First person video from remote controlled airplane

In the professional market, we've worked on things like this for almost a decade only to see the amateurs come up with better results at lower cost. It's inspirational but also proof that there are many ways to skin the cat.

Mathematicians explain traffic jams

The team developed a mathematical model to show the impact of unexpected events such as a lorry pulling out of its lane on a dual carriageway. Their model revealed that slowing down below a critical speed when reacting to such an event, a driver would force the car behind to slow down further and the next car back to reduce its speed further still.

The result of this is that several miles back, cars would finally grind to a halt, with drivers oblivious to the reason for their delay. The model predicts that this is a very typical scenario on a busy highway (above 15 vehicles per km). The jam moves backwards through the traffic creating a so-called ‘backward travelling wave’, which drivers may encounter many miles upstream, several minutes after it was triggered.

Dr Gábor Orosz of the University of Exeter said: “As many of us prepare to travel long distances to see family and friends over Christmas, we’re likely to experience the frustration of getting stuck in a traffic jam that seems to have no cause. Our model shows that overreaction of a single driver can have enormous impact on the rest of the traffic, leading to massive delays.”

Drivers and policy-makers have not previously known why jams like this occur, though many have put it down to the sheer volume of traffic. While this clearly plays a part in this new theory, the main issue is around the smoothness of traffic flow. According to the model, heavy traffic will not automatically lead to congestion but can be smooth-flowing. This model takes into account the time-delay in drivers’ reactions, which lead to drivers braking more heavily than would have been necessary had they identified and reacted to a problem ahead a second earlier.

Dr Orosz continued: “When you tap your brake, the traffic may come to a full stand-still several miles behind you. It really matters how hard you brake - a slight braking from a driver who has identified a problem early will allow the traffic flow to remain smooth. Heavier braking, usually caused by a driver reacting late to a problem, can affect traffic flow for many miles.”

http://www.physorg.com/news117283969.html

Great stunt flying

Stunt pilot Jurgis Kairys shows how to fly upside down under a bridge. Talk about precision!

Virtual display fighter pilot displays

Futuristic new helmets will enable fighter pilots to see through the fuselage of their aircraft. The headwear being developed for the hi-tech F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will display computerized symbols to help the pilot to navigate and use his weapons. A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: "It even will superimpose infra-red imagery on to the visor to allow the pilot to look through the cockpit floor at night and see the world below – like something out of Terminator. This is absolutely the cutting edge of technology."

Wingsuit flying

I've spent many years working with the aerodynamics of small planes but the wingsuit caught me by surprise and is very intruiging for the conditions under which it is optimal. It must be a great rush to fly so freely.

The Future of Image Technology

Image navigation, categorization, framing, motion, and collaboration all become as easy as text.

Hybrid H3 Hummer with 600hp goes 0-60 in 5 seconds with 60mpg

The possibilities of automotive technology far exceed what corporations are producing. Inventor Johnathan Goodwin gives a good example of this with his latest project.

Goodwin leads me over to a red 2005 H3 Hummer that's up on jacks, its mechanicals removed. He aims to use the turbine to turn the Hummer into a tricked-out electric hybrid. Like most hybrids, it'll have two engines, including an electric motor. But in this case, the second will be the [jet] turbine, Goodwin's secret ingredient. Whenever the truck's juice runs low, the turbine will roar into action for a few seconds, powering a generator with such gusto that it'll recharge a set of "supercapacitor" batteries in seconds. This means the H3's electric motor will be able to perform awesome feats of acceleration and power over and over again, like a Prius on steroids. What's more, the turbine will burn biodiesel, a renewable fuel with much lower emissions than normal diesel; a hydrogen-injection system will then cut those low emissions in half. And when it's time to fill the tank, he'll be able to just pull up to the back of a diner and dump in its excess french-fry grease--as he does with his many other Hummers. Oh, yeah, he adds, the horsepower will double--from 300 to 600.

"Conservatively," Goodwin muses, scratching his chin, "it'll get 60 miles to the gallon. With 2,000 foot-pounds of torque. You'll be able to smoke the tires. And it's going to be superefficient."

He laughs. "Think about it: a 5,000-pound vehicle that gets 60 miles to the gallon and does zero to 60 in five seconds!"

"They could do all this stuff if they wanted to," he tells me, slapping on a visor and hunching over an arc welder. "The technology has been there forever. They make 90% of the components I use."

The problem with Detroit isn't the laws of physics, it's the fact that a guy who never even went to high school can do things -- with stock parts -- that Detroit's auto executives and their armies of engineers claim is impossible. Good ol' American know-how and ingenuity is alive and well, just not where we need it.

Here's a video of his converted biodiesel '65 Chevy Impala with 25mpg and 800hp blowing away a Lamborghini.



http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html

Bose Suspension

This Bose Suspension system is active rather than passive and you can see the results. A similar reflection on personal psychology will show parallel results.

Grady Booch on software morality

Booch: Here's an example. London's installing more video cameras per square mile on the street than anybody else. All right, not a lot of software there. But what happens when they couple that with facial recognition software so I can actually track individuals as they go through the city?

But that's not a question that the software developer gets presented with. That's something for the city of London to consider based upon its needs.

Booch: Yes, but at the ultimate level, the software developer can say, "Do I want to actually build a system that potentially could violate human rights?"

Using your logic, wouldn't it also be fair to say that somebody who was instrumental in designing the cell phone would have faced those same issues because a pedophile can use a cell phone for nefarious purposes?

Booch: The question is whether I, as a technologist, add features that potentially eat away at personal privacy but also enable the use of a law enforcement agency to track this person? Which way do I push this because, as a technologist, I have the ability to deliver things to people who don't know how to do that technology. Nonetheless, they are the ones who will make policy that would be impacted by what I create.

