Camera Chase Vehicle

7/17/2026 at 12:05:56 PM

Every point of friction, every struggle documented in minute detail, on a long and bumpy path to some kind of result. The stakes are zero, the whole project an act of pure expression. It is like a kind of oasis in a desert of articles about new ML models. I don't mind that HN is all about new models all the time now, but content like this being on the front page is soothing.

by alex-moon

7/17/2026 at 6:17:47 PM

I am framing this comment and putting it on my desk

by transistor-man

7/18/2026 at 4:18:00 PM

It's always a nice feeling seeing something done just because it's neat and fun.

by Saris

7/17/2026 at 7:42:44 PM

[dead]

by jcs

7/17/2026 at 4:57:08 PM

What a throwback. I remember reading this guy's build of the "Flying Nimbus" [1]--an early version of the Onewheel--back in 2015. In fact, the Flying Nimbus and the Onewheel were both released in 2014, but it appears they were produced independently, once again demonstrating the curious phenomenon of Multiple Discovery [2].

[1] https://transistor-man.com/flying_nimbus.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_discovery

by waterheater

7/17/2026 at 6:17:19 PM

Thanks for the kind words! Nimbus was a really fun project, just spent a bit re-formatting previous writeups to be more modern-web compliant. The one-wheel was indeed a weirdly synchronous release, I had no idea it would be as wildly successful as it became.

by transistor-man

7/17/2026 at 12:53:21 PM

Love it!

These kinds of posts are one of the reasons I stick around.

I have a friend that does these kinds of projects, all the time, and shared it with him.

by ChrisMarshallNY

7/17/2026 at 5:09:45 PM

Extraordinary post. To be honest, didn’t even strike me to use TPU for shear resistance. But of course. Good rookie tip among much in there. Fantastic work.

by arjie

7/17/2026 at 1:00:58 PM

I would love to see a First person view of that tumble

by tetris11

7/17/2026 at 2:13:45 PM

Right? Major let down! It's a combination of click bait and rage bait at the same time.

by leetrout

7/17/2026 at 12:23:51 PM

The googly eyes are such a nice touch! Great writeup.

by nicbou

7/17/2026 at 2:25:53 PM

They do really shine during the tumble especially.

Love how that adds a nice element of fun to an otherwise impressive project and writeup.

by Ragnarork

7/17/2026 at 12:48:47 PM

Very cool.

And, BTW (this post reminds me), if anyone wants to help: I'm planning on trying to knock out an inexpensive, open-source "Dykstraflex-like" [1] camera from off-the-shelf and 3D printed parts this Fall.

[1] I kind of figure if you know what a Dykstraflex rig is you're already more likely to be the kind of person that will want to help—so this footnote does little to help those that are puzzled by the term Dykstraflex.

by JKCalhoun

7/17/2026 at 6:48:01 PM

Dane is the real deal. I've never figured out how he finds the time to build all these amazing contraptions let alone document them in meticulous detail while maintaining a full time engineering job. But it's definitely impressive.

by torpex

7/18/2026 at 7:07:12 PM

Wait, Panasonic’s headphone jack remote shutter port has an undocumented use of zoom and focus adjust? Does this mean I didn’t need to buy the Aputure DEC LensRegain for my GH4? So cool to learn this either way, I never would have suspected undocumented use.

by keane

7/17/2026 at 3:22:05 PM

Wonderful writeup! Really embraces the old internet character from the days before people started putting ads in the personal websites.

by osamagirl69

7/18/2026 at 2:27:14 AM

Love a good build log. Brilliant!

by jweather

7/18/2026 at 3:19:04 PM

I really want to see the point-of-view video of that tumble.

by frumiousirc

7/17/2026 at 9:41:59 PM

Wow. Honestly I wish there was more emphasis on hardware people/startups than software. This is a prime example of why, the amount of time and effort that went into this clearly shows through to the end!

Can't imagine LLM's reproducing this from first principles.

by doctorwho42

7/17/2026 at 8:55:40 PM

> Movi M10 uppper brace and bolt holder

They're cat ears. You can just admit it. We won't judge.

by striking

7/17/2026 at 6:26:17 PM

Now this kids is Hacker News.

by jihadjihad

7/17/2026 at 11:04:31 AM

Technology and gadgets used to sound quite amazing, cute and desirable to have and experience. But now they look like plastic feed, triggering a vomit feel. I think revolt against anything tech is around the corner.

by zkmon

7/17/2026 at 12:01:52 PM

That's, like, your opinion man.

I think this piece of tech looks fabulous!

by bcraven

7/17/2026 at 9:06:35 PM

Visiting your world must really be depressing. Fortunately, we can go to the OPs world, find a little joy in his experience, and avoid you and your misery altogether.

by kjs3

7/17/2026 at 12:37:11 PM

This is an amazingly tone-deaf response to what is clearly an personal artistic project with a lot of heart behind it.

by gcr

7/17/2026 at 2:25:45 PM

It’s rage bait

by Gecko4072