There's an ape for that! Nasa engineer's intimate snaps of primates... using a cheap mirror, drill, sticky tape and an iPhone

By Hannah Roberts


Ever wondered what a rocket scientist does in his spare time?

When he's not helping to build the latest Mars Rover, Nasa engineer Mark Rober does regular stuff like taking his son to see the monkeys at the zoo.

But while most of us just wave and gaze at the apathetic apes in their man-made enclosure, smarty pants Rober came up with a novel way to spark the monkeys' interest- a camera that showed them their own reflection.

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Looking right at you: Rocket scientist Mark Rober came up with a novel way to spark the monkeys' interest

The mechanical engineer used only a cheap mirror, a drill, some sticky tape and an iPhone, a how-to video he posted on Youtube explains for the less brainy.

And once the home made gorilla cam, which cost him just 8 dollars worth of iPhone moderations to put together, was up and running, the curious apes couldn't resist getting up close to get a good look at themselves.

The space whizkid was then able to shoot this remarkable video, offering a uniquely intimate look at animals at the Los Angeles Zoo.

'People throw food into the exhibits to see the animals react,' the 31-year-old told Wired. 'This is very bad for the animals.' Instead, Rober said, his home-spun device 'turned out to be a noninvasive, fun way to achieve that interaction to an even higher degree.'


Mirror image: He attracts the attention of a mother orangutan at the zoo. After getting a good look at her reflection the primate fetches her baby


Intimate: It's hard to believe the incredible footage was shot on an ordinary camera phone


Windows to the soul: The curious apes couldn't resist getting up close to get a good look at themselves


Transfixed: This remarkable video, offers a uniquely intimate look at animals at the Los Angeles Zoo

Last look: It is interesting to see how close the primates want to get

Rober bought a $3 mirror and drilled a hole in the middle of the reflective surface.

Then he put his iPhone camera up to the hole and filmed through the hole, Wired reported.

In the video he first attracts the attention of a mother orangutan at the zoo. After getting a good look at her reflection the primate fetches her baby . And finally the daddy ape comes over to inspect his face.

'I wonder what they are thinking,' Rober said. 'It was also interesting to see how close the primates wanted to get. For the four-month-old baby, it’s possibly the first time she’s ever seen herself.'

The ingenious scientist is becoming well known for his how-to videos, explaining simple inventions. The most viewed is the Halloween costume that lets your stomach look hollow, by using two ipads strapped to your body.


Monkeying around: This cute creature is one of the first to spot the mirror- and its own reflection


Powerful: Rober put his iPhone camera up to a hole in the mirror and filmed through the hole


Idea: Rober originally showed the monkeys and apes their reflections on his camera-phone


Smarty pants: Rober is a mechanical engineer at NASA


But Rober claims to be more of a problem solver than a creative type. likening the rough process to building a house in his subconscious. He said: 'I don’t really see myself as super-creative,

'If I see a problem, I like to think if there’s a better way to do it. I love to take something very commonplace and reuse it in an original way. When you see someone’s design and think, ‘That is so simple I totally could have thought of that’ — that’s the kind of feeling that I think resonates within people, so I try to make that the theme of my videos.'

Rober, graduated in mechanical engineering degree at Brigham Young University before landing the NASA job as Mechanical Engineer for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

He has spent the past 5 years designing and delivering hardware on the Sky Crane (the thing the Rover gets lowered from when it reaches the surface).

Watch the video




source:dailymail