The engineers and developers at Fearless Toys use the principle of “FunTeach” as inspiration for their products. The group wants to engage people with fun interactions while teaching the principles of electronics, physics and mechanics. LIMBO is their mechanical spinning top, currently finishing out a Kickstarter campaign after a recent World Record achievement.
The secret of LIMBO isn’t really a secret – the CNC machined spinning top houses a self-balancing electric gyroscope. A proportional-integral-derivative controller drives the motor with a rechargeable battery inside the unit. The tip of the top has a small steel ball bearing to prevent damage at the tip and allow for more rotation. The lithium polymer batteries are 55 milliampere hours and can charge in thirty minutes for around four hours of spinning time. A World Record version of the top is also available with titanium housing and more powerful but disposable batteries that can last for more than forty hours of spinning time. The Guinness World Record attempt for Longest Spinning Mechanical Top was twenty seven hours, nine minutes and twenty four seconds. LIMBO’s FAQ page also assures potential users that the top does spin for a few minutes when the battery is dead and shows video proof.
LIMBO’s campaign has been highly successful with lots of attention from hobbyists, engineers, and makers. I learned this week that there’s a community of people highly passionate about spinning tops, and that’s evidenced by the four hundred plus comments on the campaigns page. The page is full of examples of the top spinning on lit candles, a tambourine, a tomato, and a video of the top on an operating 3D printer. It seems like the next step is a director’s cut of Inception with a four hour additional run time for the last scene. The campaign ends on August 16 and kits are currently scheduled to ship in December 2018.