Space fishing: ESA floats plan to net space junk

With the film Gravity hoovering up awards for its portrayal of astronauts dodging colliding satellites, now seems a good time to talk about the very real threat posed by space debris. It’s small wonder, then, that ESA’s Clean Space initiative is looking at developing a satellite that can rendezvous with space debris and render it harmless by netting it like fish. The proposal is just one of the ideas to be discussed as part of a symposium this May focusing on the space agency's e.DeOrbit mission... Continue Reading Space fishing: ESA floats plan to net space junk

Section: Space

Tags: Collision, Debris, ESA, Satellite, Space Travel, Spacecraft

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SPARCS "camera grenade" offers an alternative to reconnaissance drones

Imagine a scenario where an earthquake brings down an industrial complex, trapping the survivors inside and as the disaster response team arrives, they unpack a grenade launcher and start lobbing rounds into the air. This may seem like madness, but there’s method in it. In this hypothetical case, the grenades are part of the Soldier Parachute Aerial Reconnaissance Camera System (SPARCS) built by Singapore-based ST Engineering. Instead of a warhead, each 40 mm grenade round has a CMOS camera sending back real-time images to a computerized receiver; turning disaster teams, police, and foot soldiers into recon units... Continue Reading SPARCS "camera grenade" offers an alternative to reconnaissance drones

Section: Military

Tags: Drone, Grenades, Reconnaissance, Singapore, ST Engineering

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Hennessey Venom GT hits 270.49 mph, busts Bugatti Veyron's speed record

The Bugatti Veyron SuperSport caught the world’s attention in 2010 when it set the record for the world's fastest production car, but that crown may now have been passed on. Hennessey Performance announced on Monday that its Venom GT hit 270.49 mph (435.31 km/h) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Driven by former Michelin tire test engineer, race driver, and Director of Miller Motorsport Brian Smith, the time for the Venom GT was independently verified, but has yet to be officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records... Continue Reading Hennessey Venom GT hits 270.49 mph, busts Bugatti Veyron's speed record

Section: Automotive

Tags: Bugatti Veyron, Hennessey, NASA, Record, World Records, World's Fastest

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Boeing CST-100 (virtually) flown to space

The commander of the last Space Shuttle mission recently returned to space, but never left the ground. No, this isn’t one of those annoying lateral thinking puzzles. Chris Ferguson, commander of the STS-135 Atlantis mission in 2011 and currently director of Crew and Mission Operations at Boeing, went on a virtual flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in a ground-based simulator as part of NASA’s testing requirements for Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft... Continue Reading Boeing CST-100 (virtually) flown to space

Section: Space

Tags: Boeing, CST-100, International Space Station, NASA, Simulator, Spacecraft

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GE using medical X-rays to inspect undersea pipelines

Using X-rays and other forms of radiation has been a standard tool for testing pipelines for decades, but until now it's been largely confined to factories and land-based pipelines instead of the deep seabed. That’s changing as GE adapts its medical X-ray systems to work in the crushing pressures of the deep oceans, as part of a remote-controlled submersible rig for examining pipelines in place... Continue Reading GE using medical X-rays to inspect undersea pipelines

Section: Marine

Tags: Engineering, GE, General Electric, Marine, Ocean, X-ray

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Subaru hints at Viziv 2 Concept

Hints of what to expect at the Geneva Motor Show next month continue to flood in, the latest being this (rather unrevealing) image of Subaru's Viziv 2 Concept, which is set to be showcased alongside the new top of the line WRX STI. .. Continue Reading Subaru hints at Viziv 2 Concept

Section: Automotive

Tags: Geneva Motor Show 2014, Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, Subaru

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Range Rover set to debut two Evoque limited editions

It’s been a week of previews for this year’s Geneva Motor Show and Land Rover has added another to the list by announcing that the Range Rover Evoque Autobiography and Autobiography Dynamic will make their debut next month. The smallest of the Ranger Rover line, the four-seater Evoque limited editions will include some tweaked styling and a power boost, with the the Autobiography Dynamic billed as the most performance-focused Evoque ever produced... Continue Reading Range Rover set to debut two Evoque limited editions

Section: Automotive

Tags: Geneva Motor Show 2014, Land Rover, Range Rover, Range Rover Evoque

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Google's Project Tango: A smartphone that sees your surroundings

Smartphones are, well, smart, but they aren't very interested in their surroundings. This may seem trivial, but when it comes to working with people in what we like to call the “real” world, a mobile device that doesn't understand much outside of its camera view has only limited usefulness. With these limitations in mind, Google’s Project Tango is working on a smartphone that can map its environment in 3D in real time to provide user and device with some common ground... Continue Reading Google's Project Tango: A smartphone that sees your surroundings

Section: Mobile Technology

Tags: Android, Google, Smartphones

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Q -Warrior brings head-up display to the battlefield

"Great battles are won with artillery" – Napoleon Bonaparte. In the 21st century, he’d probably change that to information. The trick is to get that information to soldiers on the front line quickly and in a manner that won’t distract them from the job at hand. To this end, BAE Systems’ Electronic Systems has developed the Q-Warrior – a head-up display for foot soldiers that’s designed to provide a full-color, high resolution 3D display of the battlefield situation and assets. .. Continue Reading Q -Warrior brings head-up display to the battlefield

Section: Military

Tags: 3D, BAE Systems, Battlefield, Communications, Heads Up Display

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Kepler demonstrates that it can still detect planets

