Archive for August, 2008
« Previous EntriesJumbo Airplane Hotel Allows Mile High Club Experience on the Ground [Airplanes]
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
Back in 2006, Oscar Diös heard there was a dead Boeing 747-200 built in 1976 on one of the runways at Arlanda Airport, the largest international airport in Sweden, north of Stockholm. It was once owned by a Swedish company called Transjet, who used it to fly muslim pilgrims to Mecca, as well as doing charter flights around the world until it was grounded for “organizational problems” in 2002. The noble Jumbo was in a bad state, but Oscar saw the possibilities right away. Probably after way too many glasses of akvavit that day, Diös thought he had the perfect idea: to buy the 747 and convert it into a low-cost hotel.
I was getting ready to expand my hostel business in 2006 when I heard about an old wreck of an aircraft for sale at Arlanda. Since I had for a long time wanted to establish my business at Arlanda I didn’t hesitate for a second when this opportunity struck.
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The connection doesn’t seem too logic. In fact, it may even seem crazy to most, but it is not. After all, Oscar is the modest owner of the hostel Uppsala Vandrarhem och Hotell, in Uppsala, so he must know how expensive is to actually find a terrain near a busy airport like Arlanda, then actually build an entire hotel from scratch.
That’s why, when he learnt about the dead Jumbo, Oscar only saw cheap space for rooms and decided it was time to continue his inexpensive hotel business right next to Arlanda. He thought that, being the busiest, largest international airport in his country, there was going to lots of clients looking for cheap accommodation.
However, from buying the airplane to setting up the hostel there was a long way. First he needed to get the OK from the authorities of Sigtuna, which is the town that controls the terrains in which the Arlanda Airport is based. He had the perfect pitch for them: it was going to be a unique landmark, he thought. He wanted to place it right at the entrance of the airport itself, on top of a concrete foundation with the landing gear tied to two steel cradles. The authorities heard the story and, surprisingly enough, they agreed to the plan and granted him permission to set it up.
The hotel itself was also a challenge. It wasn’t going to be as easy as to install a few beds, and start selling curry kyckling macka, small beer cans, lousy pot coffee, and peanut bags at the plane second level cafeteria. The Boeing 747-200 interior—with 450 seats—needed to be completely dismantled and sanitized. Then, it needed to be insulated, divided into 25 rooms (each of them 6 square meters, with 3 meters to ceiling), and completely rewired. It also needed new plumbing, bathrooms, sanitation, and a new climate control system, since the windows on planes are fixed and can’t be opened. And to finish it all, the whole result had to adhere to the strict construction policies of Sweden.
At the end, and after a two year odyssey, he did it: the Jumbo Hostel—as Oscar called his creation—has been towed to its final destination, and bookings will start in December. All in the name of inexpensive accommodation, pilots and stewardesses sex fantasies, and crazy Swedish landmarks. Pass the akvavit Oscar, next time I go to that part of the world, I’ll be checking in. [Jumbo Hostel via Random Good Stuff]
Robot Uses Master/Slave Remote Control Suit [Robots]
Sunday, August 31st, 2008 newVideoPlayer(”/marufightingbots_giz.flv”, 475, 376,”"); 
Naoki Maru may live in Hikone, north of Kyoto, down the road from a samurai castle full of katana swords and armor, but for him, the ancient Japanese art of bushido is best carried out with robots, not people. King Kizer, the Maru family robot, has dominated the Robo-One tourney over the past three years, collecting $50,000 in prize money. Maru, a factory engineer by day, is trying to perfect a way to make Kizer even more of an ass kicker using a technique he had seen many times in anime: A harness that captures human movements and translates them into robotic attacks and other gestures.
Check out video footage of the harness in action below, plus our exclusive interview, where Maru discusses the what it takes to win a robotic deathmatch. galleryPost(’marubots’, 3, ”);
Maru builds the bots; his sons Kenta and Ryoma operate them in the combat tournaments. For a prizefighter, King Kizer is only 16 inches tall but has a lightweight aluminum frame, very rapid servomotors and sensors that help it maintain its balance and detect its enemies. Kizer uses the latter to launch speedy, autonomous attacks on foes.
The harness creates a master-slave connection with Kenta. When the boy moves his upper body during combat, sensors with voltage potentiometers transmit the motions via a Bluetooth link to Kizer, which reproduces them. In the video, you can see that there’s a bit of a delay, but apparently robot combat is still clumsy enough for this to not have too great an impact. The lower body is still controlled with a gamepad.
newVideoPlayer(”/marumasterslave_giz.flv”, 475, 376,”"); 
We recently visited the Maru dojo to discuss King Kizer and new fighting-robot technologies:
How does the “master-slave” control technology work? Where did you get the idea? Have you used it in Robo-One tournaments?
