For those hoping that America would re-introduce a space plane to her roster of civilian transportation options, there’s good news: The Dream Chaser space plane that lands on a runway like an aeroplane and launches with the help of a rocket will join the duo of privately operated space capsules – SpaceX’s reusable Dragon and…
Technology
Space, Technology
Audi Builds a Lunar Rover
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Technology
Calculatorology
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good Ideas, Technology
Hiking for Emails
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
HIKING FOR EMAILS from Clemens Purner on Vimeo. In the Annapurna region in Nepal a man has made an extraordinary vision come true. He has brought internet access to places that even today can only be reached after several days travel on foot. By now he has managed to connect over 60.000 people to the…
Technology
Drone Racing Dreams
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Animals, Good Ideas, Technology
Kangaroo-Avoidance Technology
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Only a matter of time — Stateside, as large mammals go, deer are probably the single biggest threat to cars traveling the highways. Now, imagine a smaller, “very unpredictable” deer that hops on two legs: that’s the hell of driving in Australia, where some 20,000 kangaroo collisions are said to happen annually…. There’s no word…
Science/Nature, Technology
The RoboBee
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
For decades researchers have been trying to create this incredible vehicle, but with little success, Harvard University reported. The largest challenge has been a serious conflict in design requirements: aerial vehicles require large airfoils such as wings or a sail, while underwater vehicles need to minimize their surface area to reduce drag. To solve this problem,…
Health, Music, Technology
The Cyborg Drummer
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
In 2012, the drummer Jason Barnes was cleaning an exhaust duct when he was electrocuted by 22,000 volts of electricity. He lost his right hand and believed his days as a musician were done. That’s when Gil Weinberg, professor of musical technology at Georgia Tech, stepped in with a robotic hand that gave Barnes his…
Business, Restaurant, Technology
Are Automats Restaurants?
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
There’s a story over at the New York Times about a new business in San Francisco, Eatsa, that’s like an old-fashioned automat: “[a]t this restaurant, customers order, pay and receive their food and never interact with a person.” See, Restaurant of the Future? Service With an Impersonal Touch @ NYT. (The story’s somewhat puzzling because reporter Claire…
Accidents, Birds, Technology
Eagle Attacks Drone
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The drone pilot, from Australia, comments on the encounter: **Eagle was fine – she was massive, and used talon’s to ‘punch’ the drone out of the sky. Hung around overhead so I got a really good look. Eagle’s health was my main concern also** This is the last thing a small bird sees when a Wedge-Tailed…