The Antikythera Mechanism. In Lego.

Back in July,  Andrew Carol built a replica of the Antikythera Mechanism out of Lego. Now we get to see how it all came together thanks to this beautiful short by Small Mammal films. Wow!

More from New Scientist:

It’s the oldest known computer, a relic dating back 2000 years and rediscovered at the bottom of the ocean. Now designer Andrew Carol has brought it back to life – using Lego.

That’s not to say this project was child’s play – making the device was an engineering feat that required specialist Lego, and a lot of patience (see stop motion video above).

The idea came from journalist Adam Rutherford who had seen a Babbage Difference Engine built by Carol and got in touch. “I asked him if he’d heard of the mechanism, and if he thought it was doable in Lego,” says Rutherford. “A few weeks later, he sent me some pictures of a demo version he’d knocked up. It was stunning.”

I should really go through those three suitcases full of Technics pieces I have in my closet.

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Join 35,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Follow Adafruit on Instagram for top secret new products, behinds the scenes and more https://www.instagram.com/adafruit/

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org

Maker Business — Challenges in trade between China and U.S. highlighted by forced labor bill

Wearables — Zip it, zip it good

Electronics — When to opt for alkaline batteries

Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Arduino 2.0, Podcasts and much more! #CircuitPython @micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

Adafruit IoT Monthly — BBQ Smoker, Emoji Telegraph, and more!

Microsoft MakeCode — MakeCode Thank You!

EYE on NPI — Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — New Products 9/21/2022 Featuring Adafruit ENS160 MOX Gas Sensor – Sciosense CCS811 Upgrade – STEMMA QT / Qwiic

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !

3 Comments

  1. zuul
    December 9, 2010 at 6:09 pm

    cool video

  2. Tim
    December 9, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    I’m more impressed with the video itself! It looks like stop-motion (!!) but is it CG?

  3. Damion
    December 10, 2010 at 5:25 am

    Tim, it was stop motion.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Filed under: random — by johngineer

Comments (3)