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[Diz]

Just saw this on an educational toys site. I like the one that rides the rail. The walking one looks familiar but I can't remember where I've seen that done before.

[Texture]

That is very cool.   

[Jeremy McCreary]

I want one!

[Renee]

$25 at Target
https://www.target.com/p/A-82002834

[Texture]

$25 at Target
https://www.target.com/p/A-82002834

Huh it says product not available.... 

Even though below it says get “top” deals and more. 

[ta0]

Well, that went out of stock fast. A search on Target found a similar product:



This is an update to the Gyrobot we had already discussed.

A search on youtube for Gyrobot listed as one of the first hits this video for my R.O.B., closing on 200k views :

[Jeremy McCreary]

Not sure what the video's R.O.B. robotic arm is up to here, but very impressed with its precision. That kind of control is hard to pull off — especially in a toy.

Are the tops ever allowed to spin freely, just on their tips?

[ta0]

Are the tops ever allowed to spin freely, just on their tips?

I guess you haven't watched the whole video. At 2:40 both tops are spinning freely, what was the whole point of making the video (all levels of the game can be achieved by just having one top spinning freely, but in this last 40th level it was not obvious).
When the tops spin freely on the little platforms, they push down on a the red or blue buttons of a controller. This makes the respective columns of the game move down. With the other controller you are giving the commands to ROB, but not directly: he sees the commands encoded in the light from the CRT TV!    More on this thread: Gyromite Top Level (automata spinning tops)

[Jeremy McCreary]

...he sees the commands encoded in the light from the CRT TV!

I fear that we're all getting commands that way. And who's behind it? The unicorns! (Not as goody two-shoes as they make out to be.)

[ta0]

When I posted above about the the Tightrope-Walking Gyrobot, I didn't realize that it had an real walking action. Here Tim demonstrates it and it's quite nice:



It appears to use the precession movement to do the walking.

[Jeremy McCreary]

Very cool spintoy. Like the way they used LEGO-like modular construction to pack many different modes of play into one box.

[Iacopo]

Ingenious toy.  There is always something to learn.

[Bill Wells]

The tightrope walking is cool.
Needs a battery driven motor, though.

[Jeremy McCreary]

Well, technically a wire roller...



Take a moment to look over this builder's YouTube channel -- if nothing else, the shorts. Many fascinating gizmos and kinetic art pieces -- all outside the box and most quite unique.

[Pepe]

Im loving every toy!!!

Hey Jeremy... Did you know ninja lego spintops? (sure you did)

[Jeremy McCreary]

Hey Jeremy... Did you know ninja lego spintops? (sure you did)

Thanks for sharing! Familiar with older Ninjago spintoy sets but not this one. And I really want some of the new parts I'm seeing here -- especially that hollow orange cone serving as rotor.

The video below starts with a top made from the taller, narrower hollow cones released several years ago. With smaller-radius ball tips, these can make fun 45-second finger tops with little wobble and interesting spin-down behaviors.



The new shorter, wider cone should lead to longer spin times via lower center of mass and larger axial moment of inertia.

[Jeremy McCreary]

Well, technically a wire roller...

Follow-up video showing this rolling LEGO gyro in more detail. Can't wait to experiment with this mechanism when my LEGO workshop is once again operational.



No accident that he chose to stack those big yellow rings, as they have the largest AMI per unit mass available in the LEGO realm. Here they are again with the lightest, lowest-drag suspension I could muster: