Machines

A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules, such as molecular machines.

flying-machine-fwd.jpg

Spherical Flying Machine

We got our first look at Japan’s Defense Ministry’s spherical flying machine earlier this year, but at a recent technology expo in Tokyo the hovering ball got the full coming-out treatment, complete with public demos eliciting “ooohs” and “aaaahs.” The video below shows the drone doing everything it was designed to do: zipping around omnidirectionally, …

Spherical Flying Machine Read More »

eyeborg.jpg

The Eyeborg

When he was nine years old, Toronto film-maker Rob Spence received a severe injury to his right eye in a shotgun accident. After a period of hiding the aftermath under an eyepatch, six years ago he had the eye replaced with a prosthesis. Being a visual artist, however, he had an idea – instead of …

The Eyeborg Read More »

exoskeleton-fwd.jpg

Exoskeleton

The human body is unsurpassed in the complexity of its design, performance and efficiency, but there are definite limitations to what we can achieve with a frame that’s around 6ft high – we can only carry so much weight, jump so far or run so fast before we reach our physical boundary. Machines that overcome …

Exoskeleton Read More »

advisory-copy.jpg

Kamikaze Unmanned Drone

The idea of small, man portable, soldier-launched aerial drones has been catching on for some time now with the military. Now there is a new drone aircraft that’s made by Aerovironment, the “Switchblade” drone packs neatly into its launch tube, which then packs easily into a backpack. When it’s time to deploy, soldiers quickly set …

Kamikaze Unmanned Drone Read More »

jet-pack-2.jpg

Jet Pack Time 2

An Exciting Update On The Martin Jet Pack. In May, inventor Glenn Martin—along with fire-rescue officers and crews on board a pair of chase helicopters—watched as his jetpack flew for nine minutes and 43 seconds, soaring 3,500 feet into the New Zealand sky. Had the machine been holding a live person instead of a 150-pound …

Jet Pack Time 2 Read More »

robots.jpg

Swarmanoid

In a striking display of military-like precision, the robotic team, dubbed the “Swarmanoid”, attacks the problem with flying “eye-bots” and rolling “foot-bots”. A “hand-bot” then fires a grappling hook-like device up to the ceiling and scales the bookshelf. Footage of the experiment, conducted by Marco Dorigo at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and colleagues. It’s …

Swarmanoid Read More »

jet-pack.jpg

Jet Pack Time

Finally the dream of flying can be realized on an individual level. The Martin Jet Pack is the world’s first practical jetpack. It consists of a purpose-built gasoline engine driving twin ducted fans which produce sufficient thrust to lift the aircraft and a pilot in vertical takeoff and landing, enabling sustained flight. That’s right boys …

Jet Pack Time Read More »