Photo credit: Unilad Tech
Ever wonder what the first detonation of a nuclear device looked like? If so, the test codenamed “Trinity” and conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. It happened in the Jornada del Muerto desert approximately 35-miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on the former USAAF Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, now part of White Sands Missile Range. Read more for a video and additional information.
For non-film aficionados, the Roundhay Garden Scene is basically an 1888 short silent actuality film recorded by French inventor Louis Le Prince at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in the north of England. It’s believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence, but what happens when you use AI-powered neural networks to upscale it to 60FPS? Read more to find out, thanks to Denis Shiryaev.
Just about any gamer has played some form of Pong, but did you know that back in 1977 there was a tabletop version called Blip? This electro-mechanical version of the game was marketed by Tomy and can only play two-player matches similar to Atari’s video game. The timer provided the game’s motor function and when it was turned, a spring is wound via several gears, which then drove the arm upon which the LED light was mounted. Read more for a hands-on video and additional information.
Hobbyist Denis Shiryaev is back at it again, and this time, he’s upscaled footage of Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1922, with plenty of crowds and even a few shots of its famous canals. To accomplish this, neural networks boosted the footage to 60 frames per second, upscaled video to 4K, improved video sharpness, stabilized everything, and then last, but not least, added some color. Read more for the video.
Back in the late 1950s, Westinghouse offered promotional material for sixteen different all-electric home floor plans designed by five different architects, which sold for $10 each and spanned 900-2000 square feet. The architects were also contracted to design model homes in different regions of the country. The Westinghouse Total Electric Home officially opened for public tours on Sunday, April 24, 1960. Read more for a video tour and additional information.
