Posted on July 27th, 2010 by axb
If you’re planning to visit the western coast of France anytime soon, be sure to keep an eye out for a 40-foot-tall mechanical elephant. Perhaps taking inspiration from steampunk fiction and Jules Verne, French engineers, artists, and craftspeople have cobbled together a movable mammoth using 45 tons worth of reclaimed wood and steel.
The Great Elephant is part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes project, and exhibit of fantastical creations, which aims to inspire the imaginations of citizens and tourists alike. And it’s not just for decoration, either: this robust creature can carry up to 49 passengers on a 45-minute walk around the city of Nantes.
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Filed under: Mechanical, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Art, Mechanical, Robotics, Transportation
Posted on July 21st, 2010 by jxh
A new system that detects available parking spots and indicates them for drivers could reduce traffic congestion, carbon emissions – and, with any hope, road rage.
Researchers from Spain’s Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona School of Engineering developed the system, called XALOC – Xarxes de sensors per a la gestió d’Aparcaments públics i LOCalització.
Translation? “Sensor networks for the management of public parking and location.”
Each parking spot in the system has a wireless sensor embedded in the middle of the space, which can tell whether or not the space is occupied.
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Filed under: Civil, Electrical, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Civil, Electrical, Green Technology, Transportation
Posted on July 12th, 2010 by jxh
Most people hear NASA and think of rocket ships and outer space.
But the space agency will assist in an effort to relocate 70,000 sea turtle eggs from northern Gulf beaches that have been affected by the BP oil spill.
To save them, biologists are carefully digging up 700 sea turtle nests by hand, with each nest containing approximately 100-120 eggs.
The eggs will be placed inside Styrofoam coolers and buried in the damp sand taken from their nests, and then transported in a temperature-controlled truck to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Researchers will monitor the eggs until they hatch, after which the young turtles will be quickly moved to nearby beaches so they can make their voyage to sea.
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Filed under: Environmental, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Environmental, Transportation
Posted on July 8th, 2010 by jxh
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA, with André Borschberg at its controls, successfully landed this morning after flying for more than 26 hours.
The plane was in the air the all day and all night, relying entirely on solar energy. The flight is the longest and highest in the history of solar aviation.
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Filed under: Aerospace, Mechanical, Transportation, e-News | 3 Comments »
Tags: Aerospace, Green Technology, Mechanical, Transportation
Posted on July 7th, 2010 by jxh
We previously reported that the world’s first solar-powered blimp is planning to cross the English Channel.
Now, Swiss pilot André Borscherg is attempting the world’s first manned 24-hour flight in a solar-powered aircraft, which began this morning when he took off in the Solar Impulse HB-SIA.
The plane, which is equipped with 12,000 solar cells on its wings, will attempt to fly both during the light of day and the dark of night. If this mission is successful, it will be the longest and highest flight ever made by a solar plane.
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Filed under: Aerospace, Mechanical, Transportation, e-News | 1 Comment »
Tags: Aerospace, Green Technology, Mechanical, Transportation
Posted on July 6th, 2010 by jxh
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), also known as roadside bombs, are the deadliest threat facing U.S. troops in the Afghanistan War and they are the weapon of choice for many insurgent groups.
To better protect U.S. troops from IEDs, civilian mechanics at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama have built the Assault Breacher Vehicle – a 64-ton tank nicknamed “the Shredder.”
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Filed under: Mechanical, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Defense, Mechanical, Military, Transportation
Posted on June 30th, 2010 by jxh
While the Jetsons lived in the far-off year 2062, one aspect of their futuristic world will become a reality next year: flying cars
We previously reported on the Transition, the two-seater drivable aircraft that the Massachusetts company Terrafugia has been developing over the past four years.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently approved the vehicle, and the company expects it to be available by the end of 2011.
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Filed under: Aerospace, Civil, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Aerospace, Aviation, Cars, Civil, Mechanical, Transportation
