Photo credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington
University of Washington engineers have built DirectHop, a one gram robot small enough to sit in a palm that clears a standard stair step while setting its jump height to single centimeter accuracy. The prototype performs multiple hops in sequence and rights itself after most landings, steps toward an autonomous version that could move through varied spaces.
Modders have spent years trimming Nintendo Wii motherboards down to the absolute minimum so they fit inside handheld shells that resemble the original Game Boy. Xenii refined that approach across earlier Xii-Boy versions until the latest Ultra revision arrived as a fully modular kit. Tito from Macho Nacho Productions assembled one, and the result sits at roughly 145 by 86 by 27 millimeters while still containing a genuine Wii board that has undergone the standard OMGWTF trim.
Rivian owners woke up to a free software update that turns every R1 and R2 into a rolling Ghostbusters prop. Collaboration with Sony Pictures delivered the package starting October 9 and keeps it active through November 2. Bill Murray appears as Peter Venkman in a short film directed by Gil Kenan, the filmmaker behind the recent Ghostbusters sequels. In the spot Slimer digs through a suburban fridge while lights flicker, then an Ecto-R1 arrives with sirens and Murray in the jumpsuit. The same vehicle, built by Rivian’s Special Projects team, features white 22-inch aero wheels, a red graphic with the No-Ghost logo, restored vintage emergency lights, a roof rack carrying sirens, spotlights, a radar dish and side tanks, plus a compass design visible from above.
Riley picked up an old Prusa MK3S+ 3D printer whose hot-end had already failed in an explosive blow-out. Most owners would scrap the machine or hunt for a replacement nozzle and heater block. He saw an opportunity to remove the entire filament path and install something else in its place. The motion system, frame, and stepper motors still worked. Only the part that melts plastic was gone, which left an open mounting point for a different kind of extruder.
