Related Sections: Art & Design Galleries Robots
Charming solar-powered bug-bots flap and wiggle into our hearts
Meet Gonzo, the solar-powered wing-flapping robot. Put it anywhere where there's sun and its solar cell will charge a battery, and its wings will start flapping furiously. There's also Lilly the robot that, like Gonzo, will flap its wings in the presence of the sun. Last there's Ernie, the craziest of the bunch. Only an inch long, Ernie will start wiggling around when it's charged and seek out more solar-powered goodness as it wobbles toward the light.
If you want one of these 'bots from Etsy user TinyMinds, you best pick one up now - there was a cool Cthulhu critter earlier, but it's already gone. They range from $60 to $80.
Check out more of Gonzo, Lilly and Ernie in the gallery below.
 |  |
|
By dreft at 4:18 AM ON 07/10/08
For anyone interested these are called "BEAM bots". Do a quick search on solarbotics or BEAM bots and you'll find plenty of plans to build these cool little robots yourself.
By SnowyRiver at 2:58 AM ON 07/17/08
These are amazingly expensive. Especially considering that kits from places like Solarbug.com can cost under $10. Sure there's some assembly required, but if you're reasonably capable with your hands, it more than makes up for the factor of 8 difference in price.
By tinmanrules at 6:40 PM ON 07/17/08
Cool but other then flap its wings whats it actually do? Why would you need one?
on your cellphone!
Text DVICE to 72434
editor@dvice.com
tinmanrules:
Cool but other then flap its wings whats it actually do? Why would you need one?...More »