The last time we checked in with totally-insane-yet-completely-brilliant garage inventor Colin Furze, he was epically removing his socks with the aid of a firework rocket launcher and somehow walking away unscathed. Yet again, we still don’t know how this guy doesn’t end up in the hospital. Yesterday, Furze shared what is likely his most impressive project to date: a fully functional hoverbike. Over the past few weeks, Furze has been documenting his various experiments and build processes for bringing the ridable hovercraft to fruition – an impressive feat considering that he’s working solo out of his own humble workshop. The resulting hoverbike – which is kept aloft by two 2-stroke engines –…

Whether it exists in the form of Javascript, a music video, or any other bonkers use of everyday objects, the Rube Goldberg machine never fails to keep the fun side of invention alive. More recently, the watchmakers at Seiko created what is sure to be the smallest Rube Goldberg machine ever created using – you guessed it – ridiculously small watch parts. In total, over 1,200 parts were used to create the machine – which more likely than not will hold on to the smallest Rube Goldberg machine for quite some time. Sadly, there were moments where human intervention was needed to keep the near-weightless objects in motion and the camera…

Whether it’s a toy Lightsaber, a miniature city, a robot or even just a plain old box, few materials can fuel a child’s imagination like cardboard can. Not to mention, the environmentally-friendly material is easy to work with and is nearly free – depending on where you look. Aiming to make creating awesome cardboard toys easy for other parents like them, designers Alexander Babich and Anastasia Alfiorova of MacoshDesign Studio recently shared the patterns and assembly instructions for creating two exceptionally awesome kid-sized cardboard vehicles: an F1 racecar and a biplane. “However you get the cardboard, the most powerful and valuable thing is the assembly process,” says Babich. “Assembling the toys…

A new filament from Avante demonstrates how much more advances in 3D printing filament chemistry can achieve. The new FilaOne GRAY filament from Avante Technology is one of very few materials specifically designed for 3D printing engineering applications. Avante explains: FilaOneTM GRAY provides very high flexural modulus, yet can bend and recover without crack- ing or crazing. The material is both tough and resilient, making it ideal for applications like drone landing gear, living hinges, toys and other parts that take a beating during use. It achieves this by using a composite material involving carbon nanotubes. Here’s how it works: FilaOneTM GRAY contains a proprietary type of carbon nanotubes that…

When it comes to creativity and DIY culture on wheels, few people embody the creative spirit more than the British Columbia-based Zenga brothers (AKA Zenga Bros). Born and raised by eclectic parents in Vancouver, the six brothers (of nine children total) were taught from a young age to explore their creativity – regardless of where it may take them. Over the past few years, it’s taken them around the world. While the Zengas have been actively involved in community art projects for over 17 years – perhaps most notably when they shredded the Leeside Tunnel in 2011 with a swathe of fireworks and filmed the escapades – their passion lies on building…

With so many cool things coming out each week, it can be hard to wade through all the rock-awesomeness. With ‘Cool Tools’, we’ve done the hard work for you. This week we saw an incredible real-time table tennis training device, a pair of sleek 3D printed lampshades, a new app that promises an auditory experience like you’ve never heard before, how to make a water balloon shotgun, 3D printed doo-dads getting crushed on a hydraulic press and more… Ready? Let’s go! This week we look at: DESIGN Interactive Table Tennis Trainer “The basic idea of my bachelor thesis was to track the ping pong ball in realtime to create data…