Actor Steven Fry and magician Derren Brown marvel at wine opening machine

Some time ago, I featured a video of the absolutely astounding sculpture by Rob Higgs that can open a bottle of wine, then pour a glass. Here we some some British celebrities -- Steven Fry and Derren Brown among them -- operating the machine and delighting in the experience.

[ Thanks Christopher! ]

---

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! ]

---

Programmable acrobat robot with 17 servos and 75 moves

Check out this is acrobatic robot! The robot has a repertoire of 75 moves that include somersaults, backflips, and a variety of comical moves.

From the Advanced Acrobatic Robot description:

With a 60 MHz microcontroller, the robot has 17 servos that work in unison with an included gyro sensor and accelerometer to maintain balance and stability while providing lightning-quick movements that suggest humanoid sentience, commanded by an included wireless gamepad remote control. The points of articulation in its neck, arms, hands, legs, and feet are so precise that the robot can be commanded to pick up and hold objects with its hands, feign a soccer kick, or punch the air as if it were performing a martial arts kata-it can even bow to its audience after a performance.

The robot comes with software that works on Windows 7, XP, and 2000 allowing you to program additional actions via an included USB cable.

Here is where you can get the programmable acrobatic robot.

---