Check out this recent automaton by Keith Newstead. I had to look up Dieselpunk. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:
Dieselpunk is a genre similar to that of its more well-known cousin "steampunk" that combines the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmodern sensibilities.
Very well then. I would say the artist has succeeded!
Shasa Bolton wrote from Tasmania, Australia to share the news of a new flapping wing automaton kit.
This beautifully designed kit mounts on a wall or table. Once separated from the sheets, follow the instructions and slot the parts together. No glue is required! This looks like a great project or gift that one can assemble in under 2 hours.
Here's a clever concept for an automaton -- this one created by Ron Varga. The remote-control helicopter flies around the top of the Christmas, each time barely missing the boy who ducks just in time.
Check out this awesome kinetic model of bird wings. The model was created by design student Joyce Lin and is made of nothing more than tongue depressors, paper, and tape. Amazing!
I love the sculptural detail of this motorized automaton: the ball chain used to drive parts of the mechanism, and the illuminated dirigible. According to Falk Keuten of the excellent Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik blog, the piece is by Viktor Grigoriev from St.Petersburg, Russia's most famous automaton artist.
Here is some video showing part of an exhibit that was at the California University of Pennsylvania titled Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion. In it, we see the breadth of Leonardo's genius. There is a large-scale wing designed for human flight, a pillar lifting device, and a water-powered saw mill. This, of course, just scratches the surface of what he created, but it gives you a feel for the ingenious way in which his mind worked on a both practical and fanciful problems.
If you are as fascinated by Leonardo's machines as I am, you might want to check out the book Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed which gets a 5-star rating on Amazon -- no small accomplishment.
From the book description:
This unique volume combines work from the original secret, coded, notebooks along with modern computer imaging, to piece together over 30 of Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical inventions into a sensational set of never-seen-before artworks. From Leonardo da Vinci's descriptions and drawings - and by using digital imaging - armoured ships, hydraulic machinery, winches and machines destined for use in war, work and pleasure emerge fully equipped and functional in stunning 3-dimensional, computer-generated artworks.
Also of interest may be a different book, Leonardo's Machines: Secrets & Inventions in the Da Vinci Codices. This one explores what Leonardo's inventions would have looked like if his sketches were brought to life in three dimensions. Sadly, we can't preview the inside of this book on Amazon, but the reviewers like it. Let me know if you have it and like it.
This helium-filled geometric kinetic sculpture is known as a Schatz cube and uses a process called inversion to propel itself through the air. The object is named for Paul Schatz (1898 - 1979), a German-born sculptor, inventor and mathematician.
This fine working model was created by the folks at Festo who dubbed it SmartInversion.
From the Festo web site:
SmartInversion is a helium-filled flying object that moves through the air by turning inside-out. This constant, rhythmically pulsating movement is known as inversion and gives the flight model its name. With the intelligent combination of extreme lightweight construction, electric drive units and control and regulation technology, inversion kinematics can be indefinitely maintained to produce motion through the air.
Like some kind of angular, contortionist jellyfish, its slow motion flight through through the air is mesmerizing. Researchers are searching for industrial applications for the inversion technique and held a contest that ended in December of 2012.
Today, we feature Colin Neu, an engineer who decided to use his mechanical skills to make these incredibly unique clockwork-driven pieces of art. Each piece is hand-crafted from solid brass and wood, and driven by an antique gramophone motor.
The first piece features a mechanical brass bat with flapping wings. The bat swoops down to pick up ball bearings carrying them to the top of a marble track which they slide down over and over again.
Next, a fanciful zeppelin-like vehicle made of brass and wood whirs and scoots around a table top.
This is followed by a miniature robot who leers menacingly as it walks along the tabletop. A door in its chest swings open automatically to reveal the mechanism inside.
To follow that, an alien flying a saucer hovers around and fires a small brass ray gun.
