Great Design: Rolls-Royce Coupe

Rolls-Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe II Concept by Ugur Sahin Design

  

Gadgets: Laser Bike Light

Laser Bike Light:

“The best way to stay safe while biking is to stay visible to those you share the road with. And while concepts for laser-based systems that create a highly visible virtual lane around your bike have existed for years and years, they’re finally real (and cheap!) now.

A Korean company called Slancio makes this rear safety light that includes a requisite set of flashing red LEDs, but also a pair of lasers that produce a thin set of lines on the road on either side of your bike. Not only do they add to your visibility at night, they also create a safe space around your bicycle that most drivers and other riders will subconsciously stay clear of. It’s a brilliant idea that’s made all the more amazing with a $20 price tag that makes these a no-brainer upgrade for your ride.”

You can purchase this product here for $18.99.

Video Distraction: Eye-Level Formula 1 Camera

Join in an installation lap around Spa in wet conditions with Lucas di Grassi - first time ever eye-level camera real driver point of view.

Tech: Volvo’s Self-Driving Road Trains

Volvo’s Self-Driving Road Trains Hit The Streets:

Google’s self-driving cars may be out on the road already, but it will take awhile before public is truly ready to give up all driving control to artificial intelligence. In the interim, Volvo has a solution that lets drivers (sometimes) sleep at the wheel while still improving highway safety—and it just completed the first real-world tests.

Dubbed SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment), the EU-backed project is working on road trains—vehicles equipped with software already found in many Volvo vehicles (including laser sensors, cameras, and radars) that are automatically led along the highway by a lead vehicle, which is commandeered by a professional driver. Regular drivers could one day simply use in-car navigation to find the nearest highway road train, get on the tail end, and let the vehicle platoon take over steering, braking, and acceleration.

Source: FastCo.

Video: Time-Lapse of Space Shuttle Enterprise

In late April, the Space Shuttle Enterprise flew for the last time, passing over New York City enroute to JFK airport. This time-lapse shows Enterprise being painstakingly removed from a 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft at JFK early Sunday morning. In June Enterprise will depart via barge for the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan, where it will be displayed permanently.

The shuttle will be lifted by crane and placed on the flight deck of the Intrepid, where it will be on exhibit to the public starting this summer in a temporary climate-controlled pavilion. The Intrepid continues to work on a permanent exhibit facility to showcase Enterprise that will enhance the museum's space-related exhibits and education curriculum.

Demo: Jet Pack

In this unbelievable new video, Swiss pilot Yves Rossy (previously) is seen soaring above the Swiss Alps with his one-of-a-kind jet-propelled wing craft. It’s incredible to me that after well over a century of manned flight, we continue to make technological advances like this. Rossy was filmed by aerial camera operator Evert Cloetens.

Gadgets: Transition Flying Car

The Transition is a street-legal airplane that operates as both a car and aircraft (video). It completed its maiden flight in March, and is expected to be on sale to the public sometime in 2013. The Transition is being developed by Massachusetts-based Terrafugia.

Gadgets: iPad-controlled Super Yacht

Looking at cool concept designs for super yachts may be fun, but nothing beats the real thing. It took five years and $15 million dollars, but the ultimate seafaring vessel that looks like a spacecraft is finally here.

The Adastra superyacht is 140 feet long, weighs 52 tons, and can travel 4,000 nautical miles at 17 knots, enough to get you from the U.S. to Europe. Designed by John Shuttleworth and constructed in China by McConaghy Boats, the Adastra can fit up to nine guests along with its six crew members. All that and you can control the vessel from your iPad. You can see more of the Cylon Raider of the sea in the gallery below.

Source: DailyMail

Tech: Becoming the Cyborg Chauffeur

Connected cAR: Becoming the Cyborg Chauffeur:

The car is apparently one of the next battlefields for ownership of our personal data and privacy. It is an intimate environment and there will soon be enough sensors to document every human habit and behavior within it. While cars will become the panoptic reporter to our every move, people will also be burdened with an overwhelming amount of data ostensibly aimed at “aiding” them in the driving task. There will be touch activated windshields, Augmented Reality (AR) navigation lines projected onto the windshield that guide drivers on a track of navigation, and the blending of both scenarios with the addition of ads showing up on screen. Audio feedback based on sensor activity is currently available as a service in certain commercial vehicles. Installed sensors monitor driver behavior and provide immediate audio feedback if a driver changes lanes suddenly, is speeding or engages in other unsafe behaviors.

