The Heinz Automato

[Bill Fienup] and [Barry Kudrowitz]’s robots, The Automatos, have been leaving a sticky path of destruction all over the internet. Their sole purpose: to crap ketchup. They accomplish this feat by dumping a CO2 cartridge into a ketchup bottle at the push of a button, leading to some pretty awesome results.  While the details are a little sparse it appears that they are using RC cars for the base and a small air gun CO2 cartridge to push the ketchup. The latest version aka the Atuomato 4 appears to be multi-actuated and can shoot more than once for maximum ketchup proliferation. See some videos of it in action after the break.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcniyQYFU6M&feature=related&w=470]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C3D0rcFXrY&feature=related&w=470]

27 thoughts on “The Heinz Automato

  1. What a mess!

    Sillier than heck, but it’s kinda fun. It’d be better with an automatic stopper, or something like those ‘no mess’ bottles that only open once a certain pressure level is reached. Currently, the spray continues as long as the bottle is pressurized, long after the CO2 flow stops.

  2. Perfect post for lunch!

    Now If we can just up the ante, I’d love to see a more automat-ic with burger/dog tracking technology and voice control…
    “hey, easy ketchup over here!”

    And I wanna see it draw a HaD logo .)

  3. ROFL I really laughed at that.. I mean it’s an.. awesome-awkward idea with an awkward-awesome result and looks really silly :D
    @Torque: Based on the provided videos I would assume the “easy ketchup over here” robot would leave a red mess all over you :D

  4. Amazing. CO2 at room temperature is under roughly 800psi of pressure if it’s stored in a liquid form(most small CO2 canisters do this). I would never have tried this – I would have expected the bottle to explode before anything else happened!

  5. what is the point of those spinning arms? it almost seems as if those are a visible expression of a pump motor running, pressurizing the bottle. plus the way it dribbles out at the end makes me think this is not CO2..

  6. This is the kind of hack that I love. Completely original, a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist in the first place. Plus the whole thing just screams of fun. It’s the sort of crazy idea that you come up with after a few beers at the pub. Thanks for making my day.

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