Claud - motorized metal fish made of salvaged parts

Check out the latest from Chris Cole -- a motorized fish made of salvaged bicycles, auto parts, salvaged steel, and reclaimed purple heart wood.

See more kinetic sculptures by Chis Cole on his web site.

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Video of a trick mechanical top hat by Dug North

When asked to write and article for my favorite magazine -- MAKE, I jumped at the chance. Editor-in-chief Mark Frauenfelder asked me to document how I made my trick top hat for their first-ever special Halloween issue. The entire issue is dedicated to Halloween DIY projects. The issue is rather awesome. I hope they do another some day.

A hidden mechanism inside the hat is attached to a bicycle brake cable and lever. Run the cable down your sleeve and discretely hold the lever. Any time the brake lever is squeezed, a monster pops out of the top of the hat. Because you can control both the speed and direction of the monster, it has some puppet-like qualities. By raising the monster slowly and only part way, it looks as if he is peeking out tentatively.

The image to the right shows the version that appeared in the magazine. A rubber finger puppet served as the monster until I got around to creating the wooden monster with articulated joints that you see in the video.

Here is where you can get a few more details on this wearable automaton.

P.S. I'll have this one with me at World Maker Faire in NYC on September 29 and 30, 2012

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The Amazing Journey - a bicycle automaton with parallax effect

Automatist Keith Newstead has made many pieces featuring bicycles, but this one has got to be one of the most intricate and grand that we've ever see here at The Automata Blog. The automaton was a commissioned piece and is titled The Amazing Journey

Th Amazing Journey

Newstead explains the origin of the piece:

John Lau has asked me to make a different version of my automaton 'Brians Brilliant Bike'. He would like me to feature his wife, Vivien, surrounded by all of their pets. He wants the automaton to remember his wedding -- such a nice thing to do.

The depiction of the human characters, John And Vivien, is lovely.

The bold colors and menagerie of the animated creatures adds tremendous amount life to the piece. This is a video you can watch more than once. Did you notice the acrobatic mouse on the front wheel of the bike? The rabbit's swagger as it conjures? The gentle swaying of the snake?

Mechanically, there is a lot to take in: pulleys, belts, linkages, joints, rotating objects as well as the metal combined with wood. Most fascinating for me, is the extremely clever rotating background. By rotating several discs behind the scene at different speeds, Newstead has simulated a parallax effect with wood and paint!

As usual, the artist has some great in-the-making photographs of the automaton on his blog. Check them out.

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Man builds working bicycle almost entirely out of cardboard

We've seen time and again here on The Automata Blog that amazing mechanical things can be made out of unexpected materials such as paper and cardboard. Building a small mechanism that doesn't have to support much weight is one thing, but you can't build anything out of cardboard that takes a lot of weight or shock. Can you? This excellent film by Giora Kariv shows that you can. Follow along as Isreali inventor Izhar Gafni pursues his solitary quest to build a working bicycle from cardboard. He was inspired by a story he had heard about a working canoe made of the same material.

The literature on how to work with cardboard in this way was, shall we say... lacking, forcing Gafni to experiment with different fabrication techniques to see what the material could do. The secret to the strength of the material lies in folding the cardboard. With enough folds, the material becomes quite strong. We also see him dip parts in some type of liquid during his experiments. Whatever the liquid is, I'm sure it helps.

In the end, he sums up the creation well:

It's strong, it's durable, it's cheap. What I like about it the best? It's made out of cardboard!

He accomplished this feat after being told by three engineers that it was impossible. Let this be a lesson to all of us: if you have an idea, a passion for it, and a willingness to experiment and work in the face of doubt, you can accomplish things that have never been done before. Now...go invent something.

[ Thanks Bob! ]

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Huge kinetic sculpture animates a comical cartoon scene in plywood

Check out this kinetic relief sculpture by Jakob Bue titled Alchemechany. Bicycle cranks, sprockets and chain allow a person to the side of sculpture to set the scene in motion. A long serpentine chain behind the scene transfers motions to the inner parts of the wall-sized sculpture composed main of wood. The scene depicts cartoon man on the left frantically running and grasping for an object held at the end of a serpent's tongue on the opposite side. I love the cartoon style, the scale, the unabashed use of plywood as a surface material, and the choice of limiting the colors to black and white. I often say that contemporary automata are like single-panel cartoons set in motion; this piece is a perfect example.

See more sculptures by Jakob Blu on his web site.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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Humanoid robot riding a two-wheeled bike

Check out this video of a small humanoid robot riding a two-wheeled bike. No training wheels! I couldn't do this until I was about 5 or 6 years old. It won't be long now folks: there will be little robots dashing about all over the place.

It's a lovely piece of work all around. There is something charming about this one. When we ride a bike we are forced to move as the bike's mechanism dictates. The movements of this particular robot end up looking just like a human because the machine is on...well...another machine. It, like us, moves as necessary to operate the bicycle.

I can't tell you much more about this little bike-riding robot, because the site is in Japanese. The YouTube description says it was created by a Dr.Guero. Here is a link to the official web site for the miniature robot-riding robot.

If you are interested in small humanoid robots, you might check out Tomy I-SOBOT Robot -- a very capable (and funny!) little robot that many people are using as a platform for their own experiments.

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Clown pedaling a bike paper automaton

Here is a wonderful and complex paper automaton kit designed by the talented PaperPino. This one is entitled Wandering in the Sky.

From the automaton's description:

The three-gear train moves the wheels of the tricycle, and the scotch yoke mechanism moves the bird wings. Connected to the pedals, the clown's legs are linked with a lever system that moves the right arm and the head. With the Removable Inter-locking Pin System (RIPS), most of the parts are assembled without glue.

Here is where you can read more about the clown on a bike automaton on Paperpino.net. There is a small download link for this free model kit on the bottom of that page.

Want more on paper automata? Here's an older post with a round-up of paper automata resources!

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Pedaling man wood automaton by Andrew Boyce

Check out this really nicely made automaton by artist and craftsman Andrew Boyce. I love the figure.

From the automaton description page:

The Automaton featured here is made from European Lime wood and MDF. He sits on a box platform made from a 17th century English Oak floorboard. This photograph shows the figure in an unfinished state, and when completed will have a corroded iron finish. He is crank handle driven and pedals and moves the gear stick back and forth.

See all kinds of excellent creations by Andrew Boyce on his web site.

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Transports of Delight by Keith Newstead

Transports of Delight is the first of a series of automata on the theme of transport by Keith Newstead.

See more automata by Keith Newstead on his web site.

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'Long Road Ahead' kinetic figurative piece

Long Road Ahead was the first kinetic figurative piece created by Andrew Smith. It runs off of two separate gear motors: one which drives the wheels and the man on the bike, and the other which rotates the front wheel. It's a large piece at 8 feet long and 5 1/2 feet tall.

See more cool sculptures by Andrew Smith on his web site.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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The Automata Repairman by Carlos Zapata

Here is the latest charming piece by Carlos Zapata titled "The Automata Repairman".

From the video description:

This man is cycling, coming to repair your automata. He is getting old and he looks at the floor and then the horizon...but he keeps pedaling. He is caring his tools in his box. You can see all the tools that he is going to need. Down inside the mechanism you see a man flying and a fat cat watching him, while two hands holding hammers move in a rhythmic way. At the bottom there is a collector looking at his automata. And, on the other side there is a dog who wonders what the fuss is about. He turns his head to watch you turning the handle!

Here is the page featuring The Automata Repairman on the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre web site where you will find more pictures and information.

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