Nuna 5 A Solar Powered Racing Car

clipped from www.inhabitat.com Solar Powered Nuna5 Racecar Unveiled Delft University recently unveiled a sleek solar-powered vehicle that they hope will score them their fifth trophy in the World Solar Challenge race. clipped from www.wsc.org.au clipped from www.tudelft.nl clipped from www.nuonsolarteam.nl Nuna 1 Nuna 2 Nuna 3 Nuna 4 clipped from www.nuonsolarteam.nl clipped from en.wikipedia.org The Nuna 5 is the newest solar racing car which is currently being built by the Nuon Solar Team. Nuna 5 will compete in the 2009 World Solar Challenge starting october 25. The solar car is built by the Noun Solar Team. This year’s Nuon Solar Team consists of 14 students from Delft University of Technology. Like previous years, Dutch energy supplier Nuon is the main sponsor of the team. The team is assisted and advised by professor and former astronaut Wubbo Ockels. The Nuna 5 solar racer has big improvements in weigth and solar cell efficiency over it's predecessors.

The Bugatti Stratos Concept

clipped from www.delussu.eu clipped from www.autoblog.com Autoblog Retrotastic Render: Bugatti Stratos Concept French graphic designer Bruno Delusso didn't want to be bothered with the engineering and mechanical issues that plague the average concept car – he just wanted to create something stunning. So by throwing production feasibility, drivetrain components and caution to the wind, he succeeded. clipped from diseno-art.com Make Bugatti Model Stratos Concept year 2009 Production year - Engine - The styling was influenced by the Bugatti Type 57 and art-deco design. clipped from carscoop.blogspot.com The French graphic designer said that his goal with the Bugatti Stratos was to create a pure fantasy vehicle clearly focusing on the design aspect of the concept without taking into account the technical restrictions and the resulting styling limitations of a model intended for production. clipped from 2.bp.blogspot.com clipped from 1.bp.blogspot.com clipped from 4.bp.blogspot.com clipped from 4.bp.blogspot.com

Rovio -- A Home Security Robot

clipped from www.rollzero.com Rovio Security Robot EXTINCTION by robot isn't an appealing proposition, but this home security droid is bringing us one step closer. clipped from www.popsci.com Home Security Bots Robots keep an eye on things while you're away clipped from www.therobotshop.com Rovio: WowWee Home Surveillance Robot Possibly the most exciting member of WowWee's 2008 new product line, the Rovio is a mobile robotic web camera with omni-directional movement ability thanks to its unique tri-wheel design. clipped from www.therobotshop.com clipped from www.therobotshop.com clipped from www.therobotshop.com clipped from www.therobotshop.com clipped from www.therobotshop.com Technical Specifications: Built-in rechargeable battery 1 recharge power base 3 motors for the wheels 3 omnidirectional wheels 1 motor for the camera 1 VGA CMOS sensor for video recording LED illumination 1 speaker for sound playback WiFi connectivity using the 802.11b/g protocols * It can effortlessly find its charging station when its batteries start to run low, from anywhere in your home, and dock with the station with pinpoint accuracy.

Deep Space 1

clipped from spaceports.blogspot.com Spaceports Salute to Deep Space One Legacy clipped from www.youtube.com There is going to be a revolution in the skies above us. Unmanned probes hurling through the cosmos in record numbers. Traveling billion of miles from Earth and carrying out longer more complex missions then once ever imagined. The probes of today will spend years in orbit sending back data on the Sun, the planets and the organic compounds that formed our universe. They owe much of this progress to one pioneering mission. Deep Space One tested twelve new technologies that had never been used in deep space travel. It also captured the first image ever of the nucleus of a comet. NASA and the scientific community owe much of there future and recent success to this daring pioneer of space travel. clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from nmp.jpl.nasa.gov clipped from solarsystem.nasa.gov Deep Space 1: After its successful 1999 asteroid encounter, Deep Space 1's was sent on an extended mission to study comet Borrelly. Scientists used the spacecraft to get a close look - the closest at the time - at a comet's nucleus and structure. clipped from solarsystem.nasa.gov clipped from solarsystem.nasa.gov clipped from solarsystem.nasa.gov clipped from solarsystem.nasa.gov

Reuben Margolin -- The Magic Wave

clipped from www.reubenmargolin.com Reuben Heyday Margolin clipped from www.youtube.com Reuben Margolin, a Bay Area visionary and longtime maker, creates totally singular techno-kinetic wave sculptures. Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reubens artwork is diverse, with sculptures ranging from tiny to looming, motorized to hand-cranked. Focusing on natural elements like a discrete water droplet or a powerful ocean eddy, his work is elegant and hypnotic. Also, learn how ocean waves can power our future. Learn more about Reuben at http://www.reubenmargolin.com/ clipped from www.reubenmargolin.com Magic Wave Technorama - The Swiss Science Center clipped from www.youtube.com The "Magic Wave" at the Swiss Science Center Technorama is one of the most complex kinetic sculptures in the world and the masterpiece of the artist Reuben Margolin from California. A net of 450 aluminium bars is transformed into a dynamic wave landscape powered by a marvellous mechanical mechanism that turns 4 circular movements into 4 sine waves of different wavelenghts, amplitudes and frequencies. clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.youtube.com clipped from www.youtube.com

