I really want this to be real, and not just a viral ad campaign.
… but their website doesn’t say anything about being able to actually buy this. Just the video.
Category Archives: Tech
Refurbishing the Light Bulb
Kickstarter: LIFX: The Light Bulb Reinvented
LIFX is a WiFi enabled, multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb that you control with your iPhone or Android.
This looks cool. Remote control of your lights, adjust colors, have them automatically turn on/off when you arrive/leave (if you take your phone with you; I’m assuming this is tied to the phone’s location sensing)
A Robot Called Horse
This video depicts field testing of the DARPA Legged Squad Support System (LS3). The goal of the LS3 program is to demonstrate that a legged robot can unburden dismounted squad members by carrying their gear, autonomously following them through rugged terrain, and interpreting verbal and visual commands.
How Does it Do in the Rain?
This $9 Cardboard Bike Can Support Riders Up To 485lbs
Engineers told Gafni that his idea was impossible. Yet he realized that paper could be strong if treated properly. As in crafting origami and tearing telephone books, he explains, “[if] you fold it once, and it’s not just twice the strength, it’s three times the strength.”
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad
DARPA’s Cheetah robot—already the fastest legged robot in history—just broke its own land speed record of 18 miles per hour (mph). In the process, Cheetah also surpassed another very fast mover: Usain Bolt. According to the International Association of Athletics Federations, Bolt set the world speed record for a human in 2009 when he reached a peak speed of 27.78 mph for a 20-meter split during the 100-meter sprint. Cheetah was recently clocked at 28.3 mph for a 20-meter split. The Cheetah had a slight advantage over Bolt as it ran on a treadmill, the equivalent of a 28.3 mph tail wind, but most of the power Cheetah used was to swing its legs fast enough, not to propel itself forward.
I have to point out that Usain Bolt does not have a tether attached to him to protect himself from falls if he tries to run too fast, which is another advantage for the robot.
Google Earth Fractals
The following is a “photographic” gallery of fractals patterns found while exploring the planet with Google Earth. Each is provided with a KMZ file so the reader can explore the region for themselves. Readers are encouraged to submit their own KMZ files for inclusion, credits will be included.
It's Not Made of Iron
Robot Chef
The Great Leap Backward
Can you put another iPad in there, with carbon paper?
The Sky's the Limit
Is There a Limit to How Tall Buildings Can Get?
Ask a building professional or skyscraper expert and they’ll tell you there are many limitations that stop towers from rising ever-higher. Materials, physical human comfort, elevator technology and, most importantly, money all play a role in determining how tall a building can or can’t go.
But surely there must be some physical limitations that would prevent a building from going up too high. We couldn’t, for example, build a building that reached the moon because, in scientific terms, moon hit building and building go boom. But could there be a building with a penthouse in space, beyond earth’s atmosphere? Or a 100-mile tall building? Or even a 1-mile building?
The Tim Allen School of Culinary Arts