Hamster powered robots are something of a running joke, but Crabfu (you remember him, right?) has managed to create a walking robot out of a kit modeled originally on Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests that’s powered by a cute n’ fluffy hamster named Princess. The first question is, of course, why would you make a robot that’s powered by a hamster? Crabfu has the answer:

That’s just stupid, which is the exact reason why I did it.

And that, right there, is one of the best possible reasons to make a uselessly cool robot.

So, the second question here is when is this thing going to get a gun? And the third question is, how soon can I swear allegiance to our new adorable little cyborg hamster overlords?

[ Crabfu ]

Well, it’s official. Crabfu is a Modern Marvel:

Congrats!

[ Crabfu Steamworks ]

In the September issue of Popular Mechanics, CrabFu has the much deserved honor of being named one of ten Backyard Geniuses. PopMech features CrabFu’s Swashbot, but don’t forget about all of his other amazing creations.

We’ve posted about two of the other Backyard Geniuses; Christian Ristow and his giant robot hand as well as Matt Denton and his CNC Hexapod. Congrats to all of you geniuses, but this only means that we’ll be expecting more spectacular stuff from you in the future.

[ Popular Mechanics ] VIA [ Neatorama ]

This painting was created on an iPhone using the Brushes app by none other than Crabfu. Geez, this guy does everything. One more, after the jump. (Read more…)

Looks like it’s steam week (or something) here on BotJunkie… After posting about EATR and the Strenco ST-2, commenter “D” reminded us of the Steamworks section of Crabfu‘s website. Among the multitude of steam powered tanks, walkers, rovers, centipedes, and just about everything else that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be powered by toasted water is R2S2, a steam powered version of R2D2… Thanks to Robots-Dreams for the following video:

To make R2S2, Crabfu stripped the electronic guts out of a Hasbro R2D2 Interactive Droid and replaced them with a boiler and dual steam engines. The result is a radio controlled steam droid with 10 minutes of runtime and plenty of wood, brass, and leather seampunk accents.

There’s tons more steam driven bots on the Crabfu Steamworks website, and after the jump, take a look at an actual steam powered robot arm. (Read more…)

Crab Fu’s YouTube channel just keeps on serving up silicone nuggets of homebuilt roboty goodness. Seriously, does this guy ever sleep?

Cute, no? All it needs to do to replace a real golfer is to wear plaid pants (just picture that) and take 5 bazillion little tiny steps with its tracks before it putts the ball. Of course, I was way more impressed when I thought (at first) that the bot was golfing on its own… I should have known better, though, based on Crab Fu’s previous creations. And hey, if you like his stuff, you should totally give him a job.

[ Crab Fu ]

CrabFu has a talent for making cute little robots out of spare servos from R/C aircraft. He also has a talent for making them really, really creepy when they move. His most recent creations are a tortoise and a fish called Flapper (watch the video and you’ll see why):

There’s no coordination on the servos; the movement of the robots comes from direct control of each servo via a remote. Oh, and the plastic bits? They’re made of some neat stuff called Shapelock, which becomes moldable if you heat it up to 150 degrees (with hot water, a heat gun, or a microwave). It hardens as soon as it cools down, and you can repeat the process. Seems like something everyone could find a use for, and you can get a free sample for, um, only $5!

Video of the turtle molesting a cat, after the jump. (Read more…)

SwashBot is what DIY robotics is all about… He may not be the most graceful little thing, but he sure is cute. He’s constructed out of spare R/C helicopter bits, including four servos, a receiver, a battery pack, some LEDs, and little exoskeleton bits. It looks like it takes some coordination on the controller to get SwashBot to go where you want him to, but there’s no denying his slightly spastic charm:

EPIC BATTLE: SwashBot v. KittyCat, after the jump. (Read more…)