https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/News from the Odd Side of Technologyenhttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/5thyz73p/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/5thyz73p/This digital clock forms four digits using blue-dyed water in small bottles instead of LEDs. Each digit has a 3-by-5 grid of fifteen bottles, for sixty in total. An initial design with a shared pump and valves suffered from leaks and air in the lines. The final mechanism uses a tiny pump for each bottle, then tips the bottles to empty them when the display needs refreshing. An ordinary clock changes pixels electronically. This one fills sixty bottles and physically tips them out to update the time. Time really does flow.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 04:33:42 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/eo3ybivd/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/eo3ybivd/A maker tried to power a go-kart with a tiny one-dollar brushed DC motor. A 3D-printed gearbox with a 1,243:1 reduction gave it enough torque to move the kart, but only at a snail's pace. The experiment then scaled up to fourteen small motors. Losses in the gearing and chain still made a speedy ride unlikely. Instead of using one appropriately sized motor, he started with a one-dollar motor and eventually used fourteen. That's commitment to the least convenient option.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 04:33:42 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/bfksuiyn/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/bfksuiyn/FlyHead uses a computational model of fruit-fly neural circuitry to guide a wheeled robot. When a person approaches, it can react with fly-like evasive movements. Humans built the robot, but its fly brain tells it to flee when humans come near. Not the friendliest robot.Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:32:19 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/688ki6na/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/688ki6na/Shane Wighton of Stuff Made Here built an automated washing machine for his muddy dog. Shower nozzles move over a platform and spray from below. But his dog Eva was frightened by the machine, so another dog, Brie, took part in testing. He built an elaborate machine to wash his dog, only for the intended customer to refuse. Not every problem can be engineered away.Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:32:19 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/t0cpt92e/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/t0cpt92e/AWEBOT is a strange, creature-like mobile artwork roaming the streets of Philadelphia. Unlike the delivery robots it resembles, it carries no groceries, meals or packages. Its purpose is to surprise passersby and spark curiosity and connection. The Philadelphia arts organization Ministry of Awe created it with artist Madison Polidoro. Rather than making deliveries more efficient, the moving sculpture turns unexpected encounters with people into its reason for existing. It looks like the kind of robot that should be delivering something, but it has no parcels to drop off. Its entire job is to make people stop and wonder.Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:49:52 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/odlxlxdi/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/odlxlxdi/The Skeuomorphicer Candle turns on when heated by a flame and turns off when you blow on it. A thermistor responds to the heat and switches the circuit on. Once lit, warmth from nearby resistors keeps it on; a puff of air cools the circuit and turns it off. Maker Marek designed it without a microcontroller, using a single transistor, a thermistor and a handful of passive components. Keeping the thermal feedback reliable required careful tuning, and battery voltage can affect its behavior. An electronic candle is supposed to spare you the trouble of a real flame. This one asks you to bring a flame back just to switch it on.Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:49:52 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/wigahoh5/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/wigahoh5/This camera only takes a photograph when there is a dog in the frame. The presence of a dog is built into the rules for whether the camera can take a picture at all. It is a creation by Matty Benedetto, who shares deliberately unnecessary inventions on his own site, Unnecessary Inventions. Whether a photo gets taken is decided by the presence of a dog, not just the person holding the camera. It is as if the camera has its own favorite subject.Sun, 01 Nov 2026 22:21:40 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/nda6torl/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/nda6torl/A homemade telephone lets you enter digits using a Morse key, displays the number on an LCD, and places a call when you press the MAIN button. For example, to call extension 31, you key in the Morse codes for 3 and 1. A push-to-talk speaker microphone gives conversations a radio-like feel. Maker 7m4mon reused the enclosure, LCD and buttons from a test instrument built in 2008. An Arduino handles the input, while a Raspberry Pi provides the phone connection. Instead of pressing number keys to make a call, you tap out Morse code. It is like taking a detour through the history of communications just to dial a number.Sun, 01 Nov 2026 22:21:40 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/8fuvvluw/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/8fuvvluw/The Mini Sixteen-Wheeler is a homemade vehicle with 16 wheels arranged radially around a body resembling two overlapping octagons. Power