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This machine, known as the Great Ball Contraption (GBC), was built by a Japanese mechanical engineer in his house over the course of two years — a total of a whopping 600 hours in construction time. Continue reading
Category Archives: Technology
DARPA’S Pack Horse Robot Follows its Master
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For the past two weeks, in the woods of central Virginia around Fort Pickett, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) four-legged robot has been showing off its capabilities during field-testing. Continue reading
First Unmanned Aircraft from 1919
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This old Warner Pathe Newsreel about ‘missiles’ compares the first attempts at launching an unmanned aircraft in 1919 with air-to air and aground-to-air missiles of the early 1950’s… Continue reading
Hydrophobic Coating Prevents Build-Up of Ice on Aircraft
A team of Japanese scientists has developed a water-repellent surface that can prevent ice from forming during flight. Continue reading
Futuristic Highway Patrol Unmanned Vehicles
Highway patrol vehicles of the future will be mostly self-driving, if you accept the solutions offered by the entries in this year’s Design Challenge, an annual competition organized in conjunction with the Los Angeles auto show.
The First Image of Earth Taken From Space
On October 24, 1946, not long after the end of World War II and years before the Sputnik satellite opened the space age, a group of soldiers and scientists in the New Mexico desert saw something new and wonderful—the first pictures of Earth as seen from space. Continue reading
DARPA’s Pet-Proto Robot Navigates Obstacles
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In this video, the Pet-Proto, a predecessor to DARPA’s Atlas robot, is confronted with obstacles similar to those robots might face in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). Continue reading
23 Mile Stratospheric Freefall Jump Today Will Break Sound Barrier
Today, October 9 2012, Felix Baumgartner will attempt a record-breaking freefall jump from 120,000 feet – 23 miles – above the earth as part of Red Bull Stratos: a mission to the edge of space. Continue reading