Tim (BlueToothKiwi) and his kids are putting together a moonbot. You may remember the Surveyor SVR-1 Robot that we featured here before as part of the Google Lunar X-Prize. Well since most people don’t have the funds to enter the regular competition with the $30 million dollar prize there is now a Moonbots competition that allows adults and children to participate in the robot building action.

Thanks Tim.

"So my kids and I were delighted when X PRIZE Foundation, Google and LEGO announced the new Moonbots challenge on Friday. The new contest will challenge small teams comprised of children and adults to design, program, and construct robots that perform simulated lunar missions similar to those required to win the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE. First my children and I set up a team and started work on our first prototype. The first attempt was very encouraging – we managed to create an autonomous robot that can roam around inside a crater of the moon without hitting the edges of the crater. [We used our pool to do the testing]."

The prize this week is a cable tester. This contest will run for one week (Aug 8 – 14, 2009) . Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item pictured above and give an example of what can be done with it.

Please do not give the answer in the comments.

Send an email to contest @ hackedgadgets.com with "Name the Thing Contest" as the subject, and the message body consisting of:

• The name of the item in the above picture
• An example of what the item pictured above can be used for

The winner will be chosen at random from all of the correct entries.

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Added Sept 4, 2009

The item to guess was the Glass Insulator

The winner is Brad J. (There were 96 entries)

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Below is a picture of the prize.

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Biomimicry is an interesting concept, we always think that our solutions to the problems that face us are solid and sound. Janine Benyus shows us that it’s a good idea to see if the world around us has already solved the problem. Looking to Nature for Inspiration could be something that we start to see more of in the future. We used to say why reinvent the wheel, I wonder is a new saying will come to be?

You may remember this high voltage demonstration that we featured in the past. High voltage electricity is not something to play around with. Here are some interesting examples of some high voltage short circuits. We normally think that wood is a fairly good insulator but as you crank up the voltage it isn’t that good as you will see.  I wonder what a squirrel is thinking just before he gets electrocuted?

The team over at The University of Tokyo have been working on ways to enhance the way we interact with holography. Touch has not been possible until now. The device looks like it would have lots of real world applications.

Thanks for the tip John.

"This project adds tactile feedback to the hovering image in 3D free space. Tactile sensation requires contact with objects, but including a stimulator in the work space dilutes the appearance of holographic images. The Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display solves this problem by producing tactile sensation on a user’s hand without any direct contact and without diluting the quality of the holographic projection."

We have all been in the situation when you have some expensive electronics that you need to pack in a bag to take it on the road. Often there are not enough padded separations available to allow you to place one item in each section. There are a few options, you could use some bubble wrap, a few towels, some cardboard. The guys from Deadly Computer Blog have come up with an interesting idea. They used spray foam to make custom foam molds to hold the equipment. I have seen this same procedure used by shipping companies that ship large heavy electrical/mechanical items.

Thanks Stephen.

"We choose to use some Great Stuff foam insulation as the insulation, and zip-lock bags as the containers. Because that foam gets everywhere, and never comes off, I didn’t take any pictures of actually spraying it in, and stuff like that. We used soup cans to stand in for the camera lenses, because again, that foam gets everywhere. As it turns out, a soup can is the perfect diameter and height for the Nikon 18-55mm VR, and 55-200mm VR lenses, for the 55-200mm, we added a can of tuna to the top for some extra height, as it is taller."

Inventgeek has released their Paintball Turret Plans so that you can make your very own! The kit is available here at Ponoko. Sounds like you may be able to wait a bit and purchase a cheaper version direct from Jared at Inventgeek though.

"Due to an overwhelming interest, we now have a full kit available from Ponoko.com. This kit includes all the parts you will need to assemble the main frame of the turret project. The only down side is this is a band aid until we get some manufacturing in place. Ponoko is very expensive for the service they provide. We hope to have a cost effective alternative soon."