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Did someone say SRL? http://www.srl.org/
I figured they might have something to do with this.

fking link
http://www.srl.org/index.html
this should work unless there have been more code improvements to slashcode.

Survival Research Laboratories, or S.R.L., have been operating for a couple decades on little more than obtainium.
These Robo-Geeks have been part of the Robotics, Research, Art scene worldwide, providing demonstrations for the public wherever they are allowed to. This takes money, which they don't usually have. In order to keep them out of jail, won't you please fund them so as to keep them from a life of crime? They really aren't above it and SRL should continue for the sake of humanity. http://srl.org/

O.K. then, I'll pick the ball back up and run by pointing out PRIOR ART. http://srl.org/machines/oldmachines/rabotrecent.jpg The folks over at Survival Research Laboratories added dead animals to machines for entertainment decades ago. http://srl.org/machines.html shows us some of their robotic triumphs. But before you write it off as geek driven entertainment, check out their R&D. http://www.srl.org/lab.html . Really deserves a story of it's own on /. as these are definitely Supergeeks deluxe with a rich history. http://www.srl.org/

O.K. then, I'll pick the ball back up and run by pointing out PRIOR ART. http://srl.org/machines/oldmachines/rabotrecent.jpg The folks over at Survival Research Laboratories added dead animals to machines for entertainment decades ago. http://srl.org/machines.html shows us some of their robotic triumphs. But before you write it off as geek driven entertainment, check out their R&D. http://www.srl.org/lab.html . Really deserves a story of it's own on /. as these are definitely Supergeeks deluxe with a rich history. http://www.srl.org/

O.K. then, I'll pick the ball back up and run by pointing out PRIOR ART. http://srl.org/machines/oldmachines/rabotrecent.jpg The folks over at Survival Research Laboratories added dead animals to machines for entertainment decades ago. http://srl.org/machines.html shows us some of their robotic triumphs. But before you write it off as geek driven entertainment, check out their R&D. http://www.srl.org/lab.html . Really deserves a story of it's own on /. as these are definitely Supergeeks deluxe with a rich history. http://www.srl.org/

O.K. then, I'll pick the ball back up and run by pointing out PRIOR ART. http://srl.org/machines/oldmachines/rabotrecent.jpg The folks over at Survival Research Laboratories added dead animals to machines for entertainment decades ago. http://srl.org/machines.html shows us some of their robotic triumphs. But before you write it off as geek driven entertainment, check out their R&D. http://www.srl.org/lab.html . Really deserves a story of it's own on /. as these are definitely Supergeeks deluxe with a rich history. http://www.srl.org/

Here's video of a similar device: SRL: Weird Weapons of WWII from History Channel's Weird Weapons of WWII featuring Survival Research Laboratories' (SRL's) demonstrating the "shockwave cannon.' "

Which is why these things would be perfect for a rock concert. Set a few throughout the crowd and time them to the bass drum. Hardcore!

Sounds like one of Survival Research Labs' show! The Shockwave cannon could be used for percussion, and the V1 for a glorious droning bassline. WANT!

Which is why these things would be perfect for a rock concert. Set a few throughout the crowd and time them to the bass drum. Hardcore!

Sounds like one of Survival Research Labs' show! The Shockwave cannon could be used for percussion, and the V1 for a glorious droning bassline. WANT!

Which is why these things would be perfect for a rock concert. Set a few throughout the crowd and time them to the bass drum. Hardcore!

Sounds like one of Survival Research Labs' show! The Shockwave cannon could be used for percussion, and the V1 for a glorious droning bassline. WANT!

It's just you. On Slashdot, we call that "pretty fuckin' cool", on Makezine.com, they call it "neat, but don't try this at home", and at Survival Research Labs, they call it "another Thursday at work".

That probably refers to her membership in Survival Research Labs, integrating animal corpses with gears and stuff.

Anyone working with Survival Research Labs is OK in my book.

/. likes robots? I can't tell! I've submitted stories from SRL off and on for years.No results. If you like robots try Suicide bots.
Here are robots with character and personality.
ok, ok, I'm a little grouchy,I'll get over it.

Pah! I'll see your animatronic mice and raise you Survival Research Laboratories!

