portfolios – Page 4 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Google’s Self-Driving Car Just Got Slightly More Real

They could have done worse : as of yesterday afternoon, the Google Self-Driving Car Project has made a concerted push into the public eye with the unveiling of a pod-like prototype vehicle and a few new videos about what they’ve been up to lately. It’s a stripped-down electric two-seater—no steering wheel or pedals to speak of—that tops out at 25mph and is strictly intended for demonstration and pilot purposes, as seen in the video below: This is not by any means a production vehicle—they’re making “about a hundred” of them for now—so I’ll leave it to our dear readers to provide feedback on the styling (it’s on our discussion boards as of 8:26am this morning). All I can say is, open those doors up and I dare you not to picture a cutesy cartoon koala. An early rendering of the prototype Some talking points, regarding how they are presenting the self-driving car and what they’ve disclosed about the project in the videos they’ve released thus far (embedded below): (more…)

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Google’s Self-Driving Car Just Got Slightly More Real

Drinkable Book: Have We Found a Solution to the World’s Clean Water Crisis?

Finding clean water for the entire world to enjoy has been an ideal that’s gone unsolved, but not for lack of trying. Scientists, chemists and designers have been on the challenge for years, coming up with solutions that technically work, but might not necessarily fit into the budgets of those really in need of a tall glass of the good stuff. Non-profit Water is Life teamed up with scientists and engineers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Virginia to come up with a solution that’s a little more wallet-friendly than a water generator: the Drinkable Book. The 20 corrugated pages in this booklet are actually filters that block harmful water-borne bacteria like cholera, E. coli and typhoid from getting into your water. Dr. Theresa Dankovich was able to create a paper coated with silver nanoparticles—tiny pieces of silver between 1 nm and 100 nm in size—which gets rid of more than 99.9% of dangerous bacteria. While the Drinkable Book’s primary intention is to provide safe drinking water, it also covers another very important link that’s been missing from the equation: education. Most people who catch water-related diseases have no idea that the drinking water is unsafe to consume. Each page of the book displays different water safety facts and tips for readers/drinkers. Check out Water is Life’s video for the project: (more…)

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Drinkable Book: Have We Found a Solution to the World’s Clean Water Crisis?

China on the Forefront of 3D-Printed Housing

While China had their Industrial Revolution rather late in the global game, their production might and speed means they’ll likely advance new digital fabrication techniques before the rest of the world does. For example, it’s been ten years since the American outfit Contour Crafting first proposed 3D printing houses, but aside from a brief surge of TED-Talk-inspired press in 2012, they’ve been mostly quiet. In that time, meanwhile, China has begun developing their 3D-printed-house-erecting capabilities in earnest. The Shanghai-based WinSun Decoration Design Engineering company recently printed ten sample structures of 200 square meters each. What’s amazing is that they produced the entire lot in less than 24 hours, and that the cost of each house is less than US $5, 000. The concrete-like building material comes “entirely out of recycled materials [and is] a mixture of construction and industrial waste” which the company claims is environmentally friendly (although they don’t provide specifics on the material). (more…)

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China on the Forefront of 3D-Printed Housing

Hasenkopf’s ‘Frescata’ Material-Processing Technology Yields Beautiful and Unique Surfaces

One of the cooler materials we saw at Holz-Handwerk wasn’t really a material at all, but a process. German industrial manufacturer Hasenkopf’s booth drew a steady stream of visitors all reaching out to touch the weird-looking totems, like the one above, that they had on display; I eagerly checked the product tag to find it was nothing more than Corian. So what gives? Hasenkopf was showing off their bag of new material-processing tricks called Frescata , whereby they hit Corian, Parapan, and even wood with four different bits in a five-axis CNC mill to create the intricate patterns you see here. (more…)

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Hasenkopf’s ‘Frescata’ Material-Processing Technology Yields Beautiful and Unique Surfaces

Reducing the Heat In Computing

Graphene + Copper (not to scale, obviously) About a year ago, I traveled to Cornell University to interview a bunch of materials scientists who work at the nanoscale level. This means they work with stuff that is very, very tiny. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. One of the challenges nearly all of the scientists kept mentioning is the issue of overheating in electronics. Most of us are directly familiar with the heat released from our computers when we balance them on our lap for a period of time, for example. And this becomes a big deal as devices get smaller and smaller. The smaller the copper wires—which connect chips, among other things—the more heat they emit. This is important for future devices and wearables. Scientists are exploring all kinds of solutions but a proven one has recently been announced in the journal Nano Letters. We’ve mentioned the magic material graphene before and it continues to be the superhero material, coming to the rescue over and over again. This time, it shows up as a possible damper for heated copper wires. Graphene is a one-atom thick material that can move electrons and heat. And it is able to cling to copper. Apparently by sandwiching copper between layers of graphene, the heat created by the metal is decreased by 25 percent. When attached to copper, the graphene actually changes its structure in such a way that allows the heat to move more freely through the metal, instead of being trapped in it. From left: (1) copper before any processing, (2) copper after thermal processing; (3) copper after adding graphene. Image via UCR Today (more…)

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Reducing the Heat In Computing

Nike to Release Marty McFly’s Back to the Future 2 MAGs–With Power Lace Feature!

