Posts

May 15, 2013

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Geek Squad Hunter Smith of Waterloo Labs [second from left] helped four interns transform go-karts into interactive racers fit for a Super Nintendo game. Jeff Wilson A pack of hacked go-karts that re-creates a classic videogame. One summer, a young engineer walked into Austin's Park, an amusement center outside the Texas capital, and introduced himself to the manager as an intern from Waterloo Labs-a hacking collaborative sponsored by the engineering juggernaut National Instruments. He and his […]

May 10, 2013

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1:04 PM | 2013 Invention Awards: Smart Ball

The Bounce Imaging Explorer Sam Kaplan A wireless data-gathering grenade to toss into danger. After an earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010, search-and-rescue teams descended upon Port-au-Prince to look for survivors. Francisco Aguilar, a graduate student in public policy at the time, was shocked to read stories about crews relying on complex, expensive imaging systems. "Only a few teams had them, and you had to be really well trained to use them," Aguilar says. He soon launched a start-up in […]

January 16, 2013

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11:00 PM | You Built What?!: The World's Fastest Baby Carriage

Stunt Addict Colin Furze built his record-breaking baby stroller around a four-stroke, 125-cubic-centimeter motorbike engine. Dom RomneyA motorized stroller that accelerates to 53 mph. News of impending fatherhood affects men in different ways. Some guys pump their fists. Others light cigars. A few flee. When 33-year-old Colin Furze learned that his girlfriend was pregnant, he channeled his paternal excitement into building the world's fastest baby stroller. The twin-exhaust, 10-horsepower, […]

December 06, 2012

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2:59 PM | You Built What?!: A Remote-Controlled Robo-Arm

Smart Arm Mike BasherA 16-year-old's homemade wireless robotic limb. Two summers ago, Easton LaChappelle thought it would be fun to build a robotic arm controlled wirelessly using a glove. LaChappelle, then 14, knew nothing about electronics, programming, or robots-but he was bored and desperate for a challenge. So over the next couple of years, the teen, now a high school junior, toiled in his cramped bedroom workshop in Mancos, Colorado, ironing out the details. In time, he emerged with a […]

November 12, 2012

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2:00 PM | 4 Extreme Labs That Subject New Materials To Fire, Lightning, Crashes, and High-Speed Birds

Let It Burn Courtesy DupontSometimes, the best way to improve a new material is to beat the hell out of it. Failure is supposed to be a bad thing. In materials science, however, understanding and predicting how a new fiber, composite material, or type of plastic breaks, snaps, melts, fractures, or rips can mean the difference between life and death. Engineers need to know if an armored steel plate will stop a high-velocity bullet or whether a specialized car-seat foam will effectively absorb […]

November 07, 2012

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7:03 PM | You Built What?!: A Submarine Simulator That Soaks Lollygagging Players

General Quarters Ackerman + GruberA disaster simulation that's a lot of fun. On July 19, a dozen teams gathered in hackerspaces around the country to await the rules of a 72-hour build competition. Red Bull, the energy drink brand and sponsor, announced the challenge at shortly after 6 p.m. Pacific time: Construct a game of games. It must be physical, not virtual; weigh less than 2,000 pounds; and have a clear winner. Inside the Mill, an industrial-arts shop in Minneapolis, Nathan Knutson, […]