reaches all 16 wheels, but on a flat floor it travels straight using only the four wheels touching the ground. When sent toward a wall, it spins in place. Attempts to negotiate slopes and steps did not go as planned. Its creator, Zeru, developed the idea as a byproduct of working on a physics simulation model. The body was 3D-printed, then assembled with gears and wheels. All sixteen wheels are powered, but only four do the driving on a normal floor. Just when you wonder what the other twelve are for, the machine starts spinning by a wall.Sun, 01 Nov 2026 22:21:40 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/rdvxjow4/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/rdvxjow4/A homemade arcade cabinet starts a game when a rectangular concrete cartridge is inserted. The cartridge does not contain the game itself: an NFC sticker provides an ID that tells the cabinet which game to launch from its internal computer. Maker Asger Kjærholm cast the concrete cartridges using 3D-printed molds. He also built a wooden cabinet with a cartridge slot and a drawer for storing the blocks. Each concrete cartridge contains little more than an ID, but you still have to slot a solid block into the machine to pick a game. That's a remarkably literal way to give digital games some weight.Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:11:41 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/fi7o4q4w/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/fi7o4q4w/The feature film *Garagara, Akuta* is in preparation. It follows a father who spent his time making impractical inventions and a daughter who left home partly because she disliked his projects. After her father develops young-onset dementia, she begins rebuilding one of his unfinished inventions with help from people around her. Filming is planned for December 2026, with completion expected in spring 2027. The production is raising funds through crowdfunding. The film is written and directed by Asuka Hachimaru, with Shigehiro Yamaguchi playing the father. Daiju Ishikawa, founder and organizer of Hebocon, is involved in supervising the film's inventions and building large-scale props. Even the film's title lettering was created using cardboard and a toilet-paper tube. In this story, inventions that serve no practical purpose may help bring a family back together. Even the title lettering is made with improvised tools.Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:11:41 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/npkiclt0/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/npkiclt0/A 12-foot (about 3.7-meter) Halloween skeleton has been transformed into an enormous Chia Pet, with chia seeds growing across its frame. It scales up the idea of a small novelty planter into a towering garden decoration. Artist Ali Spagnola made the piece, dealing with structural challenges and adjusting growing conditions so the seeds could germinate across the skeleton. She finished it with decorative lights. A Chia Pet is normally a small planter. This one is a 12-foot skeleton. Watering your novelty toy might now require a ladder.Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:11:41 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/f84xtxhq/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/f84xtxhq/Four old rotary telephones become a reflex game. One rings at random, and the player must pick up the correct handset within one second. Answer the wrong phone or miss the deadline and the game is over. The Tōhō Electronics Club built the game, called 'Nostalgic Rotary Phone Whack-a-Mole.' An Arduino and relays choose which phone rings. The team also built circuitry to generate the 75 V, 16 Hz signal needed to ring the bells and detects when a handset is lifted through a change in resistance. Answering a ringing phone is normally an everyday action. Give it a one-second time limit and four possible receivers, and suddenly it's a reflex sport.Sat, 31 Oct 2026 20:11:41 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/jnd58tl5/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/jnd58tl5/A photograph taken with a heavily modified video doorbell received an Honorable Mention in the Fine Art / Special Effects category at the 2026 Budapest International Foto Awards. Titled *After Monet*, it shows an orange fish drifting through an emerald-green pool. Photographer Kamitaba used the doorbell's 1-megapixel sensor. Colors bleed beyond the edges of objects and outlines soften into a watercolor-like image. The effect came from the camera itself, not post-processing. A camera made to check who's at the door has ended up in a fine-art photography competition. Its technical imperfections became the feature.Fri, 30 Oct 2026 20:23:33 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/jwjuym4s/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/jwjuym4s/Drop an offering into the machine and it rapidly strikes a bell from four directions. The device, called the High-Speed Worldly Desires Removal Machine, automates the 108 bell strikes traditionally associated with New Year's Eve in Japan. Its creator, known as Ningen no Hashikure, rebuilt an earlier version using traditional Japanese temple architecture as a reference. The wooden-looking bell tower is actually assembled from 3D-printed plastic parts without screws, with electrically operated strikers built into the structure. A ritual of 108 bell strikes has been turned into a rapid-fire batch operation. Even New Year's Eve bells can apparently be put on fast-forward.Fri, 30 Oct 2026 20:23:33 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/ehmkaw7n/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/ehmkaw7n/A giant rotating ring displays