In 2011 Nike released the Nike MAGs , based on the design of the kicks Michael J. Fox wore in Back to the Future 2. Supply of the limited-edition sneakers were constrained to boost value, as proceeds were sent to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, netting some $6 million. While the production MAGs looked like what McFly wore in the movie, they lacked the cool self-lacing feature dreamt up by an imaginative designer (possibly the movie’s Costume Designer Joanna Johnston, Production Designer Rick Carter or Art Director Margie Stone McShirley). However, the sneakerhead corner of the blogosphere is currently abuzz with fresh news: Nike designer Tinker Hatfield was quoted at a recent event on whether the MAGs would be re-released for 2015, the year that McFly wore the kicks in the movie. Here’s the one sentence of Hatfield’s making the rounds: “Are we gonna see power laces in 2015? To that, I say YES!” If Hatfield’s true to his word, by next year we may be seeing real-life versions of this scene: Via Sole Collector (more…)

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Nike to Release Marty McFly’s Back to the Future 2 MAGs–With Power Lace Feature!

Flotspotting: Kibum Park’s Awesome Urban Residences

You undoubtedly remember those slick renderings for the Lowline , the still-in-progress underground NYC park tentatively scheduled for a 2018 opening. The renderings were done by architect Kibum Park, a partner at James Ramsey’s RAAD , a firm that “[focuses] on single and multi-family residential, commercial and hospitality projects.” Well, turns out Park’s got a Coroflot page , loaded up with renders of some bee-yootiful hotels, restaurants, houses and apartments, the latter being the ones that most caught our eye. The clients are of course anonymous and text descriptions are largely absent, but the images do most of the talking. Check out this NYC penthouse with its crazy, sun-dappled, yurt-like master bedroom with elevated library: (more…)

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Flotspotting: Kibum Park’s Awesome Urban Residences

Brilliant Transformational Transportation Design: The Track N Go Converts Your Truck Into a Tread-Equipped, Snow-Going Beast in Under 15 Minutes

Even though I live in America, I never saw as many monster trucks anywhere in the ‘States as I did in Reyjkavik. For drivers who need to navigate the Icelandic hinterlands, owning a pickup truck converted to drive man-height tires is more practical concern than pissing contest. Sure, they looked silly and inconvenient in the city, but it was a trade-off everyone was apparently fine with. So I wonder if the Track N Go would gain any traction in Iceland. This has to be the coolest off-road conversion I’ve ever seen, because it’s completely reversible and only takes fifteen minutes. Check out how it drives: Before we get to how they put them on, the following video, narrated in French, gives you a good look at an individual Track N Go (and gives you a sense of how heavy it is): (more…)

The Onewheel: A Self-Balancing Electric Monowheel Skateboard

Inspired by the hoverboard Michael J. Fox cruises around on in Back to the Future Part II , ex-IDEO’er Kyle Doerksen created the Onewheel. A self-balancing electric monowheel skateboard, the Onewheel seemingly replicates the feeling of riding around on a hoverboard (if not the form factor), and even a novice can purportedly pick up how to ride one in less than a minute; in addition to the self-balancing feature, riders can accelerate by leaning forward and slow down by leaning back, as with a Segway. The 25-pound device will do 12 m.p.h., with a range of four to six miles. Charging the lithium battery takes from 20 minutes to two hours, depending on what type of charger you use. And the monowheel design means that maintenance is a lot simpler than it would be for a bicycle: “There’s literally only one moving part—the wheel, ” writes Doerksen. “No gears, belts or chains to maintain.” And yes, the Onewheel is real, not just a concept; Doerksen and his team have it up on Kickstarter , where it’s already tripled its $100, 000 goal. Check out the video: (more…)

Tools for Carrying Sheet Goods: The Gorilla Gripper and the Handle On Demand

Moving sheet goods is a huge pain in the neck, particularly for shorter guys like me with a wingspan that leaves something to be desired. But even for you bigger folk, there’s nothing ergonomic about toting a 4×8 sheet around your shop or the jobsite. The Gorilla Gripper is a cleverly-designed handle that allows you to lift and carry sheet goods using your back and legs, while preserving your fingers and toes. There are tons of YouTube videos showing the thing, but I like the following low-res one the best because it shows the actual applications in the field: I don’t think I’d have the balls to try hoisting it up a ladder, like the guy did in the video, but I’d try everything else they showed. (more…)