Hummingbird Rescue Robot

A Japanese researcher called Hiroshi Liu has developed a robotic hummingbird, which, just a real one, can flutter freely in mid-air by rapidly moving its wings (up to n impressive 30 times per second). Liu, who works for Chiba University just outside Tokyo, says his hummingbird is powered by a small motor and has four wings. It can be remote-controlled through infrared.

The robo hummingbird can not only fly up and down but also in a figure of eight. Liu claims the little guy, who just weighs 2.6g, is more stable than a helicopter. It’s 10cm long, meaning it comes close to real hummingbirds in size and weight. According to his inventor, building micro robots is much harder than building large robots and requires specific knowledge not all robot makers have.

R&D costs stand at about $2 million so far, but those costs are likely to rise. By 2011, Liu plans to equip the robot with a micro camera. The main purpose of the hummingbird is to one day use it to rescue people in emergency situations (when a building has collapsed, for example) or to hunt down criminals.

Standard Time

The spectator looking at Standard Time does not only see the time, but also people constructing it. People who, with a stoic sense of duty, are wasting time on an apparently useless activity that fulfills only one function: to display time.

Even though the workers are trying hard to construct every single minute, they are constantly on the verge of failing.

"Standard Time is a performance lasting exactly 24 hours and recorded on film. However, this film is much more than just the recording of an action, the recording of something that has taken place in the past; it is also a clock. A clock for use right now and in the future which, as each day goes by, extends further into the past, but is still up-to-date and punctual”

Tandem Vespa

Now that's what I call a bicycle built for 2. Or 3. Or 4!

Stretch scooter by Vespa South Africa

Crazy Vespa Designs

Human-powered plane flies by flapping its wings

We’ve all seen the ridiculous videos of human-powered aircraft, some from the early 20th century, some from episodes of MTV’s Jackass. They universally fail: The human body is, we have come to believe, just too heavy, weak, and ill-equipped to power an aircraft by itself.

But Todd Reichert, an engineering Ph.D candidate at the prestigious University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, designed and piloted this amazing aircraft that may just set a little flutter in your heart. Maybe we can fly, just like R. Kelly believes.

The vehicle weighs only 94 pounds, made of carbon fiber and balsa wood (!), but sports a wingspan of 105 feet, very nearly that of a Boeing 737. The craft, says Pop Sci, requires an SUV for takeoff, but the ornithopter then sustained flight for what’s almost certain to be confirmed as a world record: 475 feet at 16mph, with a total air time of 19.3 seconds.

This flight was monitored by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the body that monitors and awards world records in flight, and the aircraft is expected to be confirmed as the new world record holder in October

http://vimeo.com/15168011

A possible solution to China's month-long traffic jams?

The 3D Express Coach is a solar powered, electric bus that has a hollow bottom that allows normal traffic to pass underneath it and will go on trial by the end of the year in Beijing.

"The bus is designed to straddle two lanes at a time to let traffic pass underneath both when it is stopped and when it is in motion. In fact, it is more like a massive double-wide tram than a bus, with a fixed route and physical connection to the city’s municipal power grid.

Powered by electricity and solar energy, the zero-emission 3D bus can reach speed up to an average of 60 to 80 kilometers an hour, faster than current buses and can link well with the bus stations and overpasses while not affecting the traffic.

Only small and medium-sized vehicles will be able to pass under the bus, meaning drivers will have to be extra-vigilant. An alarm would sound if an oversized vehicle attempted to pass"

I'd ride it. It's cool and futuristic - and preferable to watching people setup food stalls next to you cos you've been stuck in a jam for weeks.

Sick of bus lanes? Traffic and buses share the same lane!

This bus allows traffic to pass underneath it while driving on the roads. The solar powered, electric bus will be trialled by the end of the year in Beijing.

The 3D Express Coach has a hollowed out bottom that allows normal traffic to pass underneath.

"The bus is designed to straddle two lanes at a time to let traffic pass underneath both when it is stopped and when it is in motion. In fact, it is more like a massive double-wide tram than a bus, with a fixed route and physical connection to the city’s municipal power grid.

Powered by electricity and solar energy, the zero-emission 3D bus can reach speed up to an average of 60 to 80 kilometers an hour, faster than current buses and can link well with the bus stations and overpasses while not affecting the traffic"

Perhaps a possible solution to China's month-long traffic jams?