Awesome Robots

Boston Dynamics’ Spot robotic quadruped is finally available for purchase. Starting at just $74,500, you can have one too. To entice buyers from commercial, academic, and engineering worlds, the company put together this video of some of the robot’s capabilities, from climbing to carrying, to self-righting, to working in sync.

Using a high-tech 3D printer that can print up to 8 different materials with a single nozzle, engineers from Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS are showing how they can create tiny soft robots which use a mix of hard and flexible substances. By introducing a vacuum into its chambers, it’s able to walk without motors.

Engineer James Bruton is always building amazing things in his workshop. He recently got his hands on a LiDAR scanner unit which can enable 3D computer vision and capture navigational data. He used the device to guide a robot that looks for movement all around it, then turns to fire at what it detected. Demo starts at 17:54.

When it comes to robots, the humble Roomba is one of the most useful. The only thing that would make one of these automated vacuums better is if it looked like a droid from Star Wars. Matthew Scott Hunter decided to do just that, and transformed his Roomba into a new home maintenance droid dubbed “R9-D9.”

You might think that robots are a 19th or 20th century invention, but the idea of a humanoid machine dates back way further. TED-Ed looks back to an ancient Greek myth that involved a giant automaton warrior built to defend an island kingdom. It was also the first story about a robot struggling with its humanity.

Rock’em Sock’em Robots have been entertaining kids since 1964. If you enjoy knocking your friend’s block off, along with the sense of achievement that comes with DIY, The Q is here to show you how to build your own using cardboard, popsicle sticks, rubber bands, bottle caps, and paper clips.

What started out as a satirical “AI” music video host became one of the most recognizable characters of the 1980s, appearing in Coke ads, a music video, and even a TV series. Space Feather’s comprehensive analysis of the character is well worth a watch for anyone familiar with Matt Frewer’s iconic glitchbot.

(PG-13: Language) After seeing the $2 million da Vinci surgical robot, builder Michael Reeves decided that was just too much money. So he set about building his own homebrew robot surgeon. His gesture-controlled, knife-wielding ‘bot isn’t nearly as precise, safe, or reliable, but we applaud his efforts.

This highly-articulated LEGO Technic robot by Shadow Elenter uses 19 motors to move its wheels, arms, snippers and grippers to defuse, pick up, and dispose of a phony explosive payload. We’re not sure we’d use it for a real bomb threat, but we’re still impressed.

Designer and maker Love Hultén is best known for his retro-inspired video game and computer builds. But this one is quite different – an electromechanical drum machine that plays rhythms using a MIDI sequencer. Each of its components is modular, so it can be reconfigured to create unique audio sculptures.

This robotic gadget uses an array of sensors to drive itself across various household surfaces, exposing them to powerful UV-C light, which can destroy up to 99.99% of bacteria and other germs, while ultrasonic waves can get rid of mites. It can even drive across your bed or under sheets. Save 26% in The Awesomer Shop.

Engineers from Stanford University have been working on an unusual design for a robot that uses inflatable tubes for its body. It can move about and change shapes by squeezing on its air bladders, and can pack up small when not in use. It’s like the more evolved cousin of the wacky waving tube guy.

With hoarding surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been quite the run on toilet paper here in the U.S. While add-on bidet toilet seats are always an option, Mike of Useless Duck Company thinks he’s got a more thorough solution – though his approach might be just a little more painful. Kids, don’t try this at home.

(PG-13: Language) Westworld just returned for its third season, and is off to a typically cryptic start. But 43 years before HBO’s hit sci-fi drama appeared, there was a movie version of Michael Crichton’s dystopian story. While it was pretty creepy in its day, and had some promising ideas, Mr. Sunday Movies is here to laugh at its many flaws.

Creature Technology creates incredible large-size animatronics for museums, theme parks, live shows, and other attractions. Bloomberg takes us inside the factory where they make giant mechanical bears, gorillas, and imposing life-size dinosaurs.

Electron Dust shows off a nifty machine that can bounce a ping pong ball, while keeping it balanced and centered on its moving platform. It uses combination of open-source image processing software and Arduino-controlled stepper motors to work its magic. More build details here.

This weird and wonderful very short film attempts to answer the question “what kind of food would androids consume, if they needed to eat?” Apparently, the answer seems to be something very colorful and strangely textured. Directed and animated by Lukas Vojir, with music and sound by Resonate for XK Studio.

We’re surprised that LEGO machine expert JK Brickworks has never built a Great Ball Contraption module before, but his first one definitely lives up to his standards. Watch as four tiny LEGO robots work along an assembly line, each passing a ball to the next to move it down the line. It also appears to work as a hypnosis device.

Researchers from The University of Vermont and Tufts University have created tiny “xenobots,” which use living cells manipulated to perform tasks. AI algorithms guided the microsurgery used to create these organic machines which could someday clean microplastics from oceans, or repair organs in our bodies.

Guinness World Records introduces us to animatronics and robotics expert Matt Denton, and his prize-winning walking robot, Mantis. This gigantic, diesel-powered hexapod weighs in at nearly 4200 pounds, and can stomp around while an operator rides in its mid-section. Matt also happens to be the co-creator of BB-8.

In December 2019, Adam Savage unwrapped one of the coolest Christmas gifts ever – one of Boston Dynamics‘ four-legged Spot robots. He then took it out for its first walk to learn just how good it is at walking on challenging terrain. Adam and the crew at Tested plan on putting Spot through its paces over the next year.

James Bruton is always making cool and amazing things. His latest build is a version of Tickle-Me Elmo that can actually move and walk around thanks to an array of nine servo motors and a wheeled robot that pushes it along. The design was inspired by that creepy teddy bear in the Spielberg movie A.I. Part one here.

A robot takes part in a heist that goes wrong, and ends up in possession of a prize that makes it feel alive. But once it gets a taste for this sensation, it does whatever is necessary to hold onto that precious lifeforce. This graduation film by students of Rubika Valenciennes is simply fantastic on every level.