After we wrote about the Tapescape robot yesterday, maker Michael Columbo and his co-creator Ilan Schifter flagged up an Instructable with directions to make your own tape-following machine. If you’ve ever wanted a bizarre looking ‘bot that plays glitchy movement, and a way to get rid of an old boombox, this is the project for you.
Video demo of the Tapescape robot after the cut
It must be a week for Wiimote hacks, as there are two interesting implementations of Nintendo’s wireless motion-sensitive controller on offer today. First up comes a hack using DarwiinRemote, that allows you to play World of Warcraft using the Wiimote; then, there’s a self-balancing robot made of LEGO NXT, that can be remotely controlled with it.
Video demos of both projects after the cut
Crafted lovingly from the guts of an old boombox, this Tapescape robot is intended to snuffle about your desk, following a strip of tape. The handiwork of Michael Colombo, the Tapescape ‘bot is able to track forward, backward and turn, while playing music.
If none of the existing MIDs on the market take your fancy, you could always do what HY Research have done and build your own touchscreen marvel, the Beagle MID. Based on the Beagle Board, the DIY mobile internet device packages a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen with a custom interface board and Bluetooth.
Video demo after the cut
DIY multitouch isn’t new – we’ve featured quite a few home-grown rivals to Microsoft’s Surface here on SlashGear – but MaximumPC’s tutorial does stand out by virtue of its completeness. Thanks to having a spare PC and projector to hand, they spent just $350 on making their multitouch table.
Video demo after the cut
All eyes may be on Dell’s newer Inspiron Mini 10 netbook right now, but that doesn’t stop loyal tinkerers wanting to add some extra oomph to their Dell Inspiron Mini 9 machines. Arch-modder JKK has flipped out the standard SSD that Dell supply with the 8.9-inch budget ultraportable and replaced it with an 128GB RunCore SSD.
Video after the cut
So, if you love KORG Kaossilators and want to make them even easier to use, you might want to try on this crafty DIY project for size. No, you’re not seeing things. Someone has really wired up a Kaossilator to a Guitar Hero guitar remote.
How can it be, you may be wondering? Well, James Haskin got inspired when seeing Wayne Coyne’s double-necked Guitar Hero creation and decided to change up his Kaossilator just a tad.
Ben Heck has been at it again, this time taking a Commodore 64 and transforming it into a laptop that “looked exactly like a computer from the early 80’s, yet in a new form.” As well as fully-functional C64 hardware, the laptop has a 15-inch screen, original keyboard and even a separate sub-screen for memory status.
More photos and video of the C64 laptop after the cut
Griffin’s PowerMate USB controller may be a few years old, but it still manages to pull in buyers. Anyone not willing to spend $45 on a glorified volume knob, though, might find something to occupy them in MAKE’s weekend project, the Powerfake.
In our experience there’s a lot of interest in GPS trackers, like the BlackLine GPS Snitch we reviewed last year, but most people can’t justify being locked into long-term, often expensive service plans. That’s where the Open GPS Tracker project steps in: it aims to take cheap, prepaid cellphones and fit a simple GPS adapter for a low-cost alternative.
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