Ryan Bowen is bringing parent/baby Halloween costumes to an entirely new mechanized level.
In the above video, Bowen dresses up with his 6-month-old son Geraint as Sunder, a character from the MechWarrior video game series. Bowen's wife describes the inspiration for the costume in an Imgur photo gallery.
My husband had this costume planned for several years, long before we had a child. The inspiration was a computer game he played in high school. When we found out we were having a baby, he got to work. Ryan sketched out the rough designs probably two months before Geraint was born. With so much baby stuff coming in the mail, we had plenty of boxes for him to work with, so he just had to buy a few things to make it.
The process for building the costume was extensive.
Ryan built a frame for the body out of PVC and wrapped a cardboard shell around it and secured it to the frame with zip ties. He then cut and sculpted the other pieces out of cardboard, with some foam board details to add a true 3D effect. The joints are all fastened with Velcro cable wraps, and the head and other pieces attach to the main body with Velcro tape. The legs are supported by a belt, which is hidden under the body. His arms slip into the gun pods and he has more Velcro straps on the inside in order to hold them. The feet just fit over his shoes by gluing toilet paper tubes on the inside to take up the extra space.
Clearly the extensive process was worth it, as baby Geraint is completely in awe of his weaponized costume. Check out the locked and loaded costume in the video above.
http://abc13.com/
My husband had this costume planned for several years, long before we had a child. The inspiration was a computer game he played in high school. When we found out we were having a baby, he got to work. Ryan sketched out the rough designs probably two months before Geraint was born. With so much baby stuff coming in the mail, we had plenty of boxes for him to work with, so he just had to buy a few things to make it.
The process for building the costume was extensive.
Ryan built a frame for the body out of PVC and wrapped a cardboard shell around it and secured it to the frame with zip ties. He then cut and sculpted the other pieces out of cardboard, with some foam board details to add a true 3D effect. The joints are all fastened with Velcro cable wraps, and the head and other pieces attach to the main body with Velcro tape. The legs are supported by a belt, which is hidden under the body. His arms slip into the gun pods and he has more Velcro straps on the inside in order to hold them. The feet just fit over his shoes by gluing toilet paper tubes on the inside to take up the extra space.
Clearly the extensive process was worth it, as baby Geraint is completely in awe of his weaponized costume. Check out the locked and loaded costume in the video above.
http://abc13.com/
he world's first talking robot in space has uttered its first words in orbit, echoing famed moonwalking astronaut Neil Armstrong's "one small step" line, but this time for all robot-kind.
The small robot astronaut Kirobo, which was built by Japanese scientists, spoke its first orbital words while floating aboard the International Space Station. The robot launched to the space station in August aboard an unmanned Japanese cargo ship to help scientists study robot-human interaction.
A newly released video of Kirobo talking in space shows the robot's mouth light up as it delivers its first message, in Japanese, on Aug. 21
"On August 21, 2013, a robot took one small step toward a brighter future for all," Kirobo says, according to a translation from one of the project's partners, PR company Dentsu Inc.
Kirobo only speaks Japanese and is designed to help researchers explore the possibilities of coexistence with robots during long space voyages of the future. Its mission, called the Kibo Robot Project, was developed by the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, the Toyota Motor Corp., Robo Garage and Dentsu Inc.
Measuring just 13 inches (34 centimeters) tall, the robot's name is a mash-up of the word "robot" and Kibo, which means "hope" in Japanese and is the name of Japan's research laboratory module on the space station.
Kirobo is awaiting the arrival of Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is set to become the first Japanese commander of the space station when he gets there in November or December this year. Wakata will also become the first person to converse with a robot in space. His historic chat with Kirobo is expected to take place in December.
The robot's technological capabilities include voice-recognition, natural language processing, facial recognition, a camera and emotion recognition. Kirobo also has a near-identical twin named Mirata on Earth, designed to allow engineers on the ground to troubleshoot any malfunctions that may arise with Kirobo in space.
Kirobo is expected to return to Earth in December 2014.
