If you’re as big a fan of the Warhammer 40000 video-games as I am, you know can understand why I find this particular case mod simply awesome.

Combining wood, metal and acrylic, modding master pinchillo has managed to bring the dreaded Dreadnought to life. He started working on this project about 4 years ago, but took a long break, and only recently decided to complete it. He first created the main body, which housed the computer hardware, then moved on to the accessories and details of the computer case. The rotating miniguns are a nice touch.

It may not be one of the oddities you’re used to, but this piece of modding genius was just to cool not to share it with you guys. For more pics of the building process, check out Modding.ru

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Transformers star Bumblebee is making an appearance in Shanghai for the 2010 Cybertron Annual Meeting.

Weighing around 8 tons and 7 meters tall, the Bumblebee replica is set to be the star of the 2010 Cybertron Annual Meeting, a Transformers fan conference that will take place between July 30 and August 3. The 8 ton replica is one of the best Transformers statues we’ve featured on OC, so far.

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The launch of Starcraft 2 was a monumental international event, but Blizzard went out of its way to surprise Russian fans of the popular RTS franchise, by featuring a life-size replica of the Terran Marine costume.

A day before the official launch, photos of what seemed to be a Terran Marine in the middle of Moscow’s Red Square appeared on the Internet. Most claimed it was just a Photoshop job, and a bad one at that, but when the real-life Starcraft Terran Marine made an appearance at the launch site, everyone put their doubts aside and began cheering like crazy.

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Remember that 60-foot RX78 Gundam mech that showed up in Tokyo’s Shiokaze Park? Well, the guys at Bandai pieced it together once more, this time in Shizuoka.

The truth is I missed the awesome-looking RX78, and I couldn’t understand why they had to take it down in the first place. But that’s not important anymore, because the Gundam statue is back, and this time it’s brought a cool saber that shines at night. The newly assembled Gundam will be officially inaugurated on July 24 and it will remain in Shizuoka until January 10 2011.

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The World’s first International Humanoid Robots Olympic Games kicked off on June 21, in China’s Harbin’s Institute of Technology.

Two years after hosting a memorable edition of the human Olympic Games, China becomes the first country to host an Olympics dedicated to humanoid robots. Nineteen teams, from China, United States, Japan, South Korea or Germany have brought their best robots to compete in this historic three-day event.

To enter the competition, robots had to be less than 60 cm long, and have a human shape, with a head, two arms and two legs. Just like in the real Olympic Games, the sporty robots had to compete in multiple challenges, 24 to be exact, ranging from boxing, to weight-lifting, dancing, or sprint. But there are also some unusual domestic events, like cleaning or medical care.

The sprinting contest took place on the first day, with the winner running a distance of five meters in 20 seconds flat. Not bad for a small robot, I think. Check out the video at the bottom, to see these little guys sweating silicone at the Robot Olympic Games.

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Back in 2005, when Stargate was the coolest sci-fi series around, sg1archive user ‘mango’ teamed up with his father to build a sweet replica of the stargate.

The project began in AUTOCAD, where the first blueprints were drawn. Since they didn’t have access to a plotter, plans had to be printed on A4 paper and stuck together, in a circle. The small details of the gate had to be drawn up from scratch, using photos and video footage. The skeleton of the gate is made up of 18 X-shaped pieces, and the spinning part is made from small planks.

The intricate stargate symbols had to be painstakingly carved, from wood, and chevrons first had to be carved from Styrofoam. The back of the stargate, though painted in gray, is totally fake, but the front looks realistic enough, with chevrons locking and everything. Thanks to an inner track, it even spins. Mango wasn’t too satisfied with the paint-job, but all in all this is a geeky masterpiece, just like the Stargate home-cinema.

Be sure to check the video Mango made, at the bottom of the post.

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With the Glastonbury Music Festival drawing near, Orange decided it was time to present their latest eco-invention, a pair of wellies that can charge up mobile phones.

Created in collaboration with renewable energy experts GotWind, these charging wellies have a ‘energy generating sole’ that transform the heat from your feet, into electricity. All you have to do is attach your mobile phone to one of the wellies, and start walking.

It sounds like revolutionary technology, and it is, but you’ll need to do a lot of walking to create enough energy. For example, for one hour of charge time, you have to walk for about 12 hours, in the wonder wellies. But you can speed things up by running, or dancing. The idea is to get your feet as hot as possible, to produce more energy.

The charging wellies, made by Orange, will be presented at the upcoming Glastonbury Festival.

via Orange Newsroom

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Ever since China’s first 3D newspaper was released, back in April, the public has been asking for more. And they’re about to get it, as a limited number of the Hangzhou-based Daily Business editions are about to be issued, in 3D format.

British tabloid, The Sun, has announced it will be launching the first 3D newspaper, on June 5, a few days before the Soccer World Cup kicks off, in n attempt to raise awareness to the 3D broadcast of the sports event, by Sky News. Sorry guys, but you’re almost two months late, in China, 3D newspapers are already yesterday’s news.

Photos via ImagineChina

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Greenpeace activists are going to fall in love with the genius invention of Li Fan : curtains made of living plants.

Chinese inventor, Li Fan, has come up with a brilliant way to support the environment, and help people say “adios” to cleaning and washing curtains. Her living curtains are actually self-sufficient plants, on a supporting mesh.

Li Fan’s curtains filter light, like regular curtains, but also suck all the impurities out of the air, and smell fresh all the time. Living plants curtains are the hottest thing in Beijing home-design, right now, and Li Fan says business is booming.

