TeamDroid | Historic

Posted on 06.29.10 by John @ 9:12 pm

Only a matter of time until technology like this becomes common in everyday items. I want a bed that will make itself when I get out of it in the mornings.

(The device)… consists of a thin sheet of resin–fiberglass composite, just a few centimeters across, segmented into 32 triangular panels separated by flexible silicone joints. Some of the joints have heat-sensitive actuators that bend 180 degrees when warmed by an electric current, folding the sheet over at that joint. Depending on the program used, the sheet will conduct a series of folds to yield the boat or airplane shape in about 15 seconds. The folding-sheet approach is an extension of the field of computational origami, the mathematical study of how flat objects can be folded into complex, three-dimensional structures.

Shifty Science: Programmable Matter Takes Shape with Self-Folding Origami Sheets: Scientific American.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Artistic andCool andDiscovery andHistoric andTechnology
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The Classic Macintosh iPad Stand

Posted on 06.16.10 by John @ 7:53 am

A clever hack that combines a Mac Classic with a brand spanking new Apple iPad. No, the Mac Classic no longer works after this hack but you have to admit that it’s better than leaving to molder on a closet shelf somewhere.

iPad のスタンドを自作してみる – Macintosh iPad Stand | site hirac.
[Translated via the mighty Google so non-Japanese folks can read it]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Apple andArtistic andCool andDIY andHacked andHistoric andJapan andMods
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The Itinerant Photographer – The Ultimate DIY Photo Studio

Posted on 06.07.10 by John @ 6:31 pm

I’m fascinated by these cameras. They are an entire photo studio in a box. The photographer uses a hood on the back of the camera to compose and focus and image on the ground glass inside the large box. Once the image is set, the camera is made light tight and the film ( photographic printing paper) is placed on the focal plane. An exposure is made and the photographer reaches inside the camera via a light proof sleeve and develops the paper in the chemistry that is contained in the box. the result is a paper negative that can be re-photographed to produce a positive print. So far this is the best collection of these remarkable cameras I’ve ever come across. They are still used in parts of the world where minilabs and digital cameras are rare.

[Via MAKE]

The Cuban Polaroid

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Filed under: Cool andHacked andHistoric andPhotography
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Phoenix Mars lander Killed By Ice

Posted on 05.26.10 by John @ 8:14 pm

Landing on Mars in May of 2008, the NASA Mars Phoenix Lander worked remarkably well until November of the same year. It sent back hundreds of images and did soil testing that found calcium carbonate and perchlorate. The mission was only supposed to last for three months but like other NASA missions the service life of the lander exceeded expectations and only ended when the winter sun could no longer charge the probes batteries. When the Martian winter had passe it was hoped that the lander might have survived the deadly cold (-87C) and contact could once again be established. However it was not to be. The lander was no longer responding to commands issued from NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter as it did a number of passes over the landing site in multiple listening campaigns. Eventually an image was obtained from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter the that confirmed the speculation that an estimated 100 pounds of icy buildup has damaged the delicate solar panels.
Phoenix Mars Lander is Silent, New Image Shows Damage.

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Filed under: Cool andHistoric andRobots andScience andSpace andTechnology
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Mystery Camera and the Film From Within…

Posted on 05.13.10 by John @ 10:36 pm

Every once in a while I’ll stumble across a ‘classic’ camera when I visit the local second hand store. I recently picked up a Kodak Duaflex IV that was in pretty bad shape. The faux leather case was hard and cracked, there is rust on anything that could rust and weird corrosion on whatever wasn’t rusty but the lenses looked OK and the shutter moved. I was thinking that this would be a great camera to pull apart for the glass and shutter mechanism. I’ve been doing an on again off again search for simple camera shutters for my own creations, the Kodak looked to be a likely source. I’d rather have a nice Copal or Zeiss shutter from a folding camera but this would do.
How I managed not to open it while I was at the store is beyond me. If I had I would have noticed the exposed roll of vintage 620 format Kodacolor-X that was neatly waiting for someone to process it. (more…)

Popularity: 8% [?]

Filed under: General andHacked andHistoric andPhotography
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“NASA’CAR” Rocket Racers Take Off

Posted on 04.29.10 by John @ 6:37 am

I’ve been waiting a while for news of this. It’s fantastic that a demo has finally made it off the ground, please pardon the pun… Not too sure about the ‘play in the stands’ notion, that might be too much of a gmick for the spectators to handle.

A single rocket racer flew in front of the aviation crazed crowd at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2008 with its short bursts of rocket power allowing the pilot to climb and maneuver unlike a traditional airplane. As one of the test pilots explains in the video after the jump, it’s full throttle or nothing at all, giving pilots a boost of power…

Video: Rocket Racers Roar Over Tulsa

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Cool andHistoric andSpace andTechnology
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