turret

Portal turret comes alive in robot project

Portal found a way of taking automated gun turrets and turning them into something adorable. That's why we were super excited when we saw that someone had built a working one in real life.

As a final project for his graduate mechatronics class, a robotics student at Pennsylvania State University has built a fully functioning turret that talks, tracks movement with a laser-guided system, and fires foam bullets at its target.

The turret sees the world via a Webcam, controlled via a script written in MATLAB. Most importantly, it sings out all of the adorable phrases we've come to enjoy hearing while we're being shot at in a test chamber. … Read more

Fan's Portal turret replica gets smoke, laser

The picture you see here is a life-size replica of the Portal turret made by a fan. Not only is the model impressive in its likeness with the video game character, but maker Ryan Palser also shot some impressive photos of the final product complete with smoke and a laser. Furthermore, using a motion sensor, the turret plays a preloaded audio track when someone comes near. Click here to get a sense of what sounds the Portal turret makes.

In his description, Palser concedes that the turrets in the latest installment of the game, Portal 2, have been significantly redesigned, so he designated this model Version 1.0. That takes nothing away from the beauty of this project, and we can't wait to see if he will be building the newer turret. More images of the replica after the jump. … Read more

3D planetary tower defense

Star Defense is a noteworthy addition to the crowded field of tower-defense games on the iPhone and iPod Touch. In addition to tight game design and lavish effects (both audio and visual), Star Defense introduces a substantial twist to the genre: a 3D space environment, in which you fight the insectoid S'rath on small planets that you can quickly twist, rotate, and zoom in and out on.

Waves of S'rath march toward your fragile colonist base on a set path through trenches on the game's seven different planets. You can choose between five different types of defense … Read more

The 404 163: Where Wilson eats scorpions, bears, and sharks, oh my!

On today's show: The honorable Clayton Morris joins us for a hilarious high energy show. We recap our Fox News appearance that never came to be, answer the questions you're too afraid to ask your Doctor, relive this decade's greatest meeting of the minds, and quiver in fear over Boeing's newest air-to-ground laser turret.

Clayton Morris, ladies and gentlemen! That's right, The 404's all-time favorite guest steps into the studio this morning and helps us out of our Olympic rut. That's right, you'll be happy to hear that there's absolutely no … Read more

The art of (paintball) war

Some paintballers choose brute force to slather their opponents into submission, but that just doesn't seem very sporting. Something like the laser-sighted "Airsoft Submachine Gun" at least tests one's shooting skills, but even that still seems a bit primitive. Why, after all, should you make yourself a target at all?

The true guerrilla pigment warrior would opt for something like the "EMT Wireless Paintball Sentry Turret," a remote-controlled weapon that can rain 400 pellets at a time on your opponent as you observe the mayhem from a safe distance, sipping your tea. The turret … Read more