scrolling text using black and white marbles as pixels. Radial channels around the ring each hold seven marbles to form a vertical column of the display. Once a column has passed, its marbles roll back down to be reused for the next characters. Creator Ivan Miranda built the mechanism with just three motors to rotate the ring, select the marble colors and feed the marbles into the channels. To make text scroll, the pixels themselves have to roll around a giant wheel. The display is doing almost as much moving as the message.Fri, 30 Oct 2026 20:23:33 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/hquzmfgu/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/hquzmfgu/PenBot Mini is a credit-card-sized drawing robot that moves a pen using linked arms. Creator Dorian Todd originally began the project with the goal of building a robot to sign a senior yearbook. Along the way, a toaster-sized version drew more than 50 vector portraits of visitors at a 2025 event. Shrinking the mechanism made even tiny motor inaccuracies visible on paper, so Todd added miniature bearings to its joints and software that calculates and corrects the pen's position. It started with signing a yearbook, detoured through a portrait-drawing robot, and ended up as a pocket-sized precision machine. That's a long route to a signature.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:33:51 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/ko3y8w01/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/ko3y8w01/A lockbox opens when a magnet is moved across its surface in a programmed pattern, with no visible keyhole or keypad. An 8-by-8 array of 64 magnetic sensors tracks the motion; when the gesture matches the stored pattern, a servo releases the latch. Creator Stephen Cass found that the sensor area was only about three centimeters square, making it difficult to trace the gesture reliably. He decorated the box with a Celtic knot pattern and used part of it as a disguised positioning guide. To hide the lock, he made a secret magnetic gesture and then hid the gesture's guide inside decorative knotwork. Opening a box becomes a tiny puzzle.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:33:51 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/hbn6pl0b/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/hbn6pl0b/Auto Perfume Sprayer is a work-in-progress device intended to check a person's odor as they return home. A smell sensor feeds readings to a microcontroller; when the result is classified as 'BAD,' a servo presses a perfume bottle to spray automatically. Makers BULAT IARKIEV and Yadanar Htay describe the project on ProtoPedia as a way to respond to odors that people may not notice themselves, such as after exercise. The project is currently marked as in development. Come home and the doorway silently judges your smell, then responds with perfume. That's a rather opinionated welcome.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:33:51 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/pekgtq08/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/pekgtq08/iDangle is a ceiling-mounted phone holder designed for watching videos while lying down. Flip a switch to bring the holder down, attach a phone magnetically, then remove the phone and send the holder back up when finished. Inventor Matty Benedetto presents it as part of his Unnecessary Inventions collection. To avoid holding a phone in bed, the ceiling now has to do the work. That's a lot of hardware to rest your arms.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:30:07 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/v7bh0tqh/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/v7bh0tqh/A Ford Festiva was split down the middle and rebuilt into a car 10 feet (about 3 meters) wide. New floor and roof sections fill the expanded middle, and the cabin has two steering wheels. The creators at Prop Department obtained a special wide-load permit and filmed both the build and the finished car driving on public roads. They made a small car bigger by stretching it sideways. The cabin got so wide it ended up with two steering wheels.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:30:07 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/cvnjw6vo/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/cvnjw6vo/A mini fridge mounted on tank treads can follow a person or run away from them. Designed for speeds above 15 mph, the robot uses autonomous navigation, human position tracking and behavior switching. Creator Dorian Todd integrated a ROS 2-based control and perception system, working through a series of firmware and sensor-processing problems. A fridge that comes to you is convenient. A fridge that can flee with your drinks is something else.Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:11:16 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/rpm8xx5a/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/rpm8xx5a/A treasure chest project called 'Shimachan and the Whistling Pirates' Treasure' uses the pitch and number of whistles to encode Japanese syllables and enter a personal password. The design pairs the opening of a physical chest with lights and sounds. Its maker, @kuchibuekun3, lists Arduino among the hardware and currently marks the project as in development on ProtoPedia. No key to carry around, but you have to whistle a little tune every time you want to open your treasure chest.Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:11:16 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/8o1oiwoo/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/8o1oiwoo/A maker added a linkage and rubber bands to make a Mini 4WD car jump. The first version held its legs in place with a cable tie, which had to be cut with nippers to release the jump. A second version introduced remote-controlled release and achieved more stable jumps, but increasing the number of rubber bands to 32 dislodged a press-fit axle. Jumping while driving remains a goal for the next version. The shortcut over the track has become a project in figuring out how to jump at all.Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:11:16 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/bfy2tz36/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/bfy2tz36/Maker TPalowski13 built an experimental Bluetooth speaker that squeaks a rubber chicken in time with the bass in music. Audio from salvaged Bluetooth earbuds is analyzed into frequency bands, and low-frequency signals trigger a solenoid to squeeze the toy. A custom 3D-printed holder supports the chicken and actuator. The chicken is not reproducing bass notes; it squeaks along with the beat. Instead of reproducing the bass, it makes a rubber chicken squeak along with it. The rhythm section has acquired poultry.Tue, 27 Oct 2026 03:07:54 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/6hed1vus/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/6hed1vus/Cafe Phin Composer turns drops of Vietnamese coffee into live-generated music. Sensors beneath the glass detect the vibration of each drop and estimate where it landed among seven positions. AI uses the timing and position to choose notes and chords while generating a song in real time. Brewing takes around five to seven minutes, enough for a track to take shape. The coffee selection also influences the musical style, and the changing drop patterns make each performance different. The coffee spends its brewing time composing its own soundtrack. You might want to listen before taking the first sip.Tue, 27 Oct 2026 03:07:54 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/lel90wh3/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/lel90wh3/Angus from Maker's Muse experimented with covering a tiny combat robot in stiff 3D-printed bristles instead of a conventional shell. The robot competes in a plastic antweight class limited to 150 grams. He printed thin strands between the body and a temporary outer support, then removed the support to expose the bristles along the sides and rear. While earlier robots had suffered broken shells, the hairy version appeared to come through combat largely intact. Apparently one way to improve a fighting robot's defenses is to give it more hair. The lion's mane has entered the engineering department.Tue, 27 Oct 2026 03:07:54 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/gk5qdysv/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/gk5qdysv/Maker Tucker Osman built a working Mactini, a miniature computer originally imagined in a parody of Apple's shrinking products. Its only input is a touch-sensitive pad made with conductive 3D-printing filament. Different press lengths and pauses are recognized as patterns that become letters, punctuation, or commands. The device has a small color screen, salvaged speakers, and software that can play music and video as well as accept text. A parody of removing too many buttons has become a real computer. Typing on it sounds like performing a tiny percussion solo.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 03:24:51 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/vfnl0q5j/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/vfnl0q5j/Afterglow is a homemade digital camera that locks its shutter after each photo until the user turns a winding knob. It simulates rolls of 24 exposures, with 12 and 36 also available, and requires rewinding at the end. A red-lit darkroom animation makes each photo appear to develop, while synthetic winding and shutter sounds complete the experience. The photos are actually saved to an SD card and can be transferred to a phone over Wi-Fi. Creator Nickson Kiprotich built it to bring back the ritual of film photography. Digital photography spent decades removing the hassle of film. This camera uses electronics to lovingly put that hassle back.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 03:24:51 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/z19m7czg/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/z19m7czg/A maker created an ASCII-style aquarium for a smart-home display. Fish made from characters swim across the screen, including one that shows a live sensor temperature. Home Assistant can trigger falling food that the fish chase, and users can adjust fish count and swimming speed. A Halloween mode replaces fish with pumpkins, ghosts, and other spooky icons, and a scare effect displays an image and plays a sound. The panel can also show a voice assistant's state. A smart-home dashboard now reports the temperature through a swimming fish—and gives you virtual fish to feed.