SpiderFab 3-D robotic printer
Since the 1970’s, space-based solar power has been a futuristic fantasy but the advent of 21st century 3-D printing may bring it a step closer to reality. (Video)
Continue reading… “Will 3D printing bring space-based solar power to reality?”
Volocopter VC200
Greener transportation options have become a priority in the modern world. Greener and more efficient vehicles of all types are eventually becoming the standard. Even helicopters are becoming greener. One German company, E-volo, designed several electric helicopters, and one of its models, the Volocopter VC200, recently passed its first flight tests. (Video)
Continue reading… “Volocopter VC200 – 18-rotor electric helicopter takes flight”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxz8bpqOMU[/youtube]
littleBits is a company that mixes hardware and software in a delightful way that is part of the human computer interaction theme. It’s roots can be traced to the MIT Media Lab. They have done a promotional video for their product (the Synth Kit) with Reggie Watts.
Continue reading… “Everyone will have some litteBits in the future”
Flying robotic jellyfish.
Leif Ristroph, an applied mathematician at New York University, wanted to build the “simplest possible” flying machine. Ristroph glued together several tubes of carbon fiber to build this: a sphere with four wings attached to it that propels it as a jellyfish swims. (Video)
Continue reading… “The flying machine that was inspired by a jellyfish”
Circuit Scribe, a new Kickstarter project, seems to have made laying out a new electronic circuit a less cumbersome task. Instead of fiddling with those components, you can just draw a circuit on paper, hook up a battery to it, and go on your way.
The same research team is also working on a digital lollipop.
In Sword Art Online, an anime series, gamers take part in a virtual world that is teeming with danger, but also with food. What if such an experience was a reality? What if you could not only interact with food in a virtual environment, but also actually taste it? Scientists at the National University of Singapore have developed a new electrode that could be the first step in making that happen. (Video)
Continue reading… “Scientists create electrode that lets you taste virtual food on your tongue”
Viola Organista
Five centuries ago a man by the name of Leonardo Da Vinci sat down and sketched a design for something he clearly thought would improve what we now know as classical music. He never built the thing, though. Whatever the reason for not building it, more than 500 years after Da Vinci first sketched up the instrument, it has finally been constructed. (Video)
PetChatz
PetChatz is an innovative communication system designed for cats, dogs, and people that allows you to interact with your pet from anywhere in the world. (Pics and video)
Continue reading… “PetChatz – a video phone for dogs and cats”
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/78961565[/vimeo]
The Mini Metal Maker prints 3D objects from digital files directly in precious metal clay, rather than in plastic. Once these clay objects air-dry, they are fired in a kiln to produce beautiful solid metal objects of high purity and precision. Using metal clay essentially replaces the entire wax-casting or lost-wax process ordinarily needed to do this. The Mini Metal Maker will add new capability for the DIY inventor or artist by making fabrication in metal easy and direct. It will be a boon for anyone interested in creating their own gears, miniature mechanisms, or printing detailed jewelry or metal ornaments. The Mini Metal Maker is built around the concept of using the minimum number of parts, reducing the cost to produce and also eliminating many chances for error during assembly.
Continue reading… “Mini Metal Maker: A $1000 3D printer that prints metal”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Sx34swEG0[/youtube]
What if you could carry a single credit card device in your wallet that would digitally store up to eight credit, debit, membership, and gift cards and lets you switch between them with just a push of a button? Companies like Apple and Google have tried to give us digital wallets, but nothing has really caught on. People still feel tied to their physical wallets.
Continue reading… “Coin: High-tech card could replace everything in your wallet”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKIu9yen5nc[/youtube]
A video on coding education trended higher on February 26th than the video of Jennifer Lawrence’s adorable fall at the Oscars. The short YouTube film, dubbed “What most schools don’t teach,” features interviews with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. The goal, according to the video’s creator Hadi Partovi, is to make coding seem cool to kids.
Morph airline seating.
Traveling by air on a budget isn’t pleasant. Despite huge leaps forward in comfort for the upper classes (and the more recent “premium economy” class), the economy section of a cabin is more often than not cramped, packed, and charmless. Seymourpowell, a British design firm, has a seating concept that it believes will change that. It’s called Morph. (Photos and video)
Continue reading… “Morph: Airline seat concept that could morph to fit each passenger”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.