I love a good WALL-E hack and here is a cool one where WALL-E will alert you when you get new emails. TotoroYamada from Lets Make Robots has some great documentation of his build. I can think of lots of cool applications for a robot that can get my attention by waving its arms around. If this was made a few months ago I think it would have been in this Top 10 WALL-E Hacks list.

Thanks Totoro.

"The robot is actuated by three 9g mini-servos, and controlled by a SD21 servo driver and a picaxe 18x… i know, it’s a bit like killing a mouse with a rocket launcher, it’s just that i want to get used to the board before building my next robot, but i have to order a bunch of 08M for that kind of experimentation, as soon as i get them i’ll do the brain transplantation."

The scoreLight project by Alvaro Cassinelli, Daito Manabe and Yusaku Kuribara is an amazing piece of technology since it changes the way we would normally interact with a system. Simply draw some lines on the paper or cup your hands to interact with scoreLight. It reminds me of the the freedom that the Drawdio project allowed.

"scoreLight is a prototype musical instrument capable of generating sound in real time from the lines of doodles as well as from the contours of three-dimensional objects nearby (hands, dancer’s silhouette, architectural details, etc). There is no camera nor projector: a laser spot explores the shape as a pick-up head would search for sound over the surface of a vinyl record – with the significant difference that the groove is generated by the contours of the drawing itself. The light beam follows these countours in the very same way a blind person uses a white cane to stick to a guidance route on the street."

This impressive Near-Space Imaging Vehicle was created by a the RPI Electronics Club in about 30 hours and for about $300! Could there be a business idea behind this project? After taking some hi resolution pictures at various heights for a day spend the rest of the week selling them to the residents of the area.

I am usually more interested in taking very close up pictures of small electronic items. If you are interested in close up photography have a look at this Instructable that bloomautomatic put together for that. On the other hand I have never tried to take these type of cool outdoor pictures but I think next time I am out snapping some pictures I will have to keep my eye open for some cool placement trickery like in these pictures!

"This shot was taken at the Perito Moreno glacier in the Argentine region of Patagonia. The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation is an important tourist attraction, and the sheets of frozen fresh water clearly offer ample opportunity for a little playfulness with visual perspective."

"This touching shot makes aiming for the top not such a fanciful dream after all. The most famous landmark on the Parisian landscape is the perfect prop to make this little girl seem like a giant standing some 324 m (1,063 ft) tall. The low camera angle and large depth of field do the rest of the work."

"Nova Scotia’s Peggy’s Cove provides the setting for this next addition to our list. This small rural community is nevertheless a busy tourist attraction, and its classic red-and-white lighthouse is major focal point for visitors carrying cameras. Believe it or not, it’s almost 15 metres (50 ft) high."

In the latest Electronic Products magazine there is a great article about the latest technology in smart power grids. Power Integrations is a leader in this field that is sure to be adopted widely. Subscribing to the Electronic Products magazine is free as long as you are in the USA. Hacked Gadgets does receive a small payment for each subscription to any of our Free Magazine Subscriptions so we appreciate the support from all who subscribe to the free magazines that we offer.

"As electric utility companies grapple with the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the increasing costs and lead-times for introducing new generating capacity they are turning to the concept of the “smart grid.” One of the core elements of the smart grid is the smart power meter that communicates with both the energy supplier and the consumer to provide real-time information on energy consumption and cost.

The energy supplier’s biggest headache is catering for the peak loading on their electric network. Peak loads can be related to user demand, such as air conditioners in hot weather, or may be the result of equipment outages. The smart grid’s aim is to reduce the impact of peak loading both by changing user behavior and by directly controlling the consumer’s equipment. By leveling out the network load, utilities can more efficiently manage their generating and transmission capacity, saving cost and reducing emissions. Deploying the smart grid should provide equitably priced electricity for all customers through enhanced security, quality, reliability, and availability of power.

Smart meters communicating with a smart network will allow the utility to implement a variety of control and incentive programs, such as real-time variable pricing. With features like in-home energy displays or “eco-panels,” the consumer can be warned when a peak loading rate is being charged. They can then make an informed choice to switch off appliances such as dryers and postpone their use until a lower rate is available. With smart appliances or Demand Response Units (DRUs) controlling appliances in the home, the rescheduling of high consumption functions can be controlled directly by the utility via the smart meter."

Kieran Nolan recently held a workshop for ISEA 2009 on Hacking Toys into Tangible Interfaces. During the workshop he hacked together usb keyboards with toy keytars to build DIY guitar game controllers. Now you know what to do with all those old toys when your kids outgrow them.

Now that the kids are going back to school you know how much work it was to get all the supplies ready such as sharpening all those pencils. Next time why not build a Tesla Turbine Pencil Sharpener to speed up the process. We have featured lots of Tesla Turbine projects in the past such as the blender turbine and and the hard drive tesla turbine, I am sure this won’t be the last one.

Thanks Rick.

"It uses what is possibly the worlds simplest turbine. It’s made as a CD jewel case, using two CD discs and four magnets as the rotor. The magnets between the discs act as spacers and magnetic drive. It has no shaft, no bearings, and no seals, and on compressed air attains speeds of up to 8000 rpm. The turbine is magnetically coupled to the pencil sharpener and propels it at speeds up to 2200 rpm (so far!). It takes down a pencil real fast! The somewhat dangerous Tesla Turbine Pencil Sharpener is housed in a tough clear polycarbonate enclosure in case of imminent failure. The system runs on free energy gathered daily via solar panel, battery, 12 volt air compressor and air tank."