Wooden quadcopter body

[Greasetattoo] shares the process of building his wooden quadcopter body that won 2nd place in the Minnesota state fair.  His plans were purchased as a kit back in 1999, but he never got around to actually building them. The original plans called for a foam board body, but he felt that a wooden piece of art would be much nicer. This build isn’t focusing on the electronics, they’re just a kit from Mikrokopter. Instead, it is a log of the entire process of making the beautiful wooden body. He really put some nice detail in there from the layered and nicely finished dome to the little oak sleeves for his motors. Great job [Greasetattoo].

Read more...

Mercedes-Benz unveils SLS AMG E-Cell Electric Sports Car at the Detroit Auto Show

 

There's been plenty of chatter over the last few months about Mercedes-Benz's next EV release, but all the speculation was put to rest today at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show where the famed company made the public unveil of their SLS AMG E-Cell prototype! The new supercar features four electric motors, and has a killer kick of 526 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque and is capable of reaching zero to 62 mph in just four seconds flat, all features that no one was really paying attention to because we were too busy ogling the jaw-dropping paint job on this sweet ride - a retina-searing electric yellow!

Read more...

Artist Cal Lane Transforms Industrial Objects into Intricate Lace Sculptures

 

Using her trusty blowtorch, artist and welder Cal Lane burns delicate lace-like patterns into reclaimed steel objects. She says she thinks of the original materials - such as shovels, manhole covers, dumpsters, wheelbarrows and i-beams - as “male” because of their industrial nature. Lane enjoys pushing the dichotomy of feminine and masculine by combining patterns of domesticity with these cold, harsh symbols of masculine blue collar labor.

Read more...

Keepon finally gets a cheaper version

Keepon, the adorable bot meant to help autistic kids with its jovial dance moves, seems to finally be getting a cheaper version. The original cost $30,000 and did a lot more than dance. Actually, we got to play with it a little bit at CES a couple years ago. The commercial version most likely won’t have facial recognition or any of the other fancy features of the first one, but we hope it can dance well.  We’ve actually seen a couple home made versions and we’re hoping that the new one has some major hacking potential. The temptation to have one of these cute little bots around is made even stronger when you see that some of the money is going back into autism research.

Read more...

Green Overdrive Video: The RAV4 EV (Via Tesla, Toyota)!

In one of the most interesting electric vehicle partnerships of 2010, Tesla and Toyota announced last year that they would jointly build an electric RAV4, combining Toyota’s SUV with Tesla’s battery and EV tech. For this week’s episode of GigaOM TV’s Green Overdrive Show, we grab some time with the RAV4 EV’s chief engineer, learn about the partner’s future plans and check out the inaugural car!

Read more...

Disco Death Ray

Wielding the power to melt glass or instantly ignite most day to day materials can be intoxicating pretty fun. With a little math, a lot of patience, and 5,800  1cm pieces of mirror, this build requires welding glasses just to look at the 1-2cm focal point. With an idea rumored to date back to Archimedes, this more portable parabolic project is perfect for your home burning needs. Unfortunately, this setup seems to have burnt itself to death at some point, though that makes room for version two, which will reportedly bump the mirror count to 32,000 or so.
There are plenty of other ways to make a death ray out there as well, including using lasers or lenses. Think you have a better tool of destruction? Be sure to tell us about it

Read more...