Drone racing simulator


“Drone Racing is a new high speed competitive racing sport. Skilled pilots fly quad-copter drones through three-dimensional courses at speeds up to 120mph. DRL drones are custom built for speed, agility, and performance. Pilots steer from the point of view of the drone by wearing First Person View (FPV) goggles that display a live image transmitted by an onboard camera. Flying a drone competitively at high speed in FPV is an intense, immersive experience.”

Sound like fun? Think you have the reflexes to compete against 20 somethings? I sure don’t! But don’t despair, you can play the DRL drone sim for free! 

DRL Simulator (free beta)

How to Get the Most From Your Toy Airplane

Remember when we would play with those little balsa wood planes and try to tweak them for better flights? Well this guy has pretty much taken that to a whole new level. I love the attention to detail like giving the wings more lift by warping them with water and an Ace bandage. The video of his flight makes it well worth the effort.

Flying and Improving Your Guillow’s Sky Streak

 

Camera + Facebook = Facedeals. No, this won’t cause a panic…

Part of me wants to think that this is just a hoax but no, I think it’s real.

So how this works is that you sign up on Facebook to let Facedeal use your info. Now every time you walk into a store that has a Facedeal camera that can scan your face you get offers and junk sent to your smart phone.

“Facial recognition cameras are installed at local businesses. These cameras recognize your face when you pass by, then check you in at the location. Simultaneously, your smartphone notifies you of a customized deal based on your Like history…The Facedeals app must be authorized via your Facebook account. With your help, the app verifies your most recent photo tags, using those to map the physical appearance of your face. Our custom-developed cameras then simply use this existing data to identify you in the real world. Personalized deals can now be delivered to your smartphone from all participating locations—all you have to do is show your face.”

I can’t help but think that this is going to freak people out or at least prompt folks to wear Nixon masks when they post self pics to Facebook and walk around in public. Another use for the ‘V for Vendetta’ masks? Read more about this ‘wonderful’ new technology at the L.A. Times:

Facedeals checks you in with facial-recognition cameras – latimes.com.

Video from Facedeal…

Mech Warfare


Imagine that you are the pilot of a six story high walking battle machine that is armed to the teeth. Your mission is to destroy the opposing force that has put dibs on your beloved city. As you turn a corner down a deserted street a rocket arcs towards you and you let fly a volley of machine gun fire at the six legged mech that fired it. Well, thats kind of what happens in ‘MechWarfare‘, a young sport where roboticists use sophisticated off the shelf wireless technology to give themselves the point of view of their remote controlled creations. Oh, did I mention they they are armed? Fully auto 6mm AirSoft guns are common and in the heavy class they use unguided rockets and flamethrowers! How can this not be the most fun you can have with r/c robots? Go read the article and see if you have what it takes to become the mech fighter of the future! Heck, if you want to help out you can drop them a few bucks in their Kickstarter Project, they want to build a better arena.

[via Slashdot]

Roboticists Engage in Mech Combat to Hone Their Skills

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

 

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera36 fixed focus cell phone cameras and a peak sensing accelerometer make for a novel way of taking a 360 degree panoramic image.

 “We used the camera to capture full spherical panoramas at scenic spots, in a crowded city square and in the middle of a group of people taking turns in throwing the camera. Above all we found that it is a very enjoyable, playful way to take pictures.”

[Via MAKE]

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera // Jonas Pfeil.

X-37B Returns from First Space Flight

Great news in the world of secret space flight:

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The U.S. Air Force’s first
unmanned re-entry spacecraft landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base at
1:16 a.m. PST today.

The X-37B, named Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1), conducted on-orbit
experiments for more than 220 days during its maiden voyage.  It fired
its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an
autonomous reentry before landing.

The X-37B is the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft. Managed
by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO), the X-37B program
performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations
development for reusable space vehicle technologies.

“Today’s landing culminates a successful mission based on close
teamwork between the 30th Space Wing, Boeing and the Air Force Rapid
Capabilities Office,” said Lt Col Troy Giese, X-37B program manager
from the AFRCO. “We are very pleased that the program completed all
the on-orbit objectives for the first mission.”

OTV-1’s de-orbit and landing mark the transition from the on-orbit
demonstration phase to a refurbishment phase for the program.

The Air Force is preparing to launch the next X-37B, OTV-2, in Spring
2011 aboard an Atlas V booster.

Brian Webb
http://www.spacearchive.info

I wonder if the X-37B has enough delta V to make it to the ISS? If it did then there might be hope for more re-supply missions that don’t rely on the Russian Progress launches.