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 03:24:51 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/n6xjddj2/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/n6xjddj2/The 'Dad Jokes of the Day' template displays a different short joke once a day on an e-paper display. Its collection currently contains 100 jokes, mostly puns and wordplay about everyday life, history, science, mathematics, animals, and more. The creator may add more jokes in the future. A display that refreshes daily just to deliver another dad joke. A wonderfully low-stakes use of e-paper.Sun, 25 Oct 2026 05:34:47 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/l2iwecbj/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/l2iwecbj/To beat a friend who keeps winning at badminton, Jack Saito built a motorized racket that spins rapidly to hit shuttlecocks. A single racket vibrated too violently, so he mounted a second one on the opposite side to balance the mechanism. Powered by an electric-skateboard motor and batteries carried in a backpack, it returned shots on court, but ran out of power before he could win. Instead of practicing his swing, he engineered a spinning pair of rackets and a backpack power supply. The sporting equipment is starting to look like factory machinery.Sun, 25 Oct 2026 05:34:47 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/qf5iz95g/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/qf5iz95g/Zach Hipps built a water-powered dot-matrix printer on the back of a Onewheel electric board. Eight solenoid valves release timed bursts of water to form letters on the pavement as the board moves. After fixing leaks and adjusting nozzle angles, he successfully printed 'KINDNESS.' Faster riding stretched the letters, so he also tuned the valve timing. A machine built to leave graffiti, except it writes kind messages in water. The evidence disappears as soon as the pavement dries.Sun, 25 Oct 2026 05:34:47 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/rkg83afb/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/rkg83afb/Inventor Kazuya Shibata built the Portable Ice Keeper, a freezer designed specifically to transport a single ice cream without melting it. He presents the creation as part of his series of barely useful inventions. To transport one ice cream, the solution is to bring the freezer along for the ride.Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:46:50 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/qtayak5x/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/qtayak5x/Noel Friedrich created a printable worksheet and tutorial for decoding QR codes by hand. Readers copy the black-and-white modules, undo the masking pattern, and convert the data into hexadecimal digits and then text. The guide covers QR versions 1–5 in byte mode, with an estimated decoding time of 10–120 minutes. The 'Quick Response' code becomes a slow, deliberate puzzle when you leave the scanner out of it.Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:46:50 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/tc9sdgnr/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/tc9sdgnr/Carlos Reyes built a functional version of Homer Simpson's electric hammer. The 3D-printed prototype moves the hammer back and forth automatically, after design refinements addressing friction, alignment and strength. A lot of work went into avoiding the work of swinging a hammer.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 03:19:13 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/csdwfu7p/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/csdwfu7p/Unnecessary Inventions created SwingStepper, a robotic swinging arm that holds a smartwatch and moves it to accumulate step counts while the wearer relaxes. The creator presents the working invention on their site. The fitness goal gets closer while its owner stays perfectly still.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 03:19:13 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/da205733/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/da205733/Guy Dupont made Clock That Is Wrong, a digital clock that deliberately shows an incorrect time when its person sensor detects a face. The maker has shared the parts, wiring and CircuitPython code for the project. The moment you try to use this clock, it refuses to tell you the time.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 03:19:13 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/tncrd6jo/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/tncrd6jo/Gopher, a smaller version of the Australian WomBot robot originally developed to explore wombat burrows, has been deployed in eastern Türkiye. It is helping investigate a geological formation that some people believe could be connected to the biblical Noah's Ark. Designed by La Trobe University's Robert Ross, the remotely controlled robot carries waterproof wide-angle cameras at both ends and environmental sensors. It can collect information from inaccessible spaces as far as 25 meters below the surface. The site's proposed connection to Noah's Ark remains disputed; no ark has been confirmed. A robot built for wombat burrows has been reassigned to a biblical mystery. Quite a career change.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 04:47:12 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/srqj90j5/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/srqj90j5/FilaLoom adds a yarn-placement toolhead alongside a conventional plastic-extrusion head. It can place yarn at selected points during a print, producing mesh-like structures and three-dimensional textile-like shapes that combine thread and plastic. Developed by Joram de Haas, the system lays down the thread automatically by switching toolheads rather than requiring someone to insert it by hand. Give a 3D printer some yarn, and suddenly it starts looking like a loom.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 04:47:12 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/3hw36q1i/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/3hw36q1i/A glove-controlled tracked robot responds to a raised middle finger by raising its own mechanical finger. The maker says the build uses two Arduino Nano boards, a motion sensor in the glove, four drive motors and a servo for the finger. The project was shared in a maker's Reddit post. A remote-controlled robot with a very specific talent: outsourcing your rude gestures.