If you would like to be a super hero for a day, this Titan Arm can make it happen! They have milled the exoskeleton system out of 6061-T6 aluminum. It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, check out this video of the mill crashing when some wrong coordinates were entered by accident. The technology and testing behind the arm is extensive. They have attempted to design it in such a way that it feels intuitive to use.

Via: Hackaday

“One way of creating a natural user experience is to give a quick, smooth response to the user input.  This is no small feat; how can you tell when a user requires additional strength?  Electromyography is a potential solution.  Electromyography, or EMG, is a way of sensing muscle activity through electrical signals.  When muscles are activated by the brain, an electrical potential can be measured in the range of 50uV to 30 mV.  By amplifying and filtering the signals, it’s possible to read and decompose the signals.  When the muscles are inactive, the electrical potential is low; however, when lifting an object, the electrical potential rises.”

When think of what a laser cutter can do you normally think of cutting things and etching surfaces. I never would have thought of making something 3D other than making notches that can link together. This video shows a technique that holds the material being worked over the main laser cutter bed using some stilts. Cuts are made in acrylic and since acrylic bends when heated the laser is used to slowly warm the material where it is needed to be bent. Since the work is sitting off the bed it can droop when heated. To see more information on this Laser Cutting 3D Objects method have a look here.

MrBen527 has been spending some time developing a cool looking Pulse Jet Go Cart, I am a bit surprised at how receptive his neighbors are. I think his creation would be a bit more annoying than a barking dog. Watch this video to see his creation in action. MrBen527 is also creating a new version of the engine that can be seen here, this one should put on a good show. I am thinking that if you wipe out all is fine as long as the red hot engine doesn’t land on top of you!

Not sure if this one is louder than the Pulse Jet Go Cart we saw back in 2008?

We have featured Matt Denton’s hexapod designs in the past. He has been spending some time working on a project that is a bit bigger than the previous ones! His new design which has been 4 years in the making called Mantis is a Hexapod Walking Machine. He has taken lots of pictures in the Facebook page (a few can be seen below). This video done by Daily Planet talks about Matt and his machines.

This 2.2-litre Turbo Diesel-powered, British-designed and -built walking machine can be piloted or remote WiFi-controlled, stands 2.8 metres high with a five meter working envelope and weighing in at just under two tonnes.”

Our crazy mad scientist friend Rick Crammond (MrfixitRick) had made a cool compilation of the last 5 years of his experiments. You will see some of the successes and failures that he has had over the years.

Sometimes you just ask what will happen if… In this case it is what would happen if you Spin a Plasma Ball at 4000 RPM! Turns out the ball pattern locks into a strange pattern, the plasma effect also continues to spin after the actual ball comes back to rest. Why does this happen? Not sure.

I am sure we will see more of this rig in the future since Mr Fix it Rick is building a Keshe Plasma Reactor with it.

David Prutchi has just put together a DIY Gamma-Ray Probe using a Philips XP5312/SN photomultiplier tube and a piece of scintillation plastic. A paint can was selected as a nice solid enclosure, the tube and plastic are supported by some foam on the inside to protect them from damage.

“The probe yields a background count of approximately 1,000 counts/minute (cpm) in our lab, and 7,400 cpm from a ¹³⁷Cs 6.7 µCi exempt source at a distance of 30 cm.  The probe’s sensitivity, portability and rugged construction make it an ideal choice for surveying.”