You’ve seen Google’s teacup computer keyboard, now they’ve followed it up with the Gboard Bar Version. This 5.4-foot computer keyboard may look absurd, but you can actually type with it, complete with a ‘bug removing module’ when two people share the device.
Photo credit: Eric Sucar
There are modular laptops, the Polymega game console, and then StickBot. Developed by UPenn Ph.D. candidate Devin Carroll, this modular robot is made from actual sticks, circuitry, actuators, a microcontroller, and a motor driver. The robot is controlled by a smartphone app that Carroll designed, which allows it to pivot from sticks as legs in ‘crawler mode’ to using them as arms.
Self-driving cars have been around since 1993, and their object avoidance technologies still hasn’t been perfected. University of Tokyo researchers took a step in the right direction by adding robotic googly eyes onto their self-driving ‘Gazing Car’, which lets people know if the vehicle has spotted them.
Typically, auto enthusiasts prefer using Pontiac Fieros for their replica builds, but this one from Japan decided to transform a 1989 Mazda RX-7 into a strange Ferrari F40 knockoff. Power comes from a turbocharged 13B-T twin-rotor engine making 182 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, which enables it to hit 60 mph in 6.5-seconds. In other words, this knockoff won’t be fooling anyone on the road, even if they don’t know much about cars.
Unlike MetaFly, this bizarre creature that looks like blue goo is real and was discovered by marine scientists at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. It was spotted several times off St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea, and so far, they believe it could be either soft coral, a sponge, or tunicate, but definitely not a rock.
Photo credit: Greg Rouse and Avery Hiley
Researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego have discovered new ‘Elvis worms’, named for their scales that sparkle at 13,000-feet underwater on the deep-sea floor. They typically feed on on chemical-harnessing bacteria that grow on all these habitats using their jaws, which is used to graze bacteria.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope continues to amaze us with its images, including this one of distant star WR140 located in the constellation Cygnus 5,600 light-years from Earth. Captured with Webb’s Mid-Infrared (MIRI) instrument last month, this image shows bizarre rings around the star.
Riley of Brick Science wondered if there was an easier, yet more complex, way of brushing your teeth, and this strange LEGO robot is the result. How long did it take to come up with such a contraption? Around 19-hours and 15-minutes using approximately $2,000 USD worth of parts. On the bright side, it does also spray mouthwash after brushing.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is a revamped version of the 2018 PlayStation 4 game, and there are a plethora of mods, with this latest one aimed at fans of Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul. It does this by transforming the web-slinger into Saul Goodman, a character played by actor Bob Odenkirk, who made his first appearance in season 2 of Breaking Bad.
Lay’s potato chips (Walkers Crisps in the UK) are famous worldwide, and the company wanted to tackle one of the biggest problems that their fans have experienced…dusty, oily fingers. So, they came up with a clever finger cleaner that looks like a miniature washing machine of sorts. Simply turn the machine on, put the finger(s) in, and it’s ready to clean.