Barcodes help Face Recognition

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Natural 'Barcodes' Help Us Recognize Faces clipped from www.ucl.ac.uk Our faces contain ‘barcodes’ of information which help us recognise people and may have implications for improving face recognition software, according to a study co-authored by Dr Steven Dakin of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology published today in the Journal of Vision. clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Barcodes 'help face recognition' Faces are made up of "barcodes" which help us recognise each other, according to scientists. Marlon Brando was recognisable even after the images were distorted clipped from journalofvision.org Biological “bar codes” in human faces Steven C. Dakin Roger J. Watt clipped from www.wellcome.ac.uk Dr Dakin believes the research may have implications for improving face recognition software, for example in busy public spaces where police may need to locate a suspect in a crowd on CCTV cameras. The ability of such software to recognise individuals has improved vastly, but is still poor at the first step - locating faces in complex scenes. clipped from www.fastcompany.com

Inflatable Space Tower

clipped from www.newscientist.com Inflatable tower could climb to the edge of space A GIANT inflatable tower could carry people to the edge of space without the need for a rocket, and could be completed much sooner than a cable-based space elevator, its proponents claim. clipped from www.newscientist.com clipped from www.yorku.ca Space Engineering at York University clipped from www.yorku.ca Materials and Structure Laboratory The laboratory provides the means to research materials and structural deformations at high spatial resolutions. The research focussed on methodologies to verify bending and vibration models and conducts leading edge research into space structures including beams, tethers, and trusses. The laboratory is investigating a fascinating new approach to elevator construction that uses an ethylene impregnated Kevlar loom to construct free standing elevator towers. A freestanding tower structure provides a convenient and safe way to ascend to space without the environmental side effects of rocketry. An artists impression of space elevator located in Saskatoon, Canada is shown

Science reinvents the economy

clipped from trendsupdates.com Some suggestions by science to cure the ills of economy (and predict another disaster) Scientists believe that there are some economic solutions that can be sourced from physicists, engineers, biologists, ecologists, and others. Since economy has of late proven to be vulnerable, even disastrous, when left alone to the arbitrary whims of unpredictable markets, scientists suggest that there are ways and means from the fields of science that can be used to tame the possibilities of other impending economic disasters. clipped from www.newscientist.com FIXING ECONOMICS clipped from www.newscientist.com Science reinvents the economy: Bubble math clipped from www.newscientist.com Science reinvents the economy: The human factor clipped from www.newscientist.com Science reinvents the economy: Network solutions clipped from www.newscientist.com Science reinvents the economy: Predicting the big one clipped from www.newscientist.com Can science reinvent the economy 5: An economy in a computer clipped from www.newscientist.com Can science reinvent the economy 6: Out of kilter clipped from www.newscientist.com Can science reinvent the economy 7: Will it be enough?

Bendable Concrete

clipped from www.topnews.in Scientists develop self healing next-generation concrete The researchers from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have made sensational invention, which is receiving huge acclaims from scientific communities. Yes, the university researchers have claimed that they have developed next-generation concrete, which is highly flexible and capable of healing its cracks using light moisture or rain water. clipped from news.nationalgeographic.com Photo: Bendable Concrete Heals Itself -- Just Add Water clipped from www.umich.edu The new concrete looks like regular concrete, but is 500 times more resistant to cracking and 40 percent lighter in weight. Tiny fibers that comprise about 2 percent of the mixture's volume partly account for its performance. Also, the materials in the concrete itself are designed for maximum flexibility. Because of its long life, the Engineered Cement Composites (ECC) are expected to cost less in the long run, as well.

Autotank -- A Fully Autonomous Tank

clipped from www.youtube.com Autonomous Tank - Georgia Tech ECE Senior Design 2009 Senior design group constructed a fully autonomous tank that tracks a person using infrared motion sensors, ultrasonic proximity sensors, and a webcam. The tank detects a person and turns to face them. It then approaches and follows the person. When it gets close enough to the target, it tracks them using the turret. When the tank loses sight of the person, it starts over, searching for them again. When the target stops and the turret is aimed correctly, it fires an airsoft pellet at them. clipped from www.autotank.nateklein.net About Autotank An eBox 2300 low power embedded computer running Windows Embedded CE acts as the brain of the tank. It reads all of the sensor data and operates the motors via a Phidgets 8/8/8 board with an LCD text display. There are 5 IR motion sensors, an ultrasonic range finder, and a USB webcamera mounted on the tank. A NiCad battery wth a custom voltage regulator powers the eBox and a second internal battery powers the tank motors.