Top Stories

A Dutch mechanical engineer is working on realizing da Vinci's dream of human-powered flight, with some help from modern technology. Jarnos Smeets is the driving force between the Human Birdwings Project, which utilizes a combination of gadgets including an HTC Wildfire S and a Wii remote. He claims to have conducted his first successful test flight this week, even though he didn't appear to get too far off the ground. Read More

What if your car had roof panels that let you see the sky during the day, but that lit the interior of the vehicle at night? This is now a distinct possibility, thanks to work being done by BASF and Philips. As members of a consortium assembled by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the two companies have created OLED panels and installed them in the roof of a car. When switched on, the panels glow, lighting the cabin of the car – when switched off, they simply go transparent. Read More

We've seen some pretty small cameras in our day, but the “Eye of America” is certainly the largest. The 35-foot camera can barely fit in a tractor trailer, and can capture photos so detailed that it will put even some of the most the high-end of digital cameras to shame. The giant camera is being built by photographer Dennis Manarchy as part of his “Vanishing Cultures” project. For the project, Manarchy plans to travel to all 50 states with a view to creating a collection of photos and stories that “celebrates the full cycle of the American experience.” Read More

In the wilderness, few things are as important as a fire. Unfortunately, getting a fire going - even with all the right equipment - isn't always easy. Insta-fire makes it easier. The fire-starting mixture burns hot and long enough to eliminate the need for kindling and possibly even fuel. It's also versatile enough to light in wet conditions. Read More

If you combined a stealth jet fighter and an attack helicopter and stuck them in the water, what would you get? Well, according to the folks at New Hampshire’s Juliet Marine Systems (JMS), you’d get their GHOST marine platform. Privately developed for possible use by the U.S. Navy, the boat would reportedly be invisible to enemy ships’ radar, while also being faster and more economical than existing military vessels. The company’s big claim, however, is that GHOST is the world’s first super-cavitating watercraft. Read More

Obtaining a high-quality 3D digital model of a physical object can be a fiddly process, that often requires considerable user input. German research and development company NEK, however, is attempting to make things easier, with its OrcaM Orbital Camera System. Users just place an object inside of its "reconstruction sphere," then the system goes to work, automatically creating a near-perfect three-dimensional recreation of the object. Read More

A group of researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, led by Bruce Spiegelman and Pontus Boström, have discovered a hormone that mimics some of the results of a workout by facilitating the transformation of white fat into brown fat. While the purpose of the former is to accumulate excess calories, the latter is used to produce heat. Irisin, named after the Greek goddess Iris, could one day help address obesity and diabetes. However, there is still a long way to go before the hormone is made into an actual drug. Read More

It is no secret that personal transportation form factors are beginning to diverge and a new one caught our attention this week that is almost certain to carve itself a niche in this intensely interesting and competitive space. It's not as sexy as a Yikebike, Honda U3-X or Toyota Winglet, but it is easy to use, has a range of 12 miles (20 km), a top speed of 15 mph and a price under US$1000. At 90 pounds, the Personal Rover is not exactly small, but it folds up so it can be rolled on castor wheels inside a building, and will easily fit inside a car boot to fulfill secondary transport duties. Read More

It's another typical day in the office when your co-worker conspicuously begins to play "Ride of the Valkyries" on high volume. Before you can react to the strange shift in tone, you hear the "thwip thwip" sound of a helicopter coming your direction, as if you've stumbled into a cubicle version of Apocalypse Now. Next thing you know, a bright light shines over your cube wall and in your face, blinding you right before you spot two missiles launching straight at you ... which then bounce off your chest since they're made of plastic. You've just become the latest victim of the HELO TC Assault, the newest toy helicopter from Griffin that includes Android support and twin missile launchers. Read More