Trash Bag Topiary

Joshua Allen Harris is a street artist who has truly created something that is more than the sum of its parts. With nothing but a bit of tape, some trash bags, and a subway vent, he creates some of the most crowd stopping street art I’ve seen.

Robot Penguins: Festo does it again

 

Pengiuns sure do seem to be getting a lot of play in recent years. Festo has now targeted them for their latest aquatic and lighter than air robotics. They seem to be doing two versions of these, just like they did with their Robotic Jelly Fish. in their latest promotional video, they show off aquatic penguin robots which use sonar to navigate and communicate, some Mylar, lighter than air penguins reminiscent of that awesome Fin-Fish by LaChLuVe last year, and several other projects involving biomimicry and affordable rapid prototyping.

Update: Here is a video showcasing the air penguins

Update: And more footage of the robotic sea penguins:

Update: PDF file for the bionic aqua penguins with detailed specs, capabilities, and photos.

FunflyStick: Levitate Objects with Static Electricity

I don’t know why this magic wand isn’t being aggressively marketed towards Harry Potter fans. It works like a portable Van de Graaff generator, creating enough static electricity to levitate the tinsel-like fliers. I’m sure the more innovative among you can find plenty of other uses for it. Amazon has them cheap. Or you can use the below link and get them from thinkgeek with free fedEx if you order $40.

Free FedEx Home Delivery. Use code: DEALNEWS

 

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Festo Air Jelly

Predating the LaChLuVe fish is this Air Jelly made by Festo, a German automation company. The unifying goal of these creations is to achieve neutral buoyancy. From there, propulsion becomes as effortless as it would in zero gravity. This jelly uses helium for buoyancy amd when deflated, weighs in at 1.3 kG. A  Li-poly battery as its only power source, and a series of gears, shafts, and cranks power the arms. It can be steered by control of a pendulum on the underside.

1.3kg gets you a lot more to work with than it used to.

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Foggy Bubbles

Every once in a while I see a new product where the inspiration was good, but the execution was weak. This fog filled bubble machine by Gemmy is a prime example. First off, there is no reason to make a product this tacky. I know it is targeting Halloween, but the fluorescent orange box with a skeleton isn’t impressing anyone, and it makes it even less impressive the other 364 days a year. The product uses a fog fluid made of mineral oil or glycerin. Bubbles are nasty enough being made out of soap, I don’t want to be cleaning mineral oil and glycerin off of everything, and they have potential health consequences when inhaled.

I do think it is a fun concept. There are other ways of making fog. There is dry ice, which doesn’t solve the problem of having to buy an extra product. It would be safer, but between the CO₂ nd the cold. probably far too heavy. Smoke might work, but probably reduces the life span of the bubbles, and comes with its own set of problems. I think I would use an ultrasonic fogger. I used one for my pumpkin (actually a watermelon) this year to great effect. It uses ultrasound resonance to break up the water into very fine fog.

LaChLuVe Air-Fish Captivates Airship Regatta

Last week in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany, there was an airship regatta (race). Along with the usual group of speedy nearly uncontrollable little blimps was this beauty which will be sure to be getting a lot of attention in the coming weeks. Team LaChLuVe has set the bar so high with their Fi-Fi- Fin-Fish that the airship races will never be the same, and may have a lot of new applicants. Unlike the propeller driven blimps and zeppelins, the fish glides through the air propelled by a very natural looking swish of the tail, which also provides steering when holding it in place and gliding. The pectoral fins are servo actuated for additional control. I would be shocked not to see this as a consumer product within the next couple of years, and I can’t wait to see what shows up at the world air games next June.

Update: The Fi-Fi- Fin-Fish was made by Empa (a Swiss materials technology development institution) by using electro-active polymers to power the motion of the tail. When electricity is applied, the polymer contracts like a muscle to give the tail its kick. The fins, in combination with the low center of gravity, do a great job of keeping it upright. There is a further abstract for a more complex system with a flexing body here. A flexing strip along the top and bottom of the fish would be attached to the vertical ribs. The contraction of the polymer would cause the body to flex in a more natural fashion.

Update: The project was a collaboration with the Technical University of Berlin, and has been a several year project. Earlier versions of the fin-fish flew in the ‘06 and ‘07 regatta. Empa started with a more traditional airship, and got more fishy with each revision. Several tails were tested, as were several different ways of using the electroactive polymer.

 

 

 

Part of their vision is creating a solar powered version that could operate efficiently and silently for surveillance. There is a growing demand for spy drones, and most of their competitiors sound like flying weed-whackers.

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