Friday, December 2, 2011

Soft-bodied robot owes its moves to starfish and squid

Soft-bodied robot owes its moves to starfish and squid: "More and more, it's looking like many of the robots in the not-too-distant future won't be hard, humanoid C-3PO-like affairs, but will instead be squishy, soft-bodied devices. Not only would such robots be better able to withstand mechanical shock, vibration and compression, but they would also be able to do things like squeezing through small spaces "

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Traxxas XO-1 RC car reaches 100 mph in 4.9 seconds

Traxxas XO-1 RC car reaches 100 mph in 4.9 seconds: "The Traxxas XO-1 is an all-wheel-drive electric car with a claimed top speed of over 100 mph (161 km/h). Not impressed? Oh yeah, it's also only 27 inches (68.6 cm) long, and weighs 10.3 pounds (4.67 kg) with batteries. The one-seventh scale radio-controlled model is billed as "the world's fastest ready-to-race radio-controlled supercar." This thing clearly isn't designed for use on the living room floor ... or on neighborhood roads."

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TAKERI concept points to future direction of Mazda's passenger cars

TAKERI concept points to future direction of Mazda's passenger cars: "Mazda's theme at this year's Tokyo Motor Show was "Environmental Technology, Pushing the Boundaries of the Emotion of Motion," and the TAKERI concept making its world debut at the show integrates a number of environmentally friendly technologies that fall under the company's SKYACTIV banner."

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Tetra-Shed: An office pod for your backyard (and more)

Tetra-Shed: An office pod for your backyard (and more): "Now here's an exciting piece of design. At first glance the Tetra-Shed, designed by architect David Ajasa-Adekunle, looks like the ideal hypermodern outdoor studio for the hipster home-worker."

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Thursday, December 1, 2011

Yamaha shows lightweight retro 125cc motorcycle that gets 220 mpg

Yamaha shows lightweight retro 125cc motorcycle that gets 220 mpg: "Yamaha's press conference at the Tokyo Motor Show today was a genuine sign of the times. Four brand new world premiers were shown. The largest internal combustion engine amongst them was a 250cc model with fat tires designed to go anywhere - the SUV of motorcycles was the claim."

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World's largest Tesla coils being built to unlock the secrets of natural lightning

World's largest Tesla coils being built to unlock the secrets of natural lightning: "Calling all Tesla fans! Electrical engineer Greg Leyh and his team at the Lightning on Demand organization (LOD) in California are raising the funds necessary to build the world's largest twin Tesla coils (ten stories high, about 120 ft/37 m) that will be capable of generating electric arcs more than 200 feet (60 m) long."

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