The master-slave control idea goes a long way back. The concept has a long history in robot anime, and it has been implemented in surgical devices. I’ve been using it since I first entered Robo-One.
The equipment affixed to the operator’s body is known as a “master suit,” and I concentrated on making this lightweight.
The strong point of the system is that it’s great for adapting to the requirements of the moment. Other systems can only be operated through preprogrammed robot motions. For instance, in hand-to-hand combat, if you encounter a robot that is shorter than what you expected to go up against, your machine will be punching air instead of metal. But with a master-slave control system, that’s not a problem you encounter.
The weak point of my current master-slave system is that it’s limited to the upper half of the controller’s body. But this is a problem that I believe I can solve. I’m also making improvements to use the system in non-combat applications. As you saw, it can also be used to handle eggs!
How do you build your robots?
When I decided to make my first bipedal robot from scratch, I had to study. The manufacturing process includes making the aluminum panels—cutting, bending and finishing—, plus vacuum form molding, resin casting and other techniques. The design is done in 2D CAD, and then I make a model, printing the frame on paper. Once I confirm the mechanical structure of the paper model, I start creating the actual aluminum panels. Since I don’t do it in 3D CAD [just 2D CAD], this work process is really critical.
I already had computer programming skills, so making the robot’s control system wasn’t so difficult for me.
What is the role of your sons in your robot activity?
They’re more than operators—our team is like the driver and mechanics in an F1 race car team. But their most important role is that they keep me motivated. I give it my all so that my sons can be victorious. I doubt I would have the power to keep winning at Robo-One if I had to create and operate the robots and compete in the tournaments all by myself!
Also, my sons sometimes provide me with unexpected inspiration. As children, their perspectives on robot making are invaluable.
In only three years of robot fighting, you have collected about $50,000 in prize money at Robo-One. Why is the Maru family team so successful?
I could not do this if I were not part of a family team. Most competitors in Robo-One are bachelors—there are few family teams. And I don’t want to see my kids cry if they lose at the tournament!
Another reason for our success is not the technological power of our hardware and software, but how we manage our team. There isn’t a great difference between competitors. in Robo-One. Fighting really hinges not on the actual winning or losing, but on seemingly trivial factors that are not obvious.
To give you some specific examples, one must consider things like safety parameters that are in your robot’s design and how they’ll affect performance, readiness for bugs that crop up during a fight, as well as strategies and practice based on your study of opponents. You can’t count on having a winning streak if all you have done is create a robot with some cool abilities.
What is special about Japanese robots in general?
For Japanese people, a robot means a humanoid, bipedal robot. It seems Japanese are unique in the world in this way of thinking about robots. Many of the competitors in Robo-One watched robot anime when they were kids and that really influenced them. Robots are part of their childhood dreams, and that is reflected in their robot designs and fighting techniques.
Music for the second clip: “Prelude No. 1″ by The Grift; no frikkin’ clue what the song in the first clip is.
Gorenje Fridge Is Officially Made for iPod, As Lickable as the Touch Itself [Ifa 2008]
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
Believe it or not, this beautiful Gorenje fridge is an official Apple-licensed Made for iPod refrigerator. And believe it or not, it’s not just a speaker and a dock glued to a glossy black fridge: You can actually control the fridge itself using your iPod touch or iPhone using an application called iGorenje. The coolness doesn’t stop there, because iGorenje can control all kinds of Gorenje appliances—from the washing machine to the oven—as you can see in the user interface gallery.
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The application is not built for iPhone/iPod touch, however, but it is served from a home server that controls the appliances directly. This allows not only to use the iPod touch, but also any other web device in your home Wi-Fi network. The program allows you to program the devices using a very easy to use graphical user interface.
For example, you can set your oven to cook a type of cake by just visually selecting a recipe and clicking start. In fact, you can even get recipes straight from the server itself. The only bad thing: the iPod dock thingie is taking the place of the built-in draught beer system, which in my book is quite -20 points. [More IFA 2008 Coverage]
Stunning Desert Canyon Flight Scares the Underpants Off Me [Airplanes]
Sunday, August 31st, 2008Once upon a time I wanted to be a fighter pilot, which is probably why I write so much about the biggest and baddest machines ever. My feeling then and now is that there’s nothing that can match the thrill of flying one of the fastest, most expensive gadgets in the world almost at ground level through a desert canyon. Exactly like this french Mirage pilot does in this awesome video, which has Johnny Cash singing I’ve Been Everywhere (always good).