The final piece shows two brass figures adorning the top of a the wind up automaton. The piece depicts a decapitation scene, not unlike the paper version created by Keith Newstead. The arms swinging after the fatal blow is a nice touch.
The gorgeous brass metal work, finely finished woods, robust mechanical motors, and keen aesthetics make these pieces truly exceptional. Well done!
What better time of year to upload this new video of an automaton I made some years ago?
Titled Christmas: The Pre-Reindeer Era, the automaton depicts Santa making deliveries in that legendary time before he acquired the famous flying reindeer. Poor Father Christmas must do the flying himself -- arms flapping and eyes squinting in the cold wind -- with his bag of toys in tow.
The scene is tinted with a light metallic blue to create the effect of a frosty, moonlit Christmas Eve. The piece features a detailed house and landscape over which Santa flies. The roof of the house was covered with individual miniature wooden shingles. The bag is made of balsa wood to reduce weight. The internal mechanism employs a scotch yoke. Santa is mounted upon a blackened brass piston assembly.
I haven't posted a reader submission in far too long! For July 4th 2012, let's celebrate the birth of The United States with this lovely piece. The automaton shown here, depicting a stork delivering a baby, was made by one of our readers to celebrate the birth of his niece in February of this year. It is his first automaton. It turned out very well! If it was a gift, I am certain the new parents are delighted.
YouTube user GrigorevViktor posted this video of a moving picture depicting a man in a mechanical flying contraption -- something like one Leonardo Da Vinci might have designed. I love the floating motion of the man, the subtle shifts in his posture, and the use of moving background elements.
Check out this delightful automaton -- one of several new pieces by Carlos Zapata -- entitled Flying Love 2011. The carved characters and the winged heart make for a charming automaton.
I hope the designer of this paper airplane conversion kit wins every toy award in existence this year. The idea is so simple, and so cool. Basically, this kit is made up of a propeller mounted on a pager motor. A shaft connects the motor to the body of the plane and to a capacitor -- its power source -- at the opposite end.
Here's the drill: make a paper airplane (and do a nice job of this time, please), attach the motor to the plane, charge the capacitor and get the motor up to speed, then throw it! The capacitor will power the motor for up to 90 seconds. That's a good flight for a paper airplane!
Here's what the kit looks like installed in a paper airplane:
The green block in the child's right hand is the charger, which holds 3 AA batteries (not included). The beauty of this kit is that you can crash your plane without worrying about destroying some of those pesky vital components such as wings. Just make a new plane! You can experiment endlessly with different plane designs. If you run out of ideas there are innumerable books with paper airplane designs.
It's a great idea, creative, economical, largely recyclable, probably educational, and just plane (ahem...excuse me) plain fun. Here is where you can get the paper airplane electric motor conversion kit.
Here is a short video showing an animated model of a human-powered flying machine. According the YouTube video description, it was designed and built by Jurgen Heimann from the Discovery Channel show Doing DaVinci. I haven't been able to find out much about it. Anyone out there seen it before or perhaps have one?
I thought that the electronic butterfly in a jar had a realistic motion. Well, that it does, but now I'm fascinated by this robot bird modeled on a seagull. Needless to say, it flies by flapping its wings. But this is no basic up-and-down flapping like the classic Tim Bird wind-up flying toy. The segmented wings rotate on the way up to reduce the amount of air resistance. The construction and motion combine to create something functional and disarmingly lifelike
This incredible robot, dubbed SmartBird, was built by Markus Fischer and his team at Festo. The bird flies twice during this 6 minute TED lecture. You also get to see a stripped down version with its carbon fiber frame and gracile gear train.
I got a little choked up at the sight of a mechanical bird getting a standing ovation from the audience in attendance. Perhaps they are applauding the speaker, but it doesn't seem like it. I also love the look of pride on his face as the bird robot circles above the audience the first time. This episode of Precious Moments in the History of Robotics brought to you by TED and The Automata / Automaton Blog.