Imagine being on the road in a “connected car.” You’re driving, being assisted by various on screen windshield AR applications that guide you through traffic, map your route and suggest places to stop along the way that you might want to visit. Furthermore, you still have the capability to make and answer calls, tell an agent how to respond to email etc… all while driving. You might be drinking a coffee or having a snack as well.

Source: The Society Pages

Gadgets: Windows 8 Police Car

Windows 8 Police Car

Microsoft's Windows Store launched into beta just over two weeks ago with less than 100 apps, but we've barely scratched the surface of potentially useful Windows 8 applications. Public safety solutions firm Modularis is aiming to change this with its Windows 8-controlled police car. Modularis has put together a cloud-based solution, using Windows Azure, that makes it possible to control a police car remotely using a simple Windows 8 application.

... I can't even begin to count the number of ways this could go wrong.

Photo: Lamborghini Aventador

Lamborghini Aventador

We're all about one step away from all driving Batmobiles. I love it.

Daily Links: December 12, 2011

Filipino designer creates World’s 1st Biodegradable car

World renowned Filipino product designer Kenneth Cobonpue has created the world’s first and only biodegrable car made out of bamboo and rattan called the Phoenix.

The 25 Funniest Autocorrects of 'Damn You Autocorrect!' to celebrate the site's First Year anniversary.

The 99% Declaration. Anyone who says the protesting portion of the U.S. has no specific goals should read carefully. Everyone should.

Check out MedlinePlus' advice on preparing for winter weather emergencies

“Construction of Language and Identity in LOLspeak“: An actual presentation from an actual academic conference.

Energetic consequences of thermal and nonthermal food processing. Or, as discussed by Discover Magazine, Why Calorie Counts Are Wrong: Cooked Food Provides a Lot More Energy.

The History and Future of Computing an interactive timeline from the New York Times which crowdsources predictions.

Infographic: Earth is Now Home to 7 Billion People

The Light Bulb Conspiracy is a documentary about disposable printers, light bulbs and everything else, investigating the implications of the business model and industrial design philosophy of Planned Obsolescence that drives and shapes our economy.  


WonderHowTo is a great site devoted to do-it-yourself instructional videos. Check out how to build your own electromagnetic railgun weapon, electric shock taser, stun darts for a blowgun, and more.

Video: Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City

Traffic in Frenetic HCMC, Vietnam from photographer Rob Whitworth

Everyone who has visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam knows part of the magic (love it or hate it) is in the traffic. Ever since I first set foot in HCMC I have been captivated by the cities energy. Saigon is a city on the move unlike anything I have experienced before which I wanted to capture and share.

Video Distraction: Electric TRON Lightcycle

"All New Full Scale Electric Tron Lightcycle driving in the daytime as well as night time. This bike has had extensive reworking on the body as well as Lithium Ion batteries and a 96volt electric motor."

After charging the battery for around 20 minutes you can get yourself about 100 miles of TRON lightcycling. Plus, the motor is no joke and can reach a top speed at 100 mph. But wait!! get this... they are trying to make it street legal and I am going to attempt to win the lottery so I can own one.

Source: Parker Brothers Choppers

Gadgets: Conquest Vehicles

The Knight XV from Conquest Vehicles: For when you absolutely, positively need a luxury ride that can withstand the Apocalypse. With a limited production run of only 100 vehicles, this luxury armored SUV - inspired by the Gurkha military vehicle - costs a paltry $310,000 USD; its nearest competitor, the Dartz Pombron, has no base price listed (estimated cost: $1.5 million USD).

Tech: Terrafugia Transition Flying Car

Terrafugia, the company that developed the transition flying car, has finally received regulatory clearance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allowing it to take the road when it hits the market next year. Thanks to the new exemptions, the vehicle can now use a polycarbonate windshield instead of those laminated safety glasses used on regular cars and special tires, allowing it to withstand the stress of landings. If everything goes according to plan, the transition should hit the market in late 2012.