Balance from Within

August 25, 2013 8:29 PM

Balance from Within is a robotic, self-balancing sofa by artist Jacob Tonski. (via @golan)
posted by gwint (16 comments total)

So how am I going to watch my anime on it?
posted by happyroach at 8:38 PM on August 25, 2013

Ok, so I watched the video and it is pretty sweet. I think it would have been cooler if he ran the power cable down through the leg and then under the parquet flooring. The thick cable and computer box there just seem incongruous in such a beautiful space with and antique sofa...or maybe that's the point?
posted by Literaryhero at 8:40 PM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]

How much do I love artists? "I made a way for a 170-year-old sofa to precariously stay on one foot." Of course you did, and I love, love, LOVE you for it, you crazy artist.
posted by xingcat at 8:40 PM on August 25, 2013 [9 favorites]

What a weird, neat little project. My favorite part is how he designed the sofa to handle falls--it shatters into predesigned pieces that he can easily put back together again. It reminds me of how people in certain sports are taught to fall "correctly", so as to minimize the injury that is inherent in learning how to perform in it.
posted by rhythm and booze at 8:48 PM on August 25, 2013 [2 favorites]

Really like it. Wish I had more to say
posted by jcruelty at 9:32 PM on August 25, 2013 [2 favorites]

Up next: a couch that can do couchto5k by itself.
posted by rmless at 10:12 PM on August 25, 2013 [4 favorites]

This, in case you were wondering, is what Dean Kamen meant when he said the Segway would change the world.
posted by otherthings_ at 10:13 PM on August 25, 2013 [2 favorites]

I'm afraid the Segway leaves me expecting more out of automated balancing acts. I excepted the sofa to _spin_.
posted by Goofyy at 11:13 PM on August 25, 2013

As in movies, voiceovers are usually added at a producer's insistence.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 12:45 AM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

That was great until he started talking.

Then, once he was done with the artist's statement part, it got great again.
posted by Mizu at 1:03 AM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

I really like his balance study pieces, which might not be safe for those with motion sickness.
posted by jonbro at 2:18 AM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

Call me back when it can maintain its balance while someone sits in the cradle of the seat/arm, then I'm buying one.
posted by memebake at 5:22 AM on August 26, 2013

That whole "scatter into pieces in order to prevent damage" thing is a lost art in cell phones. My dumb phone has survived many drops (and eventually excited tosses: "check out what happens when I throw my phone at the floor!"). It flies into about 6 pieces and I put them back together and nothing is broken. Smart phones are so solid that they shatter and crack.

The voice over on this video makes me wonder, are the blubbering breakdowns some people exhibit when things go badly the intentional shattering that prevents real damage?
posted by idiopath at 6:17 AM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

It seems strange that "reaction wheels" went straight to the esoteric task of stabilizing spacecraft while bypassing more everyday applications. Sofas apart, however somebody must have thought of using one for a self driving bicycle. Oh - they have!
posted by rongorongo at 6:23 AM on August 26, 2013

rongo rongo- there's also self-balancing unicycle, but I think it requires a rider.
posted by nat at 7:06 AM on August 26, 2013

Here's an autonomous self balancing bike that actually moves forwards - its a lego one however. But there is one which us full sized built by some Thai students. Whether it is bikes or sofas I suspect there is a layer of fiendish programming logic - and another of tedious trial and error - that deserves appreciation.

nat: I see Adam Savage of Mythbusters tried out one of the self balancing unicycles.
posted by rongorongo at 8:14 AM on August 26, 2013