An acoustic instrument bristling with buttons and knobs is always off to a good start, but Patrick Sébastien Coulombe’s “la Guitare à crayon” goes a few steps further into strangeness. Taking the body of an acoustic guitar and then strapping a Wacom digitizer to the front, the unusual instrument translates sketched images into sound.
Video demo after the cut
Cats plus lasers probably sounds like some people’s idea of the best thing to do with the LOLCat meme, but for FroliCat it’s a business model. Their BOLT promises to keep your household feline (or dog) active, by giving it a tireless laser dot to chase, and Gear Diary have been testing it out.
Video demo after the cut
When you’re facing down an inbox full of press releases and an empty frontpage, the prospect of pausing time sounds like a tempting one. Artist Ryan Harc can’t quite offer mastery over the aging process, but if you’re of the opinion that what you haven’t seen can’t hurt you then his Time Switch may have all the denial you need.
Not, perhaps, the sort of thing most SlashGear readers will be able to try at home, but if you’ve ever wanted to see a 15 tonne hydraulic grapple controlled by a humble Wiimote then here’s the video for you. Simon Wittber of Australian firm Transmin is lucky enough to have not one but two remote-controlled grapple arms, each toting a vicious looking six-claw pincer, and so he and his team decided to link up Nintendo’s controller for some afternoon entertainment.
Video after the cut
Long-time readers may remember Sega Toys’ robotic cat that stole my heart, Yume Neko Smile; now the company is back with an upgraded version [pdf link] of the electronic-kitty. Yume Neko “Dream Cat” Venus is a life-sized Norwegian Forest Cat, with more possible movement than the original Smile version together with the ability to respond to your voice.
We’ve kept quiet about Michael Jackson here at SlashGear, but all that has to change: we’ve been reminded about the King of Pop’s one and only patent. Jackson is a named inventor on patent 5,255,452: “Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion.” The document describes a set of special dance shoes and stage apparatus, which allowed Jackson and his dancers to perform the distinctive Smooth Criminal anti-gravity lean in live performances.
Sometimes, something comes along and simply unlocks a great chasm of “want” inside of you: this, friends, is one of those times. Bandai have created a 20-inch, remote controlled Mecha Godzilla, complete with full motion control, flashing lights and an authentically blood-curdling screech-roar.
Video after the cut
If you’re not content with broadcasting your latest blog-post, obsession, or 140-character sluice of brain-diarrhea to your Twitter followers, V2_ Lab’s Pocket Tweets can help you take those messages into the real-world. Their Java app displays your latest tweet on your cellphone; cut a speech-bubble into your pocket and you can happily parade around inviting people to read your chest.
Take the bodywork of a Fiat 500, throw in the mechanics of a second-hand tractor, and you may end up with this: the Fiat Cinque Tank. The handiwork of Kogoro Kurata, a Japanese ironsmith, the distinctive vehicle’s one main flaw is its somewhat pedestrian top-speed of just 3kpm (less than 2mph).
Video after the cut
Created by Paul Fryer last year, this “Chess Set for Tesla” takes 32 working vacuum tubes and turns them into chess pieces. Each tube slots into a port on the custom board, lighting up to show their identity via a glowing icon on the top.
JP