No word on whether these living plant curtains are available outside China, but I’m sure there are people out there willing to pay top dollar to green-up there homes.

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Wu Yulu, a Chinese farmer, from a small village, outside Beijing, has created a series of 47 robots, out of scrap metal. They can accomplish various functions, from drinking, to walking and even pulling a rickshaw.

Ever since he can remember, Wu Yulu has been fascinated with the mechanics of movement. He always dreamed of building robots that could imitate human behavior, and in 1986, he decided to put his dream into practice. 24 years later, our techie farmer is the proud inventor of 47 home-made robots.

But Wu Yulu has made many sacrifices, in the name of science. He almost lost his wife and two children, after burning down the house, while working on a robot, accumulated great debt, and was even sprayed with battery acid. But like any respectable mad scientist, our man didn’t give up.

And now his effort are finally being rewarded. Mr. Wu has been invited to showcase his scrap metal creations and their functionality, at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. This after already receiving a number of prizes and contracts with universities. But he doesn’t get all this go to his head. he still lives in his modest village house, surrounded by pieces of metal and broken doll parts.

The strangest thing, about Wu Yulu, is he declared he loves his metal robots, more than he loves his own kids. He refers to his rickshaw robot as his 32nd son, and even programmed it to say “Wy Yulu is my dad, I take him out on the town.” How cool is that!

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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Nomadic Plants is a quirky project of Mexican artist, Gilberto Espaza, that possible symbiosis between vegetation and technology.

This is not Gilberto Espaza’s first such project. Last year, he unleashed his Urban Parasites on Mexico City. The small machines, made from recycled consumer goods, roamed the urban area in search of power sources they could feed on.

This year, the Mexican artist has an even more interesting project prepared. His Nomadic Plants installation focuses on the symbiosis between plants, micro-organisms and technology. A few river plants and bacteria live inside the Nomadic Plants robot, and whenever the life-forms inside it need nourishment, the machine searches the nearest polluted water-source and “drinks” from it.

A microbial fuel cell process decomposes the water’s elements and turns them into energy for the robot, and the rest is used to feed the plants and organisms inside. Gilberto Espaza said he was inspired to create this cyborg plant after reading about the microbial fuel cell that inspired him to take on the theme of environment pollution.

The Nomadic Plants installation is on display at Laboral Art and Industrial Creation Center, in Gijon, Spain, until June 2010.

via We Make Money Not Art

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It’s official, China is trying to get this cooking thing completely automated. A week after a retired engineer presented his DIY robot cook, another springs up .

The students of Yangzhou University, in Yangzhou, China partnered up with an enterprise from Shenzen, to create a fully automated robotic cook. Their result is nothing short of impressive, considering the machine can cook over 600 dishes from Chinese cuisine. All anyone has to do is put in the necessary ingredints, program the robot and weight for the dish to be served.

Bad news for Liu Changfa, the retired engineer who presented his own patented robot cook. Iguess hi dream of selling one to every restaurant in China, won’t be coming true, after all.

Photos by Zhao Jun/Xinhua

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Using the power of no less than 500 LEDs, this dude created a home-made flashlight that can easily be mistaken for a high-powered light projector.

Before you think about the amount of power this thing needs to actually work, you should know LEDs are much more effective than old-fashioned light bulbs, have a longer life span, and lower heat dissipation. The LED bazooka flashlight features several brightness adjustment switches, and compared to two Maglite flashlights, is infinitely powerful.

If you want to fry someone’s eyes or even signal an airplane in flight, the 500 LED Bazooka flashlight is just what you need. Check the video at the bottom, for the making-of and to see this light beast in action.

via Gadgetonian

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Liu Changfa, a retired automation engineer,from China, needed only one year to create a robot cook, using only rudimentary tools, like hammer and axe.

The Chinese inventor connected his robot cook to a laptop computer and a cellphone that allow to choose preset menus, or program it to cook certain dishes. Vinegar, salt, sugar and all other seasoning is stored in the robot’s chest, and the cooking takes place in its belly, where an induction cooker is installed. With the help of some dedicated software, the dedicated robot can be programmed to add a certain amount of seasoning, or stir a dish a certain number of times.

All Liu Changfa has to do is put the raw ingredients into the pot, and wait for the beeping sound, made by the robot. He has already contacted a Chinese restaurant, which will test the robot cook in its kitchen, and add robot dishes on its menu. More restaurants will shortly follow, says Liu Changfa.

Well, I’d wait a while before adding cooking to the list of automated fields, but this is definitely a step in that direction.

Photos via CNS Photo

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Apparently, one of the globe’s biggest polluters has found an environment friendly alternative to plastic keyboards and mice.

Bamboo keyboards and mice are not exactly new on the market, and I’m sure you’ve come across all sorts of wooden peripheral concepts online. Jiangxi Bamboo Technology Development Co. Ltd., the only bamboo peripherals manufacturer in China, says their products have become increasingly popular at a national level, after they’ve been successfully exported to markets in Europe and America.

Production of bamboo keyboards and mice began in 2008, but until early 2009, they’ve only been shipped to foreign countries. But ever since franchised stores opened in Shanghai and Ningbo, China can’t get enough of its environment-friendly peripherals.

Judging from the photos, the Chinese aren’t stopping at just bamboo keyboards and mice, they’re taking it a step further, with bamboo encased LCD displays.

via Gadgetonian (photos by ImagineChina)

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