Free Republic

Physicists have solved a key problem of robotic locomotion by revising the usual rules of interaction between simple component parts. In cycling through a sequence of shapes, an odd wheel propels itself up steep and bumpy terrain. In a physics lab in Amsterdam, there’s a wheel that can spontaneously roll uphill by wiggling. This “odd wheel” looks simple: just six small motors linked together by plastic arms and rubber bands to form a ring about 6 inches in diameter. When the motors are powered on, it starts writhing, executing complicated squashing and stretching motions and occasionally flinging itself into the...

Doomba is basically just a plug-in for Whitehouse’s own (far more useful) Noesis tool, which is used to convert between different model, image, and animation formats — for example, if you’re a game designer who needs to convert a model from one platform to another without redesigning things from scratch. Except in this case, it’s taking the image data from a Roomba and converting it (and by extension, the living room that the map is based on) into one of the unholy caverns of hell for you to slaughter endless demonic hordes in. And while the tool is meant for...