Melvin the Traveling Mini Machine is two suitcases filled with a wonderfully detailed Rube Goldberg Machine, all to put a stamp on a postcard.
Besides doing what Rube Goldbergs do best – performing a simple task as inefficiently as possible, often in the form of a chain reaction – Melvin has an online identity as well, which he uses to connect to and interact with his audience. Melvin the Mini Machine uses a smartphone and bespoke code and software to determine its location, write messages and recognize the people around him…
Once a picture is uploaded after it’s been processed, the data and the picture are published to Facebook and Twitter… Melvin’s travels page runs the Google Maps API with a custom layout… In short, this new Melvin is a Rube Goldberg machine specifically built to travel the world… Information on how the new Melvin works, its different parts and how to contact us can be found here.
My guess is that after it’s traveled for a while, we’ll have a whole map of photos taken by the machine that show happy audiences watching Melvin as intensely as this.
via This Is Colossal.
This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.
Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.