Month: March 2012

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From Ars Technica: New 3D printer could create nano-devices in minutes


Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) have developed a 3D printing technology that can quickly print detailed objects in nanoscale using a process called two-photon lithography. It’s fast, too: the precision required to print objects with features measured in hundreds of nanometers in width meant the speed of previous attempts at printing nanoscale objects were measured in millimeters per second. In contrast, the TU Vienna team’s 3D printer is capable of printing lines of resin at a rate of five meters per second. In a demonstration shown in the video below, the team was able to print a nanoscale model of a 300-micrometer long Formula 1 racecar—made from 100 layers of resin, each consisting of approximately 200 individual lines—in four minutes.

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from Ars Technica

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From Ars Technica: NASA admin returns to Congress to fight for commercial space


It’s possible that no NASA Administrator has enjoyed appearing in front of Congress since the 1960’s. Charlie Bolden’s testimony in front of both the Senate and House oversight committees for his agency last Wednesday was likely to continue that trend.

Although there was some argument over the 20 percent cuts to the Mars exploration program and NASA’s commitments to the ESA, the key issue in both the Senate and House hearings was a philosophical difference over how to get humans into orbit. The legislators favored NASA’s Space Launch System, known among its detractors as the “Senate Launch System,” over CCDev, the Commercial Crew Development program. The two shouldn’t conflict, given that they are meant for completely different purposes, but in these highly-politicized times, they do.

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from Ars Technica

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From Gizmodo: Owners of Capsized Italian Cruise Ship Want to Save It With Something They Saw on MythBusters [Ships]

It’s been a month since the fatal sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy. And, now that the half million gallons of on-board fuel are being safely siphoned off, the ship’s owner must decide—raise it from the seabed with hundreds of thousands of ping-pong balls or call in the Jawas and have it dismantled for scrap. More »




from Gizmodo

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From Engadget: Microsoft releases Robotics Developer Studio 4, bring your own Kinect

It’s been available in beta for a few months, but Microsoft has now made the final version of its Robotics Developer Studio 4 toolkit available for download. As before, it remains completely free, and it’s also now compatible with the release version of the Kinect for Windows SDK so you can build your own beverage-carrying robot like the one Microsoft shows off in the video after the break. Hit the links below to download the software or see a few more examples of what can be done with it.

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from Engadget

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From Engadget: White House appoints Todd Park as new Chief Technology Officer

Oooh…  a Korean-American in the government?!  Even if it’s a tech-related position!
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The White House hasn’t wasted any time replacing the vacancy left by Aneesh Chopra, who recently stepped down as our nation’s first appointed Chief Technology Officer. Following in his well-accomplished footsteps is Todd Park, a federal employee who’s no stranger to the position at hand given his former role as CTO of the US Department of Health and Services. Park is credited with the launch of HealthCare.gov and is now tasked with “applying the newest technology and latest advances to make the Federal government work better for the American people.” While we’re sure those tasks don’t include setting up Sasha and Malia’s personal Pinterest accounts, he certainly has a long road ahead, dragging ‘ol Pennsylvania Avenue kicking and screaming into our digital age.

 

from Engadget

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From Autoblog: Video: Translogic visits Switzerland to interview Jetman

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Translogic visits the Jetman

While we’re a little obsessed with cars here at Autoblog, our sister publication Translogic has a good habit of dispensing with terrestrial transportation entirely from time to time. This is one of those weeks, where the video crew has traveled to Switzerland – not to Geneva, but to Bex – to interview the Jetman, Yves Rossy.

Rossy is the first human to fly by means of a jet-powered wing. The Swiss pilot developed the wing over five years ago, and has since flown over the Alps, crossed the English Channel, and last year flew across the Grand Canyon.

Translogic has some great aerial footage of the Jetman, who proves to be a pretty funny interview as well. See the video belowto view all of it, in full HD.

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from Autoblog