Remember the DARPA Grand Challenge? It's been covered here on The Kneeslider several times when Ghostrider, the riderless motorcycle, was trying to qualify, it involved vehicles traversing a technically challenging course without any human intervention. Sebastian Thrun, who is director of the Stanford AI Lab, led the team that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge and went on to … [Read more...]
Metallic Glass – Injection Mold Metal Like Plastic
Metallic glass popped up in the comments following our article about rapid prototyping and I thought I'd look into it since it was new to me and sounded like something quite a few of you would like to know about, too. Things are advancing so fast now, it's hard to keep up, but this is another technology worth understanding because it might have some pretty interesting uses in … [Read more...]
Rapid Prototyping Almost Production Ready
We've talked about rapid prototyping before, 3D printing of intricate parts from various types of plastic or, in some cases, from metal where the durability of the finished product isn't an issue. If only they could print production ready parts for manufactured items the potential of the process would be unleashed. Looks like we're just about there as GE and EADS, a European … [Read more...]
Quick Charge Battery Developments
The holy grail of battery development is a battery with high capacity plus the ability to discharge and then recharge quickly, or translated into vehicle terms, a battery that holds the energy equivalent of the standard gas tank that you can recharge as quickly as a gas station fill up. Supercapacitors can charge and discharge quickly but their energy density is low. So how … [Read more...]
Osorb the Oil Absorber
One of the constants when dealing with motor vehicles of any kind is oil and all sorts of other chemicals that can get into our water. I came across this demonstration of Osorb, a silicon and benzene polymer that sucks it all up and I was absolutely amazed. This isn't some clay like substance you throw down on your garage floor or any of those absorber mats we might use, in … [Read more...]
Were You Born to Ride … the Bus?
A recent study indicates 30 percent of the population has a genetic variant that may contribute to bad driving. Bummer, I guess if you have it, you’re doomed to accidents and tickets for the rest of your life. Don't become a rider or racer, you can't possibly hit the big time so learn the bus routes and take up golf, ... People with a particular gene variant performed more … [Read more...]
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