Drones are already capable of many things for us. As the below video shows, they could be used to build a rope bridge capable of supporting the crossing of a person. These quadrocopters built a rope bridge that spans 7.4 meters and has 9 rope segments. The rope is made out of Dyneema.
Here is a cool digital clock made using LEGO Mindstorms blocks. Time Twister by Hans Andersson has two LEGO Mindstorms bricks that communicate via Bluetooth. The master brick keeps track of the time and the minute digits while the slave brick takes care of the hour and second digits. Each digit is made up of five layers, which each layer capable of rotating 360 degrees. The below video shows how this digital clock works:
Meet the Halluc IIχ: a sophisticated robot that can travel on unpaved surfaces. It has 56 motors and adjusts to negotiate uneven terrains. It has vehicle, insect, and animal modes. The below video shows how Halluc IIx, the newest creation of the Hallucigenia project, performs:
Here is an Arduino-powered , 4-axis mechanism robot arm for makers and educators. Dobot can write, draw, grab, and move things. That means you can integrate it into your projects conveniently. The robot can be controlled using gestures, vision, and a smartphone.
Dobot is an open source solution. It lets you program it using a visual interface. More information is available here.
Meet the LocoRobo: an educational robot powered using Atmel AVR processors with enough power to keep your kids entertained. It has a built-in Bluetooth transceiver, allowing your kids to use smartphones, tablets, and computers to communicate with it. It has 6 sensors, including an ultrasonic sensor for measuring distance, a microphone, an accelerometer, and a temperature sensor.
Meet Maximo: an affordable, easy-to-assemble robotic arm that lets you learn a thing or two about robotics. It comes with a special software that lets you automate complex tasks conveniently. As you can see in the below videos, you can manipulate and pick up objects with this robot.
Meet the iRobot Roomba 980: one of the smartest vacuum cleaning robots money can buy. The iRobot Roomba 980 navigates your entire home and cleans all your rooms. It knows its location and can return to be recharged on its own. The companion app lets you put your robot on a schedule.
We have seen a bunch of cool Rubik’s Cube Solving machines in the past. You could always build your own though. Meccanokinematics has posted a video that shows a cube solver assembled with parts from a FAC system. It uses a Raspberry Pi Compute Module with an Arduino Mini to get the job done. The scanner is made from 3 modified Colorpal color sensors.
You don’t always have to travel thousands of miles to attend a business meeting. Not when you can rely on a smart telepresence system like Beam+ to attend meetings remotely. The Beam+ Smart Presence system lets you explore areas remotely. It has a 10″ LCD display, two HDR cameras, a 4-microphone array, and WiFi. It is compatible with Windows and Mac devices.
Many homeowners are relying on robotic vacuums to keep their homes clean these days. The Bissell 1605 SmartClean is a robotic vacuum with powerful suction that picks up dirt, dust, and hair. Its dual spinning edge brushes handle corners well. The robot works well on carpet, hard floors, and other surfaces. Its optical sensors go after dirt and debris, so the SmartClean robot cleans areas that need the most attention.
