2015 RedBull Creation Ends With Flaming Tire Swing Of Death

Holy *#$&. That just about sums up the 2015 RedBull Creation Competition. It was fantastic. Where else could you ride a gasoline engine powered tire-swing-of-death, complete with fireball launcher? Well… maybe Burning Man…

Anyway, was it a hackathon? No, this was a build-a-thon. A few Arduinos and Atmel’s may have been used, but the majority of the projects were serious mechanical marvels. The teams had 72 hours to compete, with the very broad theme of “Serious Fun”.

And did they make some serious fun. From human-sized hamster wheels, to glass smashing recycling machines, and even an arcade style carnival game housed in a dumpster, not one team had a similar idea about Serious Fun. It was awesome.

Continue reading “2015 RedBull Creation Ends With Flaming Tire Swing Of Death”

redbull creation competition

2015 RedBull Creation Competition Is Underway!

I’m here as a judge at the 2015 RedBull Creation Competition in Detroit — it’s a super intense 72 hour build off where makers, engineers, and artists can come to show us what they’ve got. This year’s theme is pretty broad: Serious Fun.

The event is at Recycle Here and is open to the public, so if you’re in the area, come check it out! A massive recycling depot warehouse has been temporarily transformed into a giant workshop. Teams have access to some serious tools including heavy duty welding equipment, industrial forming tools like pipe benders, brake presses, your standard drill presses, cutting equipment and of course laser cutters and 3D printers.

There are two competition categories — Open Class, which was free for anyone to join with a team, and Invite Only. The six Invite Only teams are working in the Recycle Here workshop, and the teams competing in the open category are scattered across the city, making use of their own workshops or hackerspaces. The theme was only just announced yesterday, and the 72 hour countdown has been ticking away ever since.  I can’t wait to see what awesome interactive projects can be built in time to show off to the public this weekend.

Continue reading “2015 RedBull Creation Competition Is Underway!”