Too late! This contest is over! See the winners below in the comments section and stay tuned for more contests and giveaways on SolidSmack! It’s been a while since we’ve had a giveaway on SolidSmack. The tips of our elbows tend to get dry and scaly when that happens, so let’s spread the moisturizing bliss of free…

In 1983, the idea of traveling at unsafe speeds through the forest on a rocket, equipped with anti-gravity and a belly gun, became permanently ingrained, sealed and preserved in my young mind. Growing up in a forest didn’t help deter that dream and neither does this video. Aerofex, from Manhattan Beach, California, has been testing…

Have you tried to touch and move something on a screen that isn’t touch-sensitive? As my computer-screen will attest, my kids try it ALL THE TIME – flipping through photos, tapping ‘OK’, spinning 3D models – can’t be done on my monitor yet. We’re in that transition, and if the research that a PhD student…

While some are worrying about high-efficiency this and fuel-economic that, others are putting the electrons pulsing through their cognitive, übercreative brain cages to much better use creating “an open-source, 18ft wide, 4,000 pound, 6-legged hydraulic robot that you can ride.” Project Hexapod is a robotics class turned Kickstarter project that hit its initial funding goal…

Home-cooked meals are supposed to be special. They’re also supposed to be organic, free-range, cruelty-free, gourmet meals custom-made to suit your desires – because everyone’s picky. And why not? 3D Printing both the food and the preparation tools might just make that easier. Or sillier. We think we can have both. Remember the Burritobot? Printing…

When you look at an ordinary photograph, the image remains the same regardless of how you illuminate it. That’s great if you don’t want any additional realism in your High School Yearbook (seriously, what was I thinking with that shirt? And that haircut??) However, if you would prefer to view those captured memories in more detail,…

This is how I imagine things would go down if the Jetsons went to the beach. The Stone Spray 3D Printer is the end result of a six month project by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Fab Lab Bcn in Barcelona, Spain. Isn’t it amazing what you can do with a computer, an armature system, sand, glue…

Okay, I admit. It’s more like a ‘Pen-on’ experience, but you get the idea. Why point and click on a model with a mouse on an ol’ 2D screen when you can pull them right off the screen in 3D – near holographic-like, virtual 3D. The zSpace platform by Infinite Z promises to “transform today’s…

Love steam power? I know, stupid question. Who DOESN’T love steam power. Well, it just so happens that Open Source Ecology is looking for a saavy Project Manager type for their Steam Power initiative. If you recall, Open Source Ecology is the group creating the Global Construction Kit, 50 different industrial machines to make DIY…

We’re mobile. We want to be more mobile. Dell is unleashing their latest business class device with the new and improved Precision Mobile Workstations. With the release of the M4700, M6700 and the blazing red, fully-loaded M6700 Covet, Dell is reaching even further into maximum computing power with maximum portability. Available today, the updated Dell…

Well, mark this down as something-that-should-have-happened-four-years-ago-but-never-did. People have used a Wiimote to control 3D models (way back in 2008??!), but man-handling that 3D geometry is something else entirely. Micah Denn, a Linux geek and Blender user, finally brought the two together and has a grand ol’ time showing you how he deforms a cube in…

That fine young lad you see in the image is giddy with touch-sensitive joy this morning. Soon, he will be able to dish out nearly $4k for the massive Wacom table-top, touch-enabled tablet. After seeing the first iteration of the a Wacom Cintiq multi-touch tablet over two years ago, Wacom has announced that the all-new…

I tell you what. You never quite know what you’ll find on Kickstarter from week to week. Sure, we’ve seen 3D printers and the like, but there’s definitely no lack of sweet tech toys and gadgets. We look at two this week that are sure to capture your sense of office pranking and treasure hunting.…

Imagine chugging eight gallons of milk in one second? What would happen? Your stomach lining and pretty much your entire mid-section would no longer exist due to sudden and massive expansion. Fortunately, wireless vortex beams don’t have stomach linings. However, they have been limited to a single signal being transferred across the airwaves. That’s all…

Clothing, the oldest form of technology, and mobile phones, the most advanced form of technology… brought together. The Glove One by Brian Cera is part-glove, part-phone, part audacity, and all awesome. Tony Stark called – he wants his glove back. Brian is a native of Milwaukee, WI, self-described as an artist, designer and maker who…

A spacesuit, a pocket TV and a 3D Printer. What do these three things have in common? They’re all part of this week’s crowdfunding round-up and every bit of cool. While many Kickstarter project revolve around the arts and film industry, we like to feature the tech finds that are making Kickstarter a perfect place…