If computer scientists dig in their heels at even the possibility that their work might later get used by organizations that they politically find not to their liking, do you risk being called a Luddite? That is, you're willing to innovate up to this point and no more because peering over the abyss, you don't like what you think you're seeing.

Booch: Well, now you get to a wonderfully deep philosophical issue. Do I hold back? The difficulty is that science has this really sneaky way of oozing through all the pores...Even though I would personally prefer to make the decision to say, "No, I'm not going to do that," I still have the responsibility to educate those who are in a position in the policy-making realm, so that they understand the implications of what they're doing.

http://www.news.com/2102-1012_3-6213376.html

Stopping Russian spam one at a time

Alexey Tolstokozhev, a Russian spammer, found murdered in his luxury house near Moscow. He has been shot several times with one bullet stuck in his head. According to authorities, this last head shot is a clear mark of the russian mafia.

Who hated Tolstokozhev so much as to hire a hit man to assasinate him? Well, I guess you have about one billion e-mail users to suspect. Tolstokozhev was a famous spammer who sent millions of e-mail promoting viagra, cialis, penis enlargement pills and other medications. Links in these e-mails usually led to some pharmacy shop, which paid Tolstokozhev a share of its revenue. This is a well known affiliate scheme employed by spammers worldwide. Tolstokozhev is estimated to be responsible for up to 30% percent of all viagra and penis enlargement related spam.

In order to send millions and millions of unsolicited letters, Tolstokozhev employed a network of infected computers (so-called "botnet"), which he rented from hackers.

How profitable is spam? Well, the authorities say that Tolstokozhev has likely made more than $2 million in 2007 alone. (in comparison: average russian monthly salary is $400)

This is a second murder of a spammer in Russia. Another russian spammer, Vardan Kushnir, was assassinated in 2005.

"Violent murders is a clear sign that spam becomes a serious criminal activity" - the officials say. "Easy money attracts criminals, which bring their own version of "justice" with them."

Source: Alex Loonov

Scramjet technology is looking good

This weekend I met up with an old friend who worked on the NASA X-43A scramjet and we exchanged notes on flight technology and caught up on old times. Lots of new scramjet applications are in the works and the technology is looking great.

People familiar with the DSTO Scramjet will recall it recently reached Mach 10 and retains potential for further advances.

Flying planes is fun

This reminds me of long trips on aircraft carriers. It's great to see that there's a lot of great flying talent out there.

Abstract communication

Demetri Martin creates comedy by reviving truths obscured by anachronistic linguistical conventions and social dogma that drives people to obediently sleepwalk through life. By defying this mindlessness with deconstructive questions and ridicule, laughter results from the realization that much around us is false and can be made rebuilt to better reflect honesty and sanity.

Critical abstract thought is rejuvinating and this style of comedy is a prelude to philosophy.

Experiments in Galvanism

Experiments in Galvanism is the culmination of studio and gallery experiments in which a miniature computer is implanted into the dead body of a frog specimen. Akin to Damien Hirst's bodies in formaldehyde, the frog is suspended in clear liquid contained in a glass cube, with a blue ethernet cable leading into its splayed abdomen. The computer stores a website that enables users to trigger physical movement in the corpse: the resulting movement can be seen in gallery, and through a live streaming webcamera.

http://www.conceptlab.com/frog/

Avatars for real life

There's nothing better for some people than turning yourself into an avatar and living as a video game.

Hidden doors

Lincoln executives were concerned about the heavy and wide doors on the Mark VIII in the early 1990's especially in large cities with tight parking spots. They were toying with the idea of a Mark VIII that had doors that disappeared beneath the car which would require no additional space for the doors to swing open in order to allow the occupant to exit or enter. Back in the day, the major auto makers would sub-contract their concept designs to other engineering firms who specialiazed in auto concepts and executions. In this particular case, this Lincoln Mark VIII was shipped over to Joalto Design Inc. near Detroit...who created this amazing, one of a kind concept car and shipped it back to Lincoln for executive approval...Unfortunately, the Ford Motor Company executives did not like the design and ordered the car (and the concept) to be sent to the junkyard and destroyed. The current owner had been tracking this car for nearly 20 years and finally convinced the previous owner to part with it.

http://jalopnik.com/cars/found-on-ebay/the-1993-lincoln-mark-viii-rolling-door-concept-car-hides-your-heavy-doors-276295.php

There's a great video at that link.

Boein'gs Dreamliner looking nice

Boeing is making travel spacious and comfortable again. The Dreamliner looks really nice and should be a winning part of their lineup.

Aurora Ramjet looking good

In June 1991, the first in a series of unexplained shock waves rolled across the Los Angeles basin, rattling doors and windows and making people think of earthquakes. But they were not earthquakes, and the military adamantly denied that any of its vehicles caused the booms. In May of this year, I consulted with Dom Maglieri, an ex-NASA sonic-boom expert who has played a key role in the development of low-sonic-boom aircraft. We studied 15-year-old seismograph data from the California Institute of Technology, whose uniquely sensitive sensors could actually track the booms. “The data showed something at 90,000 feet, Mach 4 to Mach 5,” Maglieri says now. The booms did not look like refracted, “over the top” booms, as other reports had indicated—booms from aircraft miles away that had traveled up through the atmosphere and bent down toward Los Angeles. The booms looked like direct overflights by a supersonic airplane that no one admitted to owning. “The signatures are awfully different,” Maglieri says.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/95e16f096bd8d010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd/6.html

Elizabeth can't take it any more

Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicle

Wow that's a mouthful, and it's called Neuron for short, but this UAV is a stealth drone for short-range missions.

I'm still waiting for my flying car, but having my own stealth drone would be pretty sweet too.

Human Tetris

TV should be made fun again and shows like this sure beat generic board game shows.