2001: A Space Odyssey Monolith… The Action Figure?

Featuring a grand total of zero points of articulation, one of the most iconic images of sci-fi film history is now available in “inactive” figure form. Capable of spurring evolution amongst your other action figures, the 6.75″ monolith is made of “semisynthetic, organic, amorphous, solid materials.” In other words, plastic. But don’t get too excited just yet, the Monolith Action ...

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Pleo 2.0: Reborn Dinobot Gets Updated Features

While the original Pleo might have been a dinosaur in sheep’s clothing, Innvo has decided to give the beloved dinobot another chance with Pleo Reborn. Far from heading towards extinction, the Reborn adds a heap of new features and upgrades which could potentially make Pleo a viable gift option for this year’s holiday season. While members of the PleoWorld newsletter ...

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Writing Ball Typewriter: The Curvy Steampunk Word Processor

The Malling-Hansen Writing Ball was originally unveiled in 1867, featuring a keyboard layout which has long since been buried in the depths of time. Did you know that QWERTY keyboards were originally designed to deter typewriter users from overburdening the keyboard with speedy typing, which would, in turn, jam the keys? But who cares. The star of the show is ...

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LEGO NXT Robots Get Solar Power

Now that you can control your NXT robot with your Android phone, rather than using yet another electronic device, there are ways to save the planet even further, thanks to Dexter Industries’ dSolar Systems. The 9V solar power system allows you to rig your Mindstorms NXT robots for harnessing the power of the sun. The solar system provides about 250 ...

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Swedish Chameleon Turns Your Canon DSLR Into a Multi-Purpose Monster

At first glance, I would have sworn this was some engine for a small motorcycle, but then I thought to myself, “Wait, engines don’t have lenses.” No, what I saw wasn’t an engine at all. This was some sort of camera. And a Canon DSLR at that. As it turns out, this is Swedish Chameleon’s way of compressing a whole ...

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10mm of Perplexity: World’s Smallest Rubik’s Cube

I don’t care how big or small the thing is, I still won’t be able to solve the damn thing. Evgeniy Grigoriev beat his own previous record of 12mm by creating this homemade fully-functioning 10mm-across Rubik’s Cube, which comfortably earns the honor of smallest Rubik’s Cube in the world. Perhaps even cooler, a 3D-printing company named Shapeways lets you buy ...

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Paging, Dr. Asimov!: Punching Robots Programmed to Inflict Unbearable Pain

Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics states that “a robot may not injure a human being.” But it’s hard for robots to comply to such stringent laws when the threshold of pain and injury varies so much from person-to-person. Borut Pov�e from the University of Ljubljana is conducting a research experiment which could help robots better understand their limits. Pov�e persuaded ...

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