I'm not sure there really are "careers in robotics".

Depends. Are you good at bending things?

Then there are these folks, but I don't think they pay anything.

Unfortunately, there are plenty such laws. Sometimes the planets come together, and the fire department cooperates with the landowner, the permits get signed, and the audience gets to show up and sign waivers before being admitted.

Three words for ya:

Survival Research Laboratories.

There was almost a show in Vegas a couple of years ago, but it fell apart at the last minute. (Pity - Vegas is the perfect venue for it; easy air travel in, lots of nearby desert). There may be a show in San Francisco next month.

SRL can best be summarized by saying that when they did a show in the Balkans a few years ago, the local military showed up... because they thought the war had started up again.

hmmm....
I was with you at first read,but upon reflecting a few seconds,I discovered not only have I exhibited "folly" art,but some of my favorite art is nonstandard.For example Raymond Pettibon http://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/16/available_w orks.htm,creator of album covers for Black Flag,Sonic Youth and other artists would "art bomb" the city with xerox copies of his disturbed thought provoking art.Bus stops,grocery stores,waiting rooms you would find his art randomly placed for random people to find.Drive by shooting philosopy applied to an art show.
How about Survival Research Laboratories ? http://srl.org/ not the sort of stuff grandma could hang on a wall.Actually kinda peeves me that they never get a story on /.
as for computer generated art?!
^__^ |T
==^== ^ \\
\ \/ \//
/ / / \ \
/ // / // //
bad ascii art still rules.LOL
I think it's still a product of the programmer and/or those on the workstation.
Art is defined by its limitations.computer programs are definitly limited yet extensible as are imaginations.otherwise would it be art? Notsomuch as endless random choice,I think?
What do you think?

Try Survival Research Laboratories if you want wanton mayhem - long before robot wars or battlebots, they were in the robotic mayhem business. My favorite is "A bitter message of hopeless grief" (sounds like a Morrissey song...)

This is a little OT, but I still think it's relevant; I was reminded of it by your last statement. If you aren't familiar with SRL, you should really check them out. From the telerobotics section:

"In keeping with SRL's mission of re-directing the techniques, tools, and tenets of industry, science, and the military away from their typical manifestations, several experiments were performed resulting in SRL being the first civilians to use free software and the Internet to provide remote, anonymous controllers for lethal devices over the web."

Even if it's not your cup of tea as far as "art" goes, it's hard to deny that they've done some amazingly complex and technologically sophisticated things. I don't know; there's just something about putting that much effort into something so...non-functional that serves to showcase the technology itself moreso than it's purpose (or even to make a point about its "purpose"), which I think is a good thing. I'm not denying there's useful things that should be done with technology. I just think it's great that it can be balanced out by making giant robots that eat dead animal carcasses.

This is a little OT, but I still think it's relevant; I was reminded of it by your last statement. If you aren't familiar with SRL, you should really check them out. From the telerobotics section:

"In keeping with SRL's mission of re-directing the techniques, tools, and tenets of industry, science, and the military away from their typical manifestations, several experiments were performed resulting in SRL being the first civilians to use free software and the Internet to provide remote, anonymous controllers for lethal devices over the web."

Even if it's not your cup of tea as far as "art" goes, it's hard to deny that they've done some amazingly complex and technologically sophisticated things. I don't know; there's just something about putting that much effort into something so...non-functional that serves to showcase the technology itself moreso than it's purpose (or even to make a point about its "purpose"), which I think is a good thing. I'm not denying there's useful things that should be done with technology. I just think it's great that it can be balanced out by making giant robots that eat dead animal carcasses.

You mean something like Survival Research Labs' Pitching Machine?

This thing shoots 6' long 2x4's at over 120mph using the same concept... Except using tires and a 500 cubic inch engine. :D

You mean something like Survival Research Labs' Pitching Machine?

This thing shoots 6' long 2x4's at over 120mph using the same concept... Except using tires and a 500 cubic inch engine. :D

The Survival Research Labratories developed a pitching machine which pitches 2x4's at 200 mph at a target up to 800 feet away.

An engine, two car wheels and a loading mechanism. You could use a similar mechanism for your CD 'tosser'.

