Cornell University may be the host of the Cornell Cup competition, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bring its own robots to join in on the fun. This year, students brought along a few bots, dubbed dunebots, outfitted with all-terrain wheels and equipped with laser tag turrets. The rugged rig features a pair of cameras, a dustproof and water resistant chassis, air intakes capped with filters, and other custom components for suspension and steering. Not only does the team plan on releasing code and documentation for the project, but the hardware was designed with modularity in mind, so others can build their own modified versions.
Taking the robot into battle requires two pilots armed with Xbox 360 controllers: one directing where it travels, and another aiming the turret and firing. Driving the buggy over the web is also possible, though it takes a few seconds for it to react. The group also baked in voice controls, to boot. If you’re not watching the car duke it out in person, you can even tune in over the web and watch a live video stream from one of its onboard cams. Its top speeds haven’t been firmly nailed down, but the team says the bot was running at approximately 35 percent of its full potential, since it was deemed too fast for conference attendees. Hit the jump to catch us talk with the effort’s Computer Science lead Mike Dezube, and to see a dunebot in action.
Gallery: Dunebot
Verizon is planning to stock a high-end Nokia Lumia phone this year. Sources familiar with Verizon’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the US carrier will offer a device that has similar specifications to Nokia’s current Lumia 920. We understand that the handset, codenamed Laser, will be a variant of the 920 that’s set to debut alongside a Catwalk device.
Sources have revealed that Microsoft is planning to back Verizon’s Nokia Laser device heavily. We’re told that the Laser will be a flagship device for Verizon, meaning the operator will market it alongside rival top tier devices. Microsoft is said to be investing marketing dollars to push the Laser when it debuts later this year. A Lumia 920 variant for Verizon has long been…
Magnetic levitation is central to the fastest trains we know today, but it’s that dependence on electromagnets and rails that limits how and where it’s used for transportation. Aoyama Gakuin University has a unique alternative: changing the material properties themselves. By floating graphite over a bed of circular magnets, taking advantage of its tendency to generate an opposing magnetic field, researchers can move the graphite just by blasting its edge with a laser. The heat skews the magnetic behavior of that area enough to unbalance the graphite, either in a specific direction or a spin. The research team believes it could lead to maglev transportation or even energy converting turbines that are steered solely by light, with no contact or outside guides: maglev vehicle pilots could have much more control over where they go. Getting to that point will require a much larger scale, but successful development could give technology a very literal lift.
Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt
Via: Phys.org
Source: JACS
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We’ve seen similar concepts in the past, but for some reason people can’t get over the idea of adding lasers to crosswalks, so here’s another one. The Guardian crosswalk was designed by Ho-Joon Lim’s and features lasers that either provide a visual barrier for pedestrians so they know when NOT to walk, and a lane for them to walk in when they are. No word how much the systems would cost to implement, but I’d argue anything above $ 0 is too much. I’m sorry, but if you’re having trouble mastering existing crosswalks I’m not sure life outside your apartment is for you.
Thanks to Quartercroc, who crossed the street the old fashioned way: launching himself over traffic in a catapult. Awww yeah, I want to walk to the liquor store with YOU.
This is a NES light gun that’s been modded by the folks at North Street Labs into a powerful burning 2W laser blaster. It can set things on fire. And fire, as you and I both know, is awesome and quite possibly the best toy ever invented. Thanks, Jesus! “Jesus didn’t invent fire.” Yes huh, isn’t he the one that turned water into fire? “It was wine.” Fine, wine into fire, whatever.
Using a 445nm diode, some batteries, wiring and imagination, the light gun was painstakingly put together, complete with physical safety lock and custom aim-assisting heat sink. The end result is a bona fide laser shootin’ gun, capable of not only setting alight matches from a distance, but setting the curtains on fire too (probably).
