Printed/Programmed Magnets

Destin from SmarterEveryDay explores some mind blowing magnets.

Hands free wheelchair

A backyard New Zealand inventor has created a hands free wheelchair for a friend disabled in a skiing accident. The wheelchair is self balancing and responds to shifts in weight, allowing the user to instantly turn in any direction.

The invention is currently in preproduction set up and is a finalist in the New Zealand National Innovators’ Awards.


Some common questions answered:

More info here

More video of the Ogo here

A house that catches the sun

This amazing award winning house in Australia can chase the sun. Built on a huge lazy susan, the house rotates 359 degrees for a change of scenery at the touch of a button.

Big vehicles

As a kid, I had a picture book about big vehicles. Dad had some large vehicles for his sawmill and contracting business, but not quite as big as these.

Industrial Internet Revolution

As explained in this Ted Talk by Marco Annunziata, the Internet of Things is ushering in the next social-economic-cultural revolution where not just intelligent machines, but brilliant machines will communicate to revolutionize the world in the same way that the Industrial and Digital revolutions changed society.

Amazing expanding table

One of the MuzGadget sisters is impressed with this unique Fletcher Capstan Table renowned British luxury furniture makers Fletcher Burwell-Taylor Ltd.


The Fletcher Capstan Table from Morph Studio on Vimeo.

The table remains truly circular as it transforms to double the seating with either a manual or electronic rotation. Based on a 19th century design by Robert Jupe, the current improved design has been worked on by designer David Fletcher since 1997 and has a smooth mechanism and hides the expansion leaves inside the table.

Priced comparable to a luxury sports car, the table is custom made for each customer (often superyacht owners), and is crafted from thousands of parts. David usually personally installs each table.

He describes the process that goes into The Making of The Fletcher Capstan Table. More information at Fletcher Tables.

Best science museum visit yet: Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris

In July we spent 10 nights in Paris and visited many of the touristic sites as well as sites that our science loving kids would enjoy. The Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (City of Science and Industry) was so amazing and so big that we spent two full days there.

Full of interactive exhibits on: Mathematics, Sounds, Space Travel, Communication, Genetics, Light, Images, Energy, Design and Innovation, Transportation, the Universe as well as temporary exhibits: Economics, Futurotextiles, Housing for tomorrow, and Leonaro da Vinci's projects, designs and machines; the Cité des Sciences is the largest science museum in Europe and France's fifth most popular museum.

All of the exhibits were top quality. Almost all were in multiple languages (including Braille). The depth of science was amazing - nothing was dumbed down and with so many exhibits there was something for everyone. I was impressed by the use of four synchronized projectors on a hanging sphere in an Earthwatch: the satellite revolution exhibit that gave a realistic impression of the revolving and changing world while the story of the exhibit was being told.

Our children enjoyed the 5-12 years activity area which featured a TV studio, an ant colony, communication, fun with water and a factory - they produced their own robot cut personalized cardboard boxes.

Outside, we visited the Argonaute submarine that hunted submarines in the 1950s and watched a 3D movie about dragons at the Geode hemispherical cinema.

Futurotextiles was closed and being packed up on our second visit. We didn't have time to see the Multimedia Library or the Planetarium and the Aquarium was under renovation. Perhaps next time!

Technicity

I am starting another Coursera course: TechniCity

This 4 week course explores how sensors and networks are transforming our cities, how to engage in city building through social networking and crowdsourcing platforms, some experiments with analyzing city data and how open data initiatives, hack-a-thons, and urban prototyping festivals are creatively innovating our cities.

Amazing build of a model V-12 engine

Perhaps the world's smallest motor of its type, this hand crafted V-12 air injection engine is constructed from stainless steel, aluminium and bronze. It has 12 cc displacement with a cylinder bore of 11.3mm and piston stroke of 10mm. Created by Patelo from Spain, it is dedicated to his four oldest grandchildren and not for sale.

Smart lighting

NXP Semiconductors has developed wifi technology for lightbulbs allowing them to be controlled from any internet connected device.




As seen on Springwise.

After seeing one of the MuzGadget bro's remote controlled light switch, I had ideas about smart lighting similar to this about 10 years ago, but without the electronics and engineering skills I was unable to do anything about it.

Open source hardware

Marcin Jakubowski talks about creating the Global Village Construction Set, a wiki of 3D designs for 50 different industrial machines for a self sufficient economy.


More at http://opensourceecology.org.nyud.net/index.php

Why I want a 3D Printer

This amazing video of 10-year-old Schulyer makes me want to get (or make) a Makerbot 3D printer.

The Falkirk Wheel

Just over a year ago we visited the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. An amazing piece of engineering that has replaced a complex system of locks and has helped to revive canal boat tourism.

A boat entering the bottom of the wheel.

Another boat entering next to ours before we go down again.

The Falkirk Wheel in action.

Using Archimede's principle of displacement, the Falkirk Wheel uses very little energy to lift the boats up and down in rotating balanced tanks.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Amazing gadget camera from the 1930s

This photo is the "Swiss Army Camera" (photoshopped) version of the Jaeger LeCoultre Compass camera.

The real version of this 35 mm compact camera was one of the most advanced gadgets of its time in the 1930s. The British pilot and aircraft builder, Noel Pemberton-Billing (1991-1948) designed the Compass. He was also a politician, businessman and founder of the "Supermarine" company. A Swiss clock and watch manufacturer, famous for their high precision work on the instrument panels of many cars, they produced the gadget for the remarkably low price of 30 British pounds - about 1/5th the price of similar high tech cameras of the time. Less than 4000 units were made and their present value is between 1800-2200 USD.

See http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/US/en/content/the-compass-camera for specifications and more features.