CAD… on a tablet. I’m sitting behind a 30″ display (with another 27″ display to the side) and dreaming about using 3D software on touch-screen tablet. What is wrong with me? Could it be possible? Could it be usable? The iPad had been all the rage, but other tablets like the Samsung Slate, Acer Iconia,…

Put your thinking caps on. If you could, what would you instantly scan and slice into perfectly sized portions using a laser-scanner machine with a blade? Clay? Steel? Cheese? MEAT? Yes, MEAT. Long, irregular masses of tender, juicy meat that go partially undigested in our intestines for quarter of century. Nantsune, manufacturers of massive food…

Telecommunications! It’s the oldest/newest thing – all the cool kids are doing it – tapping via telegraph, talking via the telephone, even video chatting via Skype – FUN TIMES. But, what about carrying on a conversation with a 3D representation of your pal? Holograms… whatever, it has all been done – we’ve all seen Snoop Dogg…

Ah yes! Another addition of to Solidsmack’s legendary catalogue of “What the Heck is THAT?” The Ryno is a one-wheeled beast of an invention, manufactured and sold by Ryno Motors. It combines the technical sensibilities of the Segway with the look, feel and, quite literally, half the badass-ness of a motorcycle. I was never a…

Two months ago, I received a very special package in the mail. No, my Chia Pet collection didn’t have a new member – rather, I received a new Dell M6600 Mobile Workstation from thee SolidBox. SolidBox is the custom auto shop of computers, taking stock builds, then modifying and optimizing them to your liking. How…

So, after seeing the coolest touch-free 3D interaction, there’s something else that’s nearly just as cool and adds to that cool factor with the addition of a single-handed glove and holding up an iPad in front of your face as if looking for hidden treasure. The Tangible Media Group at MIT Media Lab is exploriung…

Thought control over our daily 3D modeling routine isn’t here yet, but we still have the old analog system of manipulating our models with the seductive sway of our hands, face or other objects. Actually, we’re not there yet either, but this week, the possibility of that and your mouse, keyboard and 3D mouse becoming…

¡Híjole! 3D Printed Burritos. To be honest, I thought that this project was an April Fool’s joke. Perhaps it was posted as such and I’m just now seeing it. Nope, it’s for real. Marko Manriquez has developed the Burritob0t as his graduate thesis for the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Ready your tortillas, prime the…

Eight-eyed babies. I’ve always said there are not enough of them tormenting normal babies and adult sensibilities. Fortunately, you can have the 3D model of an eight-eyed baby (or any other model) spinning across your website in glorious 3D via a new Wordpress plugin from p3d.

Rack workstations. A fabulous remote-client solution that solves the problem of your co-workers ‘accidentally’ kicking the power button on your rig after 6.5 hours of unsaved work. That and avoiding the back-strain of moving workstations around make them ideal. But, before we get to all the glorious things that rack workstations are, it should be…

A kinect controlled robot? That’s MASSIVE? YES PLEASE. Vaudeville is a 12 foot, 5 inch robot built by Suidobashi Heavy Industry. The human-piloted mecha style machine rings in at a hefty 5 tons and can be controlled from the cockpit or remotely via smartphone and Kinect. Yes, you may get excited.

It has been sad and somewhat awkward times with the camera-enabled iPad. Left to nothing but holding up the massive tablet to capture the memories of your great-aunt’s 90th birthday or facetiming with your friends from the hospital bed after that near-fatal fence-jumping accident. Now, you can capture that and so much more, then turn…

When bending wire around your arms and face isn’t efficient enough for your wire bending needs, call upon this machine. The DIWire Bender from Pensa is a different take to going from digital to physical.

You now have the perfect reason to slap on the sideburns, Wayfarers and open up the .STL files of your British-motif 1970 Jaguar E-Type. Today, Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS) announces their all-in-one 3D Desktop Printer. SolidSmack was on hand at the Stratasys media event a few weeks ago and got to see first hand the factory tour…

Google Drive is out and with it another option to store, sync and squeeze your data. But how does Google Drive stack up against Box and Dropbox? I use all three and can certainly say there are advantages and disadvantages to each. Once compared though, it’s very clear where all three sit in the entire…

Wrap yourself in this. RAD Toronto team and Studio NMinusOne have created IM BLANKY as part of a digital embroidery exhibit for WORKShop Toronto. IM BLANKY is an ornate pattern of circuits and sensors relaying the shape of whatever lays underneath it or whatever you wrap it around. Laser scanning never looked this good.