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? “The dog in Duck Hunt isn’t gonna be laughing at us anymore?” Exactamundo. Now — I’ll miss a couple birds on purpose, as soon as he pops up I want you to burn his f***ing retinas out.
Hit the jump for a shot of the insides and a video of the gun in action.
While it’s not the DL-44 heavy blaster we’ve been holding out for, this Nintendo Zapper is almost as cool. Using the classic Duck Hunt light gun from the original NES, the team at North Street Labs created their own laser pistol. Using a 445nm diode, some batteries, wiring and imagination, the light gun was painstakingly put together, complete with physical safety lock and custom aim-assisting heat sink. The end result is a bona fide laser shootin’ gun, capable of not only setting alight matches from a distance, but setting the curtains on fire too (probably). See it in action in the video after the break, where it also tops out their laser meter, rating it — at least — at an eyeball popping 2W. Then tap up the source to see how — for educational purposes — you could make your own.
Continue reading NES light gun gets a laser upgrade, fulfils countless childhood dreams (video)
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
NES light gun gets a laser upgrade, fulfils countless childhood dreams (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Question by : Which HDTV format is the BEST? Plasma, LCD, OLED, or Laser? From what I’ve read it seems like Laser TV has the best picture quality.
What do you think is the best HDTV format? Plasma, LCD, OLED, or Laser?
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Answer by helooooooooolcd
What do you think? Answer below!
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Laser tripwire security systems can be expensive propositions that don’t always work as planned — just ask Raytheon, which saw its $ 100 million Perimeter Intrusion Detection System for JFK International Airport undermined by one wayward jet skier. Taking that as a form of dare, Justin Huynh and teammates at Liquidware have devised a much cheaper (if also much smaller) tripwire of their own. Any interruption of a laser pointer’s beam is caught by an Arduino light sensor that promptly sends the alert to an Android-running BeagleBoard xM; if a toy like Bruce the shark dares cross the line, the BeagleBoard sends a Twitter message to let the authorities, or at least Huynh, clamp down on the trespasser. The invention won’t replace Raytheon’s handiwork anytime soon, although Huynh notes that additional or more powerful sensors could theoretically catch real, muscle-bound sharks and not just their plastic counterparts. The supply checklist and source code are waiting on the company’s project page below, so those who’d like to ward off miniature invasions can get started today.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Liquidware team crafts laser tripwire that tweets intruder alerts, keeps fake sharks at bay (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This being Shark Week and all, budding super villains may be interested in this 1.25W laser from WickedLasers. This monstrous slab of electronics sends out a beam powerful enough to pop multiple balloons and looks like a light saber. It would look great on your shark’s head.
The 1.25W version of the WickedLasers Spyder S3 costs $ 399.95 and require eye protection to operate.
It’s chassis is crafted from aircraft-grade aluminum which makes it virtually indestructible and allows for an unlimited duty cycle. A “Morse code” cipher lock is built in so unauthorized users cannot enable your laser.If you’re tempted, please remember that these are not toys. We’ve reviewed a few of these things over the years and they’re some serious ordnance. I very nearly burned my cornea once because I was being a doofus. Practice safe lasing, kids.
In an effort to recreate the fusion reaction that occurs in start formation, the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, CA has been building up to some extremely powerful laser shots. Back in March, researchers fired off 411 terawatts, and we know that kind of power doesn’t come cheap. NIF’s latest test shot, fired July 5th, set a new record with 192 lasers producing more than 500 trillion watts of peak power and 1.85 MJ of ultraviolet laser light. Mind you, that’s more than a thousand times more energy than the United States uses at any given moment, not to mention a hundred times more power than other lasers can fire consistently. More record-setting shots are sure to come, and in addition to enabling research on harnessing nuclear fusion, NIF’s mega-lasers are helping inform the design of new laser facilities being built in China, Japan, Russia, France and the UK.
Filed under: Science
NIF sets record with 500 TW laser shot, lab-based nuclear fusion not far behind originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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