But please, always remember to wear your safety goggles. And safety gloves. And a safety shirt...

The Survival Research Labratories developed a pitching machine which pitches 2x4's at 200 mph at a target up to 800 feet away.

An engine, two car wheels and a loading mechanism. You could use a similar mechanism for your CD 'tosser'.

But please, always remember to wear your safety goggles. And safety gloves. And a safety shirt...

Slashdot leaves stuff out,not you. Survival Research labs has been all over this for some time now http://www.srl.org/machines/flamehurricane/ I wish slashdot would feature SRL.I've sent in stories over time but still no feature.oh well all who click above can discover SRL.

I couldn't resist clicking on that link.
Unfortunately, it was a hoax, and not what I thought :(

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Dude! This thing is AWESOME! The Am'rcan mil's very own version of SRL!!!

First off, let me just say that this is a very nice, and interesting use of technology. It's great to think that a bright five year old might see this lumbering heap o' tech and become inspired to think "how in the hell did they do that???" And ask his (or her) Dad, who fuels his curiosity and feeds him math and science until he can begin to make real decisions on where he want's to take his (or her) life based on a solid foundation of curiosity, intellectual stimulation and a self-motivated desire to learn.

Okay, now that the message from the "responsible adult" side of me (who never had the benefit of any of those things I mentioned -- but that shit is for my therapist, not for you trollish 'holes ;) let me just have my inner kid say how freakin' cool I think this thing is.

But this stuff is old hat to Mark Pauline. In 1978, he "hijacked" (according to his description) a local gas station by (without permission) setting up an assembly line of chomping devices and (this was during an OPEC oil crunch) proceed to skewer, slice and dice a number of dead pigeons that he dressed up as "little arabs". When accosted by the employees, he tipped them to shut them up! His shows have grown and grown since that time and become more and more demented. His machines became larger, more imposing and insideous. He started attaching rocket launchers, flame throwers and grenade launchers and (yes folks) SOUND CANNONS that could blow apart large objects. He started re-animating the corpses of dead animals such as...horses! Basically, Survival Research Labs (as it's known) is what happens when an engineer (who comes from a broken home) wants to live as a gypsey for a little while and wreak a bit of havok along the way. by all accounts...these guys are...disturbed!

And absolutely fucking brilliant! They were wayyy ahead of the curve by letting some of their machines (as early as 1997, I spoke to Pauline about this as early as 1995 and he told me about this) be controlled over the internet. I highly encourage anyonw reading this to check them out and contribute your talents (if you have any and are local to them) in any way you can contribute.

I have never personally been lucky to see an SRL show. They were a very early indication/example of the "industrial culture". But I hope to see either one of theirs, or one of the things in the article, before I shuffle off this mortal coil! These guys are worth a slashdotting in their OWN damn right!

Most of us?

I'm not saying I wouldn't like to be capable of self-defibrilating, then glom some infrared and UV sensors onto the back of my retina, replace half my bones with titanium, and attach a set of rippin' electroactive polymer-based replacement muscles and become the star attraction at a Survival Research Labs show, but it's gonna be a while.

Umm... I suppose my digital wristwatch counts.

Mark Pauline of Survival Research Labs, this is destiny calling. I have 580 tonnes of pure, sweet robotic mayhem on hold for you on line two.

On a vaguely related note: SRL V1

Terminator 5: Skynet Triumphant

The education of Stryker, an 18-ton military monster truck, begins in the warehouse lab of General Dynamics in Westminster, Md

There, Stryker, one of the U.S. Army's newest infantry vehicles, is fitted with a "ladar" scanner, the equivalent of a mounted pair of eyes that see by emitting 400,000 laser and radar beams and snap 120 camera images every second. Its brain -- a 40-pound computer system tucked inside its body -- processes that data, and makes instant judgments on how to act and where to go.

Where can I get one. I don't care what it costs, I want one.

As someone whose productivity is always enhanced by thinking about giant robots, I need one of these to help me work smarter, especially after those bastards in Las Vegas cancelled the SRL show.

I shall never get a grip on my total fixation on robots!

If you're interested in stereoscopes, you'll probably like this:
motion stereoscope art.

