Spolier alert: a reoccurring cast member bids farewell in the latest James Bond flick. When the production of Skyfall called for the complete decimation a classic 1960 Aston Martin DB5, filmmakers opted for something a little more lifelike than computer graphics. The movie studio contracted the services of Augsburg-based 3D printing company Voxeljet to make replicas of the vintage ride. Skipping over the residential-friendly MakerBot Replicator, the company used a beastly industrial VX4000 3D printer to craft three 1:3 scale models of the car with a plot to blow them to smithereens. Comprising of 18 separate components, the unassembled miniatures were shipped off to Propshop Modelmakers in London to be assembled, painted, chromed and outfitted with fake bullet holes. The final product was used in the film during a high-octane action sequence, which resulted in the meticulously crafted prop receiving a Wile E. Coyote-like sendoff. Now, rest easy knowing that no real Aston Martins were harmed during the making of this film. Head past the break to get a look at a completed model prior to its untimely demise.
Continue reading Voxeljet 3D printer used to produce Skyfall’s Aston Martin stunt double
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Voxeljet 3D printer used to produce Skyfall’s Aston Martin stunt double originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The latest Siri commercial just hit, and like recent ad spots, Apple turned to a celebrity to endorse the lackluster iOS feature. And, also like the other commercials, the dialog between Siri and the user seems a bit more simple, almost mundane, in comparisons to the early Siri commercials.
The first several Siri spots were filled with pie-in-the-sky optimism. They were very dreamy and nearly promised that Siri would change the world. But then people started using it and quickly discovered that Siri fell short of expectation.
A recent study found Siri to be horribly inaccurate. What’s worse, at least for Apple, users are finding that Google Now absolutely tramples Siri in both accuracy and features. Never mind what Scorsese says at the end of this commercial, even with the upgrades coming with iOS 6, Siri is not going places.
We spend hundreds of hours on board a variety of airplanes each year, most often en-route to a trade show or product launch event, but occasionally we have a rare opportunity to hop on board military aircraft, to test out unrelated products, or, even more unusually, to take a seat behind the yoke. Sadly that’s not what we’re doing today — well, not exactly. We are taking a closer look at the F-35 fighter jet at Lockheed Martin’s Fighter Demonstration Center just outside our nation’s capital, but, being in the middle of a corporate complex, there’s no actual Lightning II on hand. We were able to take a simulated ride, however — this isn’t your ordinary 4D sickness-inducing amusement park thrill. The F-35 is by far the most advanced Lockheed jet to date, with updated radar, all-internal weapons, improved tracking systems, 360-degree infrared coverage with a visor readout, and a full-stealth design, not to mention the incredibly capable glass cockpit powered by more than 9.3 million lines of software code, and an overall smoother experience for pilots that could end up spending shifts of 12 hours or longer in flight.
The F-35 has already seen plenty of time in the field in the US, with more than 500 flights already in 2012, and it’s set to make its way to the UK armed forces next week and the Netherlands later this year, but while the aircraft is quite familiar to the pilots tasked with flying it, the public hasn’t had an opportunity to experience Lockheed’s latest airborne warrior. We flew a simulated mission within a grounded duplicate of the flyable F-35 cockpit, and the capabilities and improvements are quite clear — you definitely don’t want to encounter an F-35 from a previous-generation aircraft. The dual 8 x 10-inch touch-enabled displays combine to give you 8 x 20 inches of real estate, with dedicated modules for the weapons systems, targeting, and navigation easily accessible — you can also move them to different panels depending on your current objective. A pair of joysticks at the left and right side provide direct access, letting you move a cursor to track enemy crafts or ground-based targets as well, and a very slick heads-up-display mounted in the helmet provides infrared mapping and instrument readouts. Overall, it seems to be an incredibly powerful system. Unfortunately, the mock-up on display here isn’t accessible to the public, but you can join us for a behind-the-scenes look just after the break.
