Gyroscopes are one of those physics-based things that seem to have an almost magical quality. You know...kind of like magnets.
With the Thames and Kosmos Gyroscopic Robot Kit, you can learn about this incredible device by building seven
different models using the motorized gyroscope unit that comes with the kit. The models include a one-wheeled
gyroscopic robot (shown above), a balancing personal vehicle, an
artificial horizon, a gyro-compass, a balancing game, a tightrope walker,
and a flight simulator. The kit comes with a 24-page illustrated
manual, which provides step-by-step assembly instructions and scientific
explanations.
Woodworker and author Kevin McGuire has a web site featuring downloadable plans for vintage-inspired wooden playthings. The devious little toy shown in the video above is one of my favorites. On his site will also find plans balance toys, rolling toys, gravity toys, games, and more. His plans include step-by-step instructions, illustrations, and photos of the finished project.
When I started this video I wasn't sure what to expect. I've posted other videos about robots by Boston Dynamics and most of those seemed to involve the robots staying on their feet as they encountered various obstacles. This one is a little different. This robotic dog (for lack of a better term) hurls a huge cinder block across the room.
From the video description:
BigDog handles heavy objects. The goal is to use the strength of the legs and torso to help power motions of the arm. This sort of dynamic, whole-body approach to manipulation is used routinely by human athletes and will enhance the performance of advanced robots. Boston Dynamics is developing the control and actuation techniques needed for dynamic manipulation. The cinderblock weighs about 35 lbs and the best throw is a bit more than 17 ft. The research is funded by the Army Research Laboratory's RCTA
I'm sure this technology will have many useful, benign applications in the future (e.g. demolition, rescue, bomb removal, trail blazing, etc.), but I have to admit the sight of a robot throwing a heavy object in such an organic way left me feeling both impressed and a little freaked out. It's not the power that did it. We have machines and robots far more powerful than this one. Rather, it's the way the robot moved to make the throw that made me uneasy. Perhaps I experienced a bit of that hypothesized uncanny valley. How could I not? The robot even seems to be craning its neck after the throw to see how well it did, as if wondering if it beat its old record.
Here's a short video featuring a nifty donation box installed at the Havant Arts and Heritage Centre.
A visitor/donor drops a coin into the machine and turns the hand crank. The coin is deposited into a small carriage mounted on a belt system. Turning the crank raises the coin to the top of the box where it is sent down a track. From there the coin falls into a waiting hand which, having caught the coin, tips over to drop the it into the next hand. It's a nice symbol of giving and how many small contributions can add up to something substantial.
Maybe it's just the soundtrack, but this video from ThinkGeek makes the good old gyroscope toy look pretty entertaining. I've read about them in basic physics books and I have to admit...it still looks like magic to me!
Here a bit from their write up of the toy:
The toy gyroscope hit the market in 1917 and hasn't changed much since your grandparents (or great-grandparents!) played with one. This classic toy fascinates us with its gravity defying stunts, which are easy to learn with a bit of practice. Wind the string, pull it quickly, and the Original Gyroscope will start spinning. Want it to walk a tightrope? Balance on your hand or head? Tilt at impossible angles without falling? You can do it with the power of physics.
Hero of Alexandria (aka Heron of Alexandria) created many amazing machines. In addition to his work on pneumatics, he also had a treatise on automata. Shown here is one of the many inventions he is credited with: an automatic wine dispensing machine. Though the narration is not in English, the graphics are so good it hardly matters what language you speak.
Here is the basic idea: A cup at one end of a balance is placed below the spout. A counter weight is removed below the cup and the opposite end of the balance becomes heavier. As the opposite end of the balance descends, it causes a stopper to lift and allow wine to flow out of the vessel and into the empty cup. Eventually, the cup fills with enough wine to tip the balance back to the original position, closing the valve. The weight below the cup is replaced and a pre-measured portion of wine taken away with the cup! Some have argued this is an early form of systems control.
To read more about Hero and other early engineers, the book Ancient Engineers comes highly recommended.
Check out this wonderful trio of machines by Michael Kontopoulos. Attached to each piece is a hammer tripped by a motorized snail cam. As the title of the piece suggests, when the swinging hammer hits the base of the machine, it is rocked and almost falls over. The anticipation of the hammer strike, loud bang, the teetering of the entire piece, and its safe landing make for a tense and playful cycle that is very captivating.
Claude Elwood Shannon, mathematician and electronic engineer, was the creator of a device called the "Ultimate Machine" -- the grandfather to all of those Most Useless Machines now out there.
In addition to the study of information theory and cryptography, Shannon was interested in juggling, as this video demonstrates. Here we see his machine that could "bounce juggle" (with a little help and some good timing).
Check out this paper kit that allows you to build Felix the Flying Feline - a cat that rides a unicycle on a tightrope!
About the kit:
He's designed to balance on a tightrope, and rides his unicycle down a gentle slope, giving an amazing display of balancing as he pedals furiously along. He'll happily ride across the room, but you can make him perform truly sensational stunts by using a LOOOOONG piece of string: How about a trip from an upstairs window to a landing point many yards away? See the video to get an idea of what's possible. Felix is approximately 12.5", 32cm high, from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. He's supplied with FULLY ILLUSTRATED step-by-step instructions, and as there are no words non-english speakers will have no trouble building him. The only tools you'll need are a craft knife and a tube of glue. You'll also need a wax candle to rub on moving parts to lubricate them. This model isn't suitable for younger children to build because a fair degree of accuracy (and a sharp craft knife!) are needed to build.
Here's where you can order the paper kit for Felix the Flying Feline and many other amazing paper automata kits.
Circus Sam the Balancing Man is classic toy that has been around since the 1950s. It is still sold by one of my favorite toy companies, Schylling. Sam and his stand measure 8 1/2" high and about 10" wide. The figure can balance on his hat, his toes, his nose, his heels and on one foot or two. Once balanced, a gentle tap will send him spinning.
Back when record players were nearly the only form of musical entertainment in the home, you could turn it into a multi-media experience by adding this clever little gizmo. The figure is mounted on top of the record player or Victrola. A friction wheel behind the figure rides along the edge of record album and prompts him to dance to the music. Ingenious!
, you can learn about this incredible device by building seven
different models using the motorized gyroscope unit that comes with the kit. The models include a one-wheeled
gyroscopic robot (shown above), a balancing personal vehicle, an
artificial horizon, a gyro-compass, a balancing game, a tightrope walker,
and a flight simulator. The kit comes with a 24-page illustrated
manual, which provides step-by-step assembly instructions and scientific
explanations.
