single motor to shimmy about.

File Mattias Wandel’s LEGO Technics contraption under “oddly satisfying,” as it moves along neatly and evenly spacing wooden dominoes. Now we need Mattias to build a companion machine that knocks them all over.

Developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System is able to lurk for months, hundreds of feet beneath the water’s surface, then deploy to carry out aerial missions on command.

While we always enjoy watching a round of BattleBots, those are generally just one-on-one robo-fights. Here, we get 17 robots in an all out war to see who be the last robot standing. The first minute or so is so chaotic, we could barely follow it. The action kicks in at 2:30.

A fully open source DIY robot that can plant and grow different kinds plants at once. FarmBot has drag and drop interfaces for planning and taking care of your small garden (up to 10’x 5′), as well as remote manual controls. It can even suppress weeds automatically.

The second season of the BattleBots reboot is off to a great start thanks to matches like this intense one between Team Half Fast Astronauts’ hammer-wielding Blacksmith against RioBotz’s Minotaur and its deadly spinning drum. Roombas they ain’t.

Apparently some people have been hate watching Simone Giertz and her intentionally stupid inventions, so she made a robot to address those haters. Now all she needs are the meme sunglasses.

A tiny robot designed to kill you with cuteness, from the guys behind Anki Overdrive. Cozmo uses AI and computer vision to learn to recognize people, interact with its environment, and emote. Plus, its movements were designed by former Pixar animators. Your move, BB-8.

The folks behind robots like BigDog and AlphaDog are back with a smaller dog. SpotMini is designed for use around the home, and can not only act as a family pet, but can do chores, like doing the dishes and bringing you a beer. We only wonder if he poops batteries.

While some may see robots as the creepy harbingers of a dystopian future, YouTuber DFWV likes to think of them as the dopey and irreverent harbingers of Internet memes. Based on an attempt to sing this song. 1 hour special edition here.

Its promo video is cloying, but the idea of a personal robotic assistant for under $600 is certainly cool. The Zenbo can play games and tutor kids, provide reminders, control your home, monitor security and more. Even better, developers can create their own apps.

(PG-13: Language) “I don’t know why I built this.” The khaleesi of useless inventions Simone Giertz attached moving arms to her smartphone’s case. Now she can passively reject calls and her phone can call and crawl for help. See her creation in action at 1:46.

Practice your ping pong game with Trainerbot. Use its app to specify a shot type, spin and location and it will get it right every time. You can also program a string of shots as one drill, or play right away with its random, smash and beginner modes. It holds up to 30 balls.

(PG-13: Language) The queen of robot underlords Simone Giertz tamed the plastic hand from her brutal wake-up machine and turned it into her personal shampooer. We hope she doesn’t turn her chopping machine into a hairdresser.

After a long day on your feet, taking your socks off can be a real pain in the butt. Useless Duck Company has created this single-purpose robot which takes care of the task usually reserved for significant others and dogs.

If you’ve ever played the mobile music game Piano Tiles or its sequel, you know how the difficulty level ramps up quickly. Since his fingers couldn’t possibly keep up with ever increasing speed, DenverFinn built a robot to play the game on his behalf.

TECHNICally Possible used his smarts to build a LEGO Mindstorms robot which can fret and strum an acoustic guitar. Hear it play a cover of Of Monsters and Men’s Little Talks, then check out how it all works. We anxiously await his LEGO vocalist.

Just in time for the Voltron reboot, LEGO Ideas member len_d69 is proposing an official LEGO set of the Lion Force robots based on their classic appearance. The lions can transform and combine into a 16″ 2lb. Voltron mech.

Like creepy creatures or giant robots? Visit Monsters & Machines. This website offers a database of movie and video game monsters and mechanical marvels, scored by their degree of awesomeness. It’s by no means comprehensive, but it’s still fun to explore.

“The problem’s plain to see… too much technology…” Editor Luc “Zapatou” Bergeron combined footage of Star Wars’ least respected droid with Styx’s cheesetastic Mr. Roboto, a song that seems much more appropriate these days than when it was released back in 1983.

Inventor Simone Giertz teamed up with Adam Savage to build another one of her silly robotic contraptions – this time, she’s made a hat that automatically feeds her popcorn. They should include one of these as an option with the Oculus Rift.

BuzzFeed Blue compiled this video featuring a variety of robots and automated assembly line machines doing what they do best. We think the clip should have been much longer, but we were still transfixed by these mechanical marvels.