Gallery: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II cockpit demonstrator hands-on
Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets, Transportation
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter cockpit demonstrator hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Atmel’s Bob Martin, an MCU apps manager, talks about the Atmel Robotics Contest that is underway. Finalists will be invited to present their creations at the 2012 Atmel Technology Live developer conference in September. Video Rating: 5 / 5
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Ever wonder what a jetpack is good for, besides fulfilling dreams and fighting Nazis? Well, Martin wants you to know there are, in fact, practical applications for its $ 86,000 personal propulsion system. According to the aviation company everyone from emergency responders to search and rescue teams to military personnel could find a place for the dual-engine craft in their arsenal of tools. Sure, we could see how their ability to get in an out where the size of a helicopter or plane might be prohibitive would prove handy, but their high cost and limited carrying capacity make them a tough sell. That doesn’t mean we don’t enjoying seeing the (poorly) rendered vision of our future filled with jetpacks in the video after the break. Come to think of it, we could see this coming in handy for our CES coverage… excuse us, we need to make some phone calls.
Continue reading Martin says its jetpack is ‘practical,’ offers crappy computer animation as evidence
Martin says its jetpack is ‘practical,’ offers crappy computer animation as evidence originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Nov 2011 01:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This is a picture of a luxury car pileup in Monaco. It makes me sad and happy at the same time because 1. it’s always sad to see something beautiful get damaged *eyes own battle-scarred face in mirror* but 2. I have a thing against insanely rich people. “Oh you jelly, GW?” Damn yeah I’m jelly! I’m Smucker’s as a mutherf***er.
The wealthy French Riviera city state of Monaco was the scene of a pileup involving five luxury cars with an estimated value of more than $ 1.1 million.
The collision, involving a Bentley Azure (worth an estimated $ 400,000), a Mercedes S Class ($ 120,000), a Ferrari F430 ($ 230,000), an Aston Martin Rapide ($ 230,000) and a Porsche 911 ($ 130,000), occurred in front of Monaco’s Place du Casino, according to Sky News.
The British TV network reported that the incident began when the Bentley scraped the side of the Mercedes before plowing into the Ferrari. Then, the Bentley proceeded to run into the Aston Martin and the Porsche.
Haha! So basically it was all the Bentley driver’s fault. *eying driver in picture* Oh look, it’s…”Don’t do it, GW!” Fine, FINE, but only because I backed through my garage door yesterday.
Even the crashes are stylish: Million-dollar wreck in Monaco [msnbc]
Thanks to Mr. Fancy, who may or may yes have been driving the Aston Martin.
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At E3, we had the opportunity to talk with Martin Rae, who is the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, an industry group akin to the more well-known Academy that puts on the Oscars. The idea is the same, but the industry is younger, and although their conventions and yearly awards are less well-known, they are gaining popularity and are part of the growing movement towards integrating games with more mainstream media.
I was curious to see how Rae and the Academy think the industry is changing, since we’ve gone from a time of far more straightforward gaming (i.e. the well-crafted ride of Half-Life) to things like Foursquare and Farmville, which blend with real life. I also wanted to hear what he thought of the success of indie hits like Minecraft and Limbo. When games with teams numbering in the single digits can outsell $ 40 million titles, what does that say? And of course we had to hear what he’d been playing lately.
Check out the whole interview above.
Who found ten million dollars to drop on the first commercially available quantum computer? Lockheed Martin, it seems, as the aerospace defense contractor has just begun a “multi-year contract” with the quantum annealing experts at D-Wave to develop… nothing that they’re ready or willing to publicly discuss at this time. This “strategic relationship” marks the second major vote of confidence in D-Wave’s technology, after Google built image detection algorithms for the company’s processors a couple years back. Or, perhaps Lockheed Martin just wants a new shiny black toy for the Skunk Works labs. PR after the break.
Continue reading D-Wave sells first commercial quantum computer to Lockheed Martin
D-Wave sells first commercial quantum computer to Lockheed Martin originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We already knew that it was ready for testing, and Lockheed Martin has now announced that it has finally begun laboratory tests of its HULC robotic exoskeleton. The testing follows a number of improvements made to the exoskeleton that increased its reliability and performance, including some new environmental sealing that provides additional protection from natural elements and battlefield hazards, and some refinements to the HULC’s form and fit that promise to let its wearer adapt to it in less time. While complete details on the testing itself is obviously a bit light, Lockheed Martin says that it will “validate the ruggedized system’s capabilities and reliability in a variety of simulated battlefield conditions” — think Laser Tag with robot legs (at least we will). Head past the break for the full press release, and look for the next milestone to happen sometime next year, when it’s expected to see some actual use in the field.
Continue reading Lockheed Martin begins laboratory testing of HULC robotic exoskeleton
Lockheed Martin begins laboratory testing of HULC robotic exoskeleton originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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