DIY

Laptops have been getting thinner, more powerful and increasingly difficult to customize. The Reform from Berlin's MNT Research dares to be different with open software and open hardware that invites modders to get under the hood and go wild.

Instrument maker Frank Piesik has built a three-string robotic music machine called Greg's Harp where three different actuators excite the strings in different ways to produce sound controlled by a MIDI keyboard.

He's transformed an old bike into a rolling synth, and turned a games console into a music machine. Now Sam Battle of Look Mum No Computer goes back in time to revisit one of his earliest builds – a Gibson Les Paul with built-in MIDI keyboard.

He's previously made music mobile with a synth bike, and built a nightmarish noise-maker called the Furby Organ. Now Sam Battle has tapped into the sonic guts of a Sega Mega Drive and created a monster synth ready to get its music-making game on.

If your busy lifestyle leaves little time for housework, robot vacuum cleaners can help. If you want your robovac to clean upstairs, you'll have to carry it up and set it off. Peter Sripol wasn't happy with that situation so made his Roomba fly.

Campervan novice Grace Aquino and her husband Marlon have converted a low-roof 2017 Ram Promaster cargo van into a campervan. The couple stuck to a tight furnishing budget of just $1,000, by fitting out the camper with products sourced from IKEA.

Champion of non-digital photography Lomography has launched a build-it-yourself kit for a cardboard medium-format camera which comes with a lens that you can fill with colored liquid to create a unique photographic feel.

Portland couple Zach Both and Nicole Lopez have recently finished building their very own impressive yurt home with interior loft garden. What's more the couple have released all their plans, along with a step-by-step DIY guide online.

The Doer portable toolbox carries 12 items in all, including a number of power tools that would normally call for quite a bit of storage space.

British architect Richard John Andrews has recently completed a self-build micro-office in the backyard of his East London home, dubbed Light Shed.

Not seeing anything that could improve ergonomics and boost productivity when using a laptop, Matthew Perks opted to make his own secondary screen.

The UK's Matthew Perks has been running a YouTube channel for about five years, where he walks viewers through the ins and outs of making their own gadgets. For his latest project, he's rescued some broken televisions and computer monitors and turned them into artificial daylight panel lighting.