Students of the MIT Robotics Lab decided to have some fun this holiday season with the big release of Star Wars. They built a lightsaber wielding delta-bot, and some very interesting hip-mounted lightsaber robot arms, akin to General Grievous.
First up in the video though is their Jedi Training robot, which is a variation of the delta-bot robot we’re all familiar with thanks to 3D printers. With a lightsaber mounted on top, it’s not too fast, but has a large range of motion to allow you to practice your lightsaber form. They call it the Triple Scissor Extender — and as you can imagine, it was built for something completely different. You can check out the designer’s personal blog here, though he doesn’t have any info on this particular project — yet.
Second is a robot they designed for a project called Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRL), which is literally designed to give you extra robotic arms — it was the next logical step to give them lightsabers…
Makes us wish we worked in the MIT robotics lab… Or for DARPA — their robotics challenge is always so incredible to watch.
has anybody been able to avoid starwars propaganda?
Does propaganda need to be intentional or paid for?
Regardless, it’s pretty much everywhere. I would not mind seeing less of it, but at least here it’s been fairly creative.
I don’t like it, but if it gets people making interesting things…
Resistance is futile. Wrong franchise, but very true.
The true reference for SRL should obviously be Marvel’s Dr. Octopus, but mania is mania.
Did you just come to this site, the home room of generations of hardcore lifer geeks, and hope there wouldn’t be Star Wars hype to be found? Really?
I’ve been kinda sick of it too as I’m not a huge fan like most seem to be. But of all sites I visit I would definitely expect this stuff to be found here in spades. Honestly I’m surprised there aren’t more SW hacks. I would have thought a little plastering of cool ones shown here for a while.
I too am sick and tired of the star wars bullshit already.
So that makes it almost unanimous on HaD, showing that you gauged things wrong, at least in reference to the visitors. That the sites all feel a need to ride the wave is another matter of course. But that stuff doesn’t get them respect points.
Poor Stormtroopers. Copies are never as good as the real thing.
The Supernumerary Robotic Limb mounted light sabers look like a good way to get extra cyber limbs (If they were “real” light sabers.).
Needs more references.
SRL: I seem to remember seeing this before now…
http://darbeloff-lab.scripts.mit.edu/darbeloff-lab/?page_id=296
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/heres-that-extra-pair-of-robot-arms-youve-always-wanted
Triple Scissor Extender: Not a lot out there, but I did find one video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7uzU95NOyY
Star Wars Kid 2.0