Why poke your fingers repeatedly into a keyboard crawling with dust, germs and skin flakes beneath the keys when you could jab them into any flat (antibiotic-infused) surface you wish? The Magic Cube from Celluon is just the magical device you’ve been dreaming of. Of course, you can’t wear it like other devices and it’s…

SolidSmack was on hand this past week at Dell’s Precision Workstation media event held at the Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco. It’s been a few years since Dell has launched an update to their Precision line with the T7500, T5500, and T3500 coming out early 2009. This May, however, that all changes with the new…

So you’re floating down a quiet jungle stream, the overgrowth blotting any light from the viney corridor, spider-eating snakes rustling overhead. Fortunately, you used your backpack to store indestructible lanterns instead of extra food rations. You hunger and the glorious light are all thanks to the make-tastic ingenuity of Steve Hoefer. Steve created these lanterns…

Away on a long journey, far from home, far from the one you love. It’s lonely and a feeling that a good ol’ thumb-tastic make-out session could cure in two vibrations of a thumb kiss. If you’re reading this out loud to your co-workers, pause and let the thought of what you just said sink…

Fast and Easy 3D Capture? YES PLEASE. 3D Scanning is changing and MatterPort is a start-up that is convincingly leading the way. MatterPort is a hand-held scanning device that allows you to create incredibly accurate 3D models of interior spaces and objects “20 times faster” than any other technology.

Slap on your backpack and file this under survival gear of the week. The PowerPot is a thermoelectric power generator you can use after escaping a post-apocalyptic air-raid to supply power to small electrical devices like your phone, a light or a USB microphone you use to broadcast weekly survival tips.

This is a robotic turret for your iPhone. It’s called the Galileo because Galileo himself was a robot, with hidden gun turrets. Fact. Unlike the Italian physicist, this iPhone platform has infinite spherical rotation capability and can be operated from remote locations. It’s the brainchild of Josh Guyot and JoeBen Bevirt, the duo who brought…

The moment when a 3D printer and a 3D scanner are combined into a single product… hasn’t happened, yet. But, we’re pretty sure there would be some positive returns for both the manufacturer and the consumer market. A great number of people would love to replicate the cups and spoons they already have instead of…

It’s agreed. In scientific trials carried out in a family living room, 3 out of 3 children agree that this robot is cool. The Morphex is a six-legged, remotely-operated, servo-driven transforming ball-bot of beauty. From a standing (or walking) position it can contract and expand its legs or pull them completely in to form a…

I have a new favorite app. It’s called Paper. Now, before you think I’m trying to be clever and slap me upside the ear, read this. Paper is a new sketch/design app for the iPad created by an entrepreneur, a designer, an engineer, a filmmaker and an inventor. It takes the creation of ideas and…

If you thought people look funny running from crawling or large-eyed jumping robots, wait till you see the fury that is… a small, somewhat flat, not-all-that-scary automoton that launches itself atop buildings and large rock structures.

You may wake occasionally with night terrors of robots grappling your face, but that doesn’t mean there are not a few robots that can be helpful. Bruno Maisonnier of Aldebaran Robotics loves robots. For years he’s been developing technology in the area of personal robotics and since 2005, Aldebaran has been dedicated to delivering an…

Well, it looks like your a webpage threw up multiple levels of structured data in your browser. Wonderful 3-dimensional throw up. Mozilla Firefox version 11 is out and with it a new developer tool that allows you to view a website’s Document Object Model (DOM) in the beauty of three dimensions. Fancy a look?

Wondering what the future looks like? It’s all glass, lots and lots of glass. At least according to Corning, the glass manufacturer responsible for the ‘gorilla glass’ on your iPhone. In this interesting new video put out by the company you’ll see a montage of how glass is embedded (read: controlling) every waking moment of…

He’s finally done it. You may have heard of Jarno Smeets and his Human Birdwing project before, but this time he’s not trying to fly like a bird, he has flown like a bird. Has he actually cracked the mystery of human-powered flight?

Turns out rearranging molecules sounds like the soundtrack to a blood-drenched, space-horror film. As you’ll see (and hear) in the video below, Scientist and Engineers from Stanford University and the US Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have found a way to move carbon monoxide molecules one at a time to create ‘designer electrons’…

There’s no end to the electrical implements of the future you can strap to your shoulder blade – laser canons, jet packs, robot cats with laser eyes – but what if you could project a multi-touch panel on any surface (wait, didn’t we see this before and before and before?) No one has probably thought…

If you’ve ever been at an all-you-can-eat buffet and started playing with the mash potatoes beneath the sneeze guard, dreaming of the future, you’ll be overjoyed at the 3D display tech coming out of Microsoft Research. It has nothing to do with mash potatoes (yet) but it does seem there are no bounds to what…