Laser Harp in Robotics contest.

Today I just found out this interesting thing, it is a Frameless Laser Harp, sounds interesting right. Anyways hers is some information relating about it. This Laser Harp happens to be at second place in Trossen Robotics Community's contest in a hot field that included a Seeing Eye robot, which can help the visually impaired people and a self-balancing motor board, which is similar to the iSlide, the most popular among the readers in recent Gizmag article.

Grand prize for the contest taken by Phoenix, a robot having six legs. The most interesting thing about this robot is its way of motion, which is some of the most convincing and eerily lifelike that we have seen in a robot that uses standard hobby servos and a common off-the-shelf servo controller. The kinematics for the robot are computed by a programmed spreadsheet. Oh, many numbers in there, good for trigonometry fans.

Now the question is, How a Laser Harp got eligible for a robotic contest. Well it is, because the Laser Harp does not actually make the sounds, it triggers the notes, which are produced on a MIDI.

Khet 2 (new level of gaming)

I’m a big fan of Khet AKA the old Deflexion. The idea of reflecting lasers around a board game just seems cool to my geeky nature. This latest expansion pack takes the game to a whole new level, the Khet 3D Tower.

Khet now has a mezzanine level for even more zaptastic possibilities. When the laser is fired, it either stops on the edge of the board or zaps the non-reflective surface of a playing piece. If this happens, the piece is ‘destroyed’ and removed from play. Eliminate your opponent’s Pharaoh by successfully plotting the laser’s route and you win.

I reckon the 3D Tower will make an excellent game that little bit more challenging. Unfortunately the expansion pack is not available until 2008.

You can buy Khet from Amazon for $44.95 or Firebox for $34.95(which is where I found out about the 3D Tower Pack).