Stunning Desert Canyon Flight Scares the Underpants Out of Me [Airplanes]
Sunday, August 31st, 2008Once upon a time I wanted to be a fighter pilot, which is probably why I write so much about the biggest and baddest machines ever. My feeling then and now is that there’s nothing that can match the thrill of flying one of the fastest, most expensive gadgets in the world almost at ground level through a desert canyon. Exactly like this french Mirage pilot does in this awesome video, which has Johnny Cash singing I’ve Been Everywhere as a extra.
LG X110 Feels Solid, Fast, Is Netbook with Capital N [IFA 2008 Hands-On]
Sunday, August 31st, 2008 newVideoPlayer(”/lgnetbook_gizmodo.flv”, 520, 410,”"); 
I groped and used the LG X110 netbook for some time here at IFA. As Mark pointed out, this is the first netbook where “net” actually means something else: direct 3G network access without additions.
The Good: The LG X110 felt solid and compact in my hands, heavier than I expected for such size. Good hard plastic finish outside. Fast operation under Windows and fast rendering and access to the Web, although unfortunately I was only able to try it with the Wi-Fi connection. Good set of ports, although I wish all these computers implemented HDMI video output, rather than VGA.
The Bad: I was disappointed the interior wasn’t real aluminum but painted plastic. They keyboard didn’t feel good to me, too bland and not enough clickety-clack action, but that’s just my personal taste.
Bottom line: For those looking for a good Windows- or Linux-based netbook with no-fuss internet access at all times, my first impression is that they will be happy with this one.
Draganflyer X6
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
I’m not too sure if the Draganflyer X6 was not spelt properly on purpose, but whatever it is, the name isn’t really more important compared to what the Draganflyer X6 offers.
The Draganflyer X6 is a remotely operated, unmanned, miniature helicopter designed to carry wireless video cameras and still cameras. Operate the Draganflyer X6 helicopter with the easy to use handheld controller while viewing what the helicopter sees through video glasses. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter uses a unique 6-rotor design refined from an original concept that has been under development since early 2006. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter uses 11 sensors and thousands of lines of code to self-stabilize during flight. This means the Draganflyer X6 is easier to fly than any other helicopter in its class. The Draganflyer X6 on-board software is the result of extensive testing and development. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter is a revolutionary reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV); it can be transported in a 5.5″ diameter tube slung over the users back while always being ready to launch immediately. Fly it over hills to get a safe view of what is on the other side.
I think for the layman, most of them will use it for less altruistic purposes such as spying on the enemy.
[ Draganflyer X6 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
<hr noshade style=”thin, blue, solid line, 1px high” /Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
Machine gun bullet USB flash drive
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
Just when you think USB flash drives all come in extremely boring rectangular designs, along comes the machine gun bullet USB flash drive that will definitely more than just a passing glance. Inside the machine gun bullet case holds 1GB of storage space, but unfortunately you won’t be able to impress anyone any time soon since this is not commercially available just yet. How much do you think this ghetto-looking USB flash drive will cost if it actually hits the market?
Source: Gearfuse
[ Machine gun bullet USB flash drive copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
<hr noshade style=”thin, blue, solid line, 1px high” /Gift Ideas: The Coolest Gadgets Gift Guides.
El ZULO caters for sleepyheads
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
El ZULO means “the hideout” in Spanish, and one look at it will tell you why. The design is a brainchild of Frank Ehners as part of his industrial design project at the Halle University of Art and Design in Germany. It targets an office environment, but somehow it looks more suitable for high-powered executives who return home after a long day at the office. El ZULO caters for multiple users, relying on fingerprints to identify the right person, automatically adjusting itself to cater to the back, knee, foot and head positions accordingly. Hopefully this power napping device of the future will be manufactured soonest possible for all the zombie-like workers worldwide.
Source: American Inventor Spot
[ El ZULO caters for sleepyheads copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
<hr noshade style=”thin, blue, solid line, 1px high” /Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
Looks a whole lot like Boba Fett to me at first glance, this Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer.
This is the remote controlled 9″ space surfer that hovers in the air, spins 360, and moves left, right, forward, and backward - all while levitating parallel to the ground. Capable of indoor or outdoor flights, the space surfer has dual propellers that generate enough thrust to send the device from a stationary position to 66-feet in the air without requiring a hand-launch. The radio frequency remote control has proportional throttle and trim settings that allow it to be precisely controlled through climbs, descents, and turns. Made from durable EPP foam, the aircraft’s body withstands turbulent flights and crash landings. Pre-assembled and ready to fly, the device is powered by a rechargeable battery that recharges via the included AC adapter.
The Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer will come with a 27 foot range remote and is powered by a 9-volt battery. The theory of diminishing returns applies here - it takes 70 minutes to charge, and yet offers just a quarter of an hour’s worth of R&R time. You can pick it up for $89.95.
[ Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
<hr noshade style=”thin, blue, solid line, 1px high” /Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
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