It's pretty cool stuff. I vaguely remember Naimark shooting a bunch of stereoscopic 16mm of a Survival Research Labs show in San Francisco, but I never saw the resulting footage.

I've never heard of the show until today, but it sounds cool. I'm especially interesting in the tree cannon, since my roommate made a sort of tree missile using six or seven sticks of dynamite and a ~60 ft doug fir (ahh...to be young and stupid in rural Montana), and I've heard of Survival Research Lab's Pitching Machine which chucks 6 ft long 2x4's up to 800 feet, but a tree cannon sounds like something different. Unfortunately a brief googling didn't seem to turn up anything.

Survival Research Labortories are a group of guys in the Bay Area that design and build crazy ass robots that destroy each other and other objects, like cars or perhaps buildings. These aren't battlebots.

My favorite is the Pitching Machine. It's a like a machine gun for 2x4's (the 8 foot long pieces of wood your house is made out of). It's powered by a 500hp Eldorado engine and it can drive around on it's own. It's contolled remotely like a R/C airplane. It can carry about 40 2x4's and fire them about 2 a sec.

Mark Pauline of Survival Research Labs has built several pulse-jets. They are frighteningly load. But his hovercraft runs off of them.

If you go to his website you can watch him throw shit into the intake. Magnesium chips. FLASH!

Fun.
Survival Research Labs

Yes, the V1 was a pulse jet. Also, if you ever saw ads for a jet powered helicopter in the back of Popular Mechanics magazine years ago, I think those were pulse jets too.

Mark Pauline of SRL built one of these & set it off in San Francisco's Mission district as a fiery noisemaker. Video here:
SRL Pulse Jet Demo
Now that's art!

Basically you're igniting the fuel air mixture in front of a set of one-way shutters that are closed by the detonating mixture. After the mixture detonates, there is a consequent vacuum created that sucks more air through the shutters to mix with the incoming fuel. Repeat very rapidly. Similar principle as the old pop-pop boat child's toy

You don't see them much because the noise is awful and the stresses on the materials are very high.

Survival Research Labs does shows of large robots bashing each other up, with fire, much crashing and bending of metal, etc. They did a show near my office back in the boom (rented a parking lot under the freeway). One of their destructive robots had a MS Barney on top. I don't know if he was animated or just duct-taped on, but he was both a Hood Ornament of Evil and a good target for the other robots.

Survival Research Labs has made whistles out of old rocket motors and cast concrete.

Not quite the same thing, but a similar idea.

I've never heard anyone here discuss SURVIVAL RESEARCH LABS.
I've seen fuzzy robots in their videos.Of course
it was usually a robot clothed in a dead rotting animal carcass.
SRL was probably the great grandfather precursor to battlebots(which I've always found to be waaaay wimpy compared to SRL)
The difference being many of SRLs robots are industrial size,insanely dangerous and operate under much less stringent rules of conduct than battlebots.
Mark Pauline the founder is a fantastic gearhead-artist-geek.Check out the SRL site at http://www.srl.org/

interaccess in Toronto is an amazing gallery.
The Seemen and SRL in San Francisco will blow your ass up.
xraylab in Seattle/Chicago/New York does some great interactive work.
Norm White has been kicking art/tech ass for since before you were born.
David Rokeby's work is totally amazing too.

Beige Programming Ensemble in Chicago/St. Louis/New York can make your Atari/C64 do backflips.

and for some amazing reading... Stephen Wilsons information arts book has no comparison.
rhizome.org is a pretty good site for all things art/tech (esp. web art)

And for validation by the mainstream art world check out the whitney's artport.

interaccess in Toronto is an amazing gallery.

The Seemen and SRL in San Francisco will blow your ass up.

xraylab in Seattle/Chicago/New York does some great interactive work.

Norm White has been kicking art/tech ass for since before you were born.

David Rokeby's work is totally amazing too.

Beige Programming Ensemble in Chicago/St. Louis/New York can make your Atari/C64 do backflips.

And for some amazing reading... Stephen Wilsons information arts book has no comparison.

rhizome.org is a pretty good site for all things art/tech (esp. web art)

And for validation by the mainstream art world check out the whitney's artport.