R/C Truck in Afghanistan Saves 6 Soldiers’ Lives

 Very cool use of off the shelf tech.

The little truck was used by the troops to run ahead of them on patrols and look for roadside bombs. Fessenden has had it since 2007, when Ernie and Kevin Guy, the owner of the Everything Hobby shop in Rochester, rigged it with a wireless video camera and shipped it to him.

Last week, it paid off. Chris Fessenden said he had loaned the truck to a group of fellow soldiers, who used it to check the road ahead of them on a patrol. It got tangled in a trip wire connected to what Fessenden guesses could have been 500 lbs. of explosives. The bomb went off. The six soldiers controlling the truck from their Humvee were unhurt.

 

Remote Controlled Truck Sent to Soldier in Afghanistan Saves 6 Soldiers’ Lives – ABC News.

Clever Kinetic Sculpture


Nice little kinetic ball sorting thing. The video (might take some time to load, it’s coming from China) has enough close up shots that is would not be that tough to duplicate this. I need to find a good supply of that brass wire he uses, looks like it’s brazing rod so it shouldn’t be too hard to locate some. I see a trip to Harbor Freight in my future!
Funny DIY Device With Subtle Control of Steel Balls’ tracks

3D Paintings Mimic Holograms

Painting with volume in mind, literally adds a whole new dimension to artwork. Many years ago I thought of doing this with glass film plates but never had the opportunity to try it out. Perhaps I should investigate it once again…

“...they are called “‘spatial paintings,’ which often feature distorted figures, are drawn individually using colored pencil on tinted glass. Only when these pieces are combined on their floor racks do the images create the whole hologram like effect.”

The 3D Paintings of David Spriggs and Xia Xiaowan.

Science for Adults – Theo Jansen’s Mini Beast

Another amazing science kit from Gakken! This time it features artist Theo Jansen, a world renowned kinetic sculptor that hopes to one day let his creations roam free on the wind swept beaches of the Netherlands. This kit looks amazing, not too unusual for a Gakken kit, and pretty easy to assemble. Like all of the projects in this Mook series, the instructions will be all in Japanese but drawn so well that you don’t need to read any of the text to understand it. The project takes you through building a beautiful wind powered walking creature that is as graceful as it is complex. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these!
[via MAKE Flickr pool]
cloud9science @Wiki – テオ・ヤンセンのミニ・ビーストを作ってみた

I have a pool of photos on Flickr that contains images of some kits and photos taken by some of the cameras that have been featured in the series. Have a look and if you have been graced by owning one of these inspiring products consider contributing a picture or two to the pool.

the Gakken Otona No Kagaku Science Kits group icon Gakken Otona No Kagaku Science Kits

PrimoGraf Drawing Machine

PrimoGraf

Sometimes the simple things are the best:

The PrimoGraf is a hand cranked drawing machine. Using wooden gears with prime number based gears an infinite array of drawings can be made. It comes complete with 7 gears, 2 set of rods and penholders so you can create many variations. Different setups can be achieved instantly by simply picking different holes.

Made of walnut, basswood, and solid brass and hand crafted in Portland, Oregon.

[via Boing-boing]

leafpdx — PrimoGraf Drawing Machine.