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:59:54 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/o8uf6zb7/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/o8uf6zb7/A hand-cranked pencil sharpener moves a blade back and forth along curved tracks while advancing and rotating the pencil in small steps. Chronova Engineering devised an intermittent gear mechanism to make the pencil turn while producing a concave tip. The mechanism works, but sharpening is slow and labor-intensive rather than practical. Two elaborate motions, one tiny pencil tip. Ordinary sharpeners suddenly seem remarkably efficient.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:59:54 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/nvvxwgfu/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/nvvxwgfu/OATs is a small add-on device that gives everyday objects expressive characters based on sensor readings. On the researchers' project page, an office refrigerator gets bored when unused, while a space heater becomes frustrated when it heats an empty or overly warm room. Users describe the object and select sensors such as temperature, motion and light to set up its character and behaviors. The project comes from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. Smart devices were supposed to make life easier. Now we may need to keep the refrigerator entertained.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:59:54 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/xbwr18ba/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/xbwr18ba/bbScope adds a rotating side-view attachment to a digital microscope, allowing inspection of solder joints from all around without moving the object. Creator RealCorebb uses a mirror, prism and concave lens to redirect light into the microscope. Magnets hold the rotating attachment in place. The object stays still while the viewpoint goes around it.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 03:24:12 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/kxi8tgnf/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/kxi8tgnf/Greenhill Forge built a cooling system powered mainly by fire. Water in a low-pressure chamber boils at a low temperature and absorbs heat as it evaporates. Circulating salt water captures the vapor. The setup still uses some electricity for pumps and fans. In an initial test with ambient air around 16°C, the cooled section reached roughly 5°C. Burning a fire to make something colder sounds backward. Salt water does most of the work while electricity takes a supporting role.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 03:24:12 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/kgm8yfny/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/kgm8yfny/Knock on the Mini Monster Box and a little monster peeks out. The lid opens and closes at random speeds and stays open for varying lengths of time. Electronics maker Øyvind Nydal Dahl built it for his young daughter. A microphone detects the knock, while an Arduino and servo motor move the lid. The same knock gets a different response. A little randomness gives a box a personality.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 03:24:12 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/dh20xeed/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/dh20xeed/Brick Trials built a LEGO Technic machine that uses one motor to rotate paper and swing a pen. Different gear speeds shift each stroke into a flower pattern without any programmed drawing path. The maker shared a build-and-demo video. No code tells the pen what to draw. The gears themselves become the artist.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 03:24:12 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/r7w0v1rf/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/r7w0v1rf/This homebuilt drone flies using a single propeller mounted above a finned body, rather than the multiple rotors commonly seen on small drones. Its maker, jyjblrd, has published modified flight-controller and motor-controller firmware, along with 3D design files for the body and propeller parts, on GitHub. Most small drones spread the work across several rotors. This design gives the job to just one—and moves the engineering challenge somewhere else.Mon, 19 Oct 2026 02:59:18 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/q40uxz9p/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/q40uxz9p/This Fish Does Not Exist is a framed e-paper display that creates textbook-style pages about imaginary fish. Software generates each fish's appearance, while an on-device AI model invents its scientific description. Every few minutes a new specimen appears, drawn stroke by stroke, with its description revealed gradually. Maker Jim Bruges built it around an Arduino UNO Q and a 7.5-inch e-paper panel. Gemma 3 1B runs locally, so after setup the device can keep producing its fictional field guide without cloud services. Instead of waiting for scientists to discover a new species, the frame simply invents one. The field guide never runs out of fish.Mon, 19 Oct 2026 02:59:18 GMThttps://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/491kf5y0/https://funnytronics.hebocon.org/en/n/491kf5y0/Maker PETCraft tested how many discarded plastic bottles it takes to produce one kilogram of 3D-printing filament: thirteen 5-liter bottles, one 10-liter bottle, two 8-liter bottles and one 1.5-liter bottle, or 17 in total. The bottles were heat-smoothed, cut into strips with a homemade cutter, then drawn through a heated nozzle and wound into filament. Printing with the result is a future step. Recycling one kilogram of filament required collecting and processing 17 enormous bottles. Saving material turned into a surprisingly large manufacturing project.Sun, 18 Oct 2026 08:39:27 GMT