Last year, it looked as though the Kepler space probe had nothing to look forward to but the scrap heap. After the failure of two of its reaction wheels, the unmanned spacecraft was incapable of maintaining the precision pointing needed to hunt planets beyond the Solar System. Now, however, NASA’s Kepler team has demonstrated that space telescope can still detect exoplanets thanks the K2 mission concept maneuver. .. Continue Reading Kepler demonstrates that it can still detect planets

Section: Space

Tags: Exoplanet, Kepler Mission, NASA, Space telescope, Spacecraft, Sunlight

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Land Rover Discovery XXV Special Edition commemorates 25 years of off-roading

In 1989, Land Rover rolled out the first Discovery as an affordable bridge between the Chelsea tractors of the Range Rover and the bush-busting Defender. Twenty-five years later, 1,088,000 Discoveries have been sold worldwide and to celebrate the occasion, Land Rover has unveiled the XXV Special Edition Discovery 4, which includes special exterior and interior features to go along with its HSE specifications... Continue Reading Land Rover Discovery XXV Special Edition commemorates 25 years of off-roading

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Tags: Anniversary, Land Rover

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SuperDroid fields remote control snow plow

In the southeast United States, snow storms are as about as common as canoes on Mount Everest, which is what makes the current task of digging the region out from under the recent deposit of the white stuff so irksome. To aid the inexperienced snow shoveler, SuperDroid of Raleigh, North Carolina is selling a remote-controlled robotic snow plow that allows you to clear the drive while sitting where it’s warm with a cup of cocoa... Continue Reading SuperDroid fields remote control snow plow

Section: Robotics

Tags: Remote Control, Remote-controlled, Robotic, Snow

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NASA solves Martian rock mystery

NASA has solved the mystery of the "Martian jelly doughnut." First seen by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on January 8, the 1.5-in wide, white-rimmed, red-centered rock that resembles a piece of pastry seemingly appeared out of nowhere, but the space agency now says that it's actually a rock fragment dislodged by the rover's passing... Continue Reading NASA solves Martian rock mystery

Section: Space

Tags: Mars, NASA, Opportunity

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Ferrari will debut the turbocharged California T at Geneva

Ferrari hasn't fielded a turbo since it stopped building the F40 hypercar back in 1992. That changes in March when the car maker premières its mid-front-engine, retractable hard top berlinetta California T at the Geneva Motor Show. With the T standing for Turbo, the new California Grand Touring sports car has been redesigned to mark the occasion by the Ferrari Style Center and Pininfarina with aerodynamics to match the new powerplant... Continue Reading Ferrari will debut the turbocharged California T at Geneva

Section: Automotive

Tags: Berlinetta, Car, Ferrari, Geneva Motor Show 2014, Pininfarina, Turbo

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The Felino cB7: Canada's newest supercar

North America may be in the grip of a brutal winter, but Canada is trying to bring in some heat with a homegrown supercar. At this year’s Salon International de Montréal, the Felino Corporation unveiled its Felino cB7 – a high-performance two-seater for the track that’s potentially street legal. Led by CEO and Canadian champion race driver Antoine Bessette, it marks the culmination of a four-year effort to bring a supercar out of Quebec... Continue Reading The Felino cB7: Canada's newest supercar

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Tags: Concept Cars, Felino, Supercars

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Historic Colossus computer marks 70th anniversary

Sometimes the most important victories in a war don’t occur on battlefields and don’t involve weaponry. On Wednesday, a very unusual group of veterans gathered at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire to commemorate an event that shortened the Second World War and saved countless lives. They were the men and women who built Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic digital computer, and they and their families were at the National Museum of Computing for a re-enactment of the day the famous machine began its code-breaking operations against the Axis forces... Continue Reading Historic Colossus computer marks 70th anniversary

Section: Computers

Tags: Anniversary, Computers, History, Museum, National Museum of Computing

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Details of successful first test flight of Taranis UCAV demonstrator revealed

The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) and BAE Systems this week announced details of last year's first test flight of the Taranis unmanned combat demonstrator aircraft, which BAE bills as the "most advanced aircraft ever built by British engineers." The 15-minute test flight took place at an undisclosed location outside of the UK on August 10, 2013 as part of a project to show the UK’s ability to create a unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) capable of surveillance, targeting, intelligence gathering, deterrence, and strikes in hostile territory... Continue Reading Details of successful first test flight of Taranis UCAV demonstrator revealed

Section: Military

Tags: BAE Systems, Combat, Drone, MOD, Royal Air Force, Taranis, Unmanned

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Volkswagen leads "AdaptIVe" research project into autonomous cars

There’s more to putting self-driving cars on the road than technology and algorithms. There’s also some very basic thinking that needs to be done as to what autonomous vehicles are and what their implications are. Towards this end, Volkswagen has announced the start of Automated Driving Applications & Technologies for Intelligent Vehicles (AdaptIVe); a 42-month project by a consortium of 29 partners, including ten major automotive manufacturers, aimed at developing more efficient and safer autonomous systems. .. Continue Reading Volkswagen leads "AdaptIVe" research project into autonomous cars

Section: Automotive

Tags: Autonomous, Autonomous Vehicles, Cars, Research, Self-Driving,Volkswagen

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Many lasers become one in Lockheed Martin's 30 kW fiber laser

In another step forward for laser weapons that brings to mind the Death Star's superlaser, Lockheed Martin has demonstrated a 30-kilowatt fiber laser produced by combining many lasers into a single beam of light. According to the company, this is the highest power laser yet that was still able to maintain beam quality and electrical efficiency, paving the way for a laser weapon system suitable, if not for a Death Star, for a wide range of air, land and sea military platforms. .. Continue Reading Many lasers become one in Lockheed Martin's 30 kW fiber laser

Section: Military

Tags: Laser, Laser weapon, Lockheed Martin, Weapons

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