Making Toys

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  giang063 10:19 pm on September 25, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  World Maker Faire – 3 Favorite Projects 

  The Periodic Calendar
  This is a different type of calendar. Its inventor, Joey Sellers, calls it a “perpetual” one. In fact, it can be used for any year from the 21st to the 24th century.
  I liked this project because it was totally unexpected. I was very surprised to see a 2D printed visualization in Maker Faire. Besides, its solution is really ingenious.
  If you want to know more about how it works, check the periodic calendar website. The project is very well documented there.

  

  Cubelets
  Beautiful and easy-to-use cubes that, once plugged in, can trigger different actions and behave like robots. Created by Modular Robotics.
  For each robot, you need at least one battery cubelet. Than you can add a sensor cube — temperature, light, distance — and an action cube — drive, rotate, speaker etc.
  There was a lot of projects in Maker Faire about building simplified frameworks for electronics, like Little Bits, for instance. But I have the impression that even when they don’t require any programming skill most of them are still to complex for a child to play with.
  Cubelets was astonishingly simple. I just had to plug the cubes and it immediately worked. For a toy, I think that this is important. Once you have fun with it, then you can start to engage in building more complex stuff.

  

  Scale
  An art installation made of several obsolete gadgets. As far as I could understand, the only interaction is stepping on the scale. That triggers some apparently random behaviours in the semi-broken devices. It was created by Leo Kang, Taezoo Park and Steven Jackson.
  I was first attracted to this piece by its aesthetics. The devices give a vintage look to the scene, even though most of them are probably not older than 2 decades. The lighting creates a great dramatic effect, too. In spite of its simple interaction, I think that this installation creates a strong emotional connection to the user.

  

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  Coffebot Creates a Buzz at Maker Faire | pundit from another planet is discussing. Toggle Comments

   

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  Tim Xiaofeng Lin 3:30 am on September 25, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  Maker Faire and Stuff 

  1. MARS ROVER MODEL

  CREATORS: Robert Beatty and his families (donated to NYSCI)

  It is fascinating to see this model built by common people instead of professionals. The idea of generalization of techniques of making is very well demonstrated.

  

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  2. UNDERWATER ROBOT

  CREATORS: NYSCI Science and Technology with COSEE OCEAN and artist, Colleen Flannigan

  The robot has mechanisms such as propellers to control its movement in the pool. The humanistic nature of the robot really makes me want to build my next project to relate to water somehow. I hope to see a camera or something attached to it.

  

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  3. VINTAGE CALCULATOR

  OWNER: Museum of Interesting Things

  CREATOR: Otto Meuter (around 1935)

  This calculator has a mysterious and inviting nature, which was also the case at the time when it was first introduced in Berlin, Germany by Meuter and also Kuebler, a business man. It can only add or subtract. Numbers are entered with the vertical sliders (one set for positive numbers and one for negative numbers) using the accompanying stylus. The result appears in the circular windows in the middle. Use the pull rod at the top of the right panel to clear/restart.

  

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