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Like many computer users of my generation, I've notched up many hours of virtual flight time in a number of fairly realistic simulation programs. There are those who are simply not satisfied with keyboard, mouse and joystick control of jet fighters and passenger airplanes on a desktop computer system, though. Air traffic controller and pilot James Price is one such simulation-junkie who has taken his desire for realism to dizzy new heights by having the nose lopped off a veteran Boeing 737, fitting out the gutted cockpit with working controls, dials and monitors and then interfacing the hardware with flight simulation software. It's been a labor of love but we think the result is well worth the enormous amount of time and effort that's gone into the build. Read More

“I’m Chris Lewicki, and I’m an asteroid miner!” These were the opening words spoken by the President and Chief Engineer of Planetary Resources Inc., as the asteroid mining company emerged from three years of silent running to outline its plans to mine Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) within the decade. Read More

IKEA is moving into "hybrid furniture" with its new all-in-one UPPLEVA range. Integrating a home entertainment unit with AV equipment from Chinese manufacturer TCL, the UPPLEVA comes with a full-HD, smart LED TV, a combined Blu-ray, DVD, and CD player, and a 2.1 sound system featuring a wireless subwoofer - all operated by a single remote control. Read More

Of the world's nearly 45,000 cargo ships, many burn a low-grade bunker fuel in their engines and produce pollution equivalent to millions of automobiles. To help reduce that toxic load and keep the price of shipping freight reasonable, engineers at the University of Tokyo (UT) and a group of collaborators have designed a system of large, retractable sails measuring 64 feet (20 m) wide by 164 feet (50 m) high, which studies indicate can reduce annual fuel use on ships equipped with them by up to 30%. Read More

Though at this point only computer-rendered images area available for this audacious project, don't be mistaken. This is no mere concept. In fact, construction is already underway on the Shimao Intercontinental Hotel in the Songjiang District of Shanghai - a five-star, 19-story, 380-room, luxury hotel built into an abandoned, part-flooded quarry. Read More

Garrett Finney has had a fascination with small, outdoor-connected living spaces since his childhood in the 1970s. He transformed that passion into a logical career path as a NASA engineer working on habitation modules for the International Space Station. But, he later decided that he wanted to apply some of that passion to something a little closer to home. That something is the Cricket Trailer. Read More

Festo, a German automation technology company that brought us, among other things, the smartbird robotic seagull and bionic flying penguins, has built a flying object unlike any we have seen. Despite the impressive biomimicry track record, this time its engineers decided to look for inspiration in the inanimate world of geometry. Based on a geometrical band first created by Swiss artist and inventor Paul Schatz, the SmartInversion is filled with helium and propels itself through the air by constantly turning itself inside out. By investigating this pulsating, rhythmical movement, called inversion, the company hopes to identify possible uses for it in technology. Read More

When you think of a solar cell, you probably think of something designed to absorb as much sunlight as possible. What you probably don't think of is something that is also capable of emitting light. Nonetheless, that’s exactly what a new prototype device designed more like an LED does, and it recently set an efficiency record for flat-plate single junction solar cells. Read More

A couple of years ago, camera experts confidently predicted the megapixel race had come to an end and that no one needed more than 16 megapixels in a DSLR. Well, 2012 is proving that Nikon didn't get that memo, because after launching the 36.3-megapixel D800, it's now announced a 24.2-megapixel entry-level DSLR. The Nikon D3200 HD-SLR has a DX-format CMOS sensor, shoots Full HD (1080p) and is being released with an optional WiFi unit supporting image upload and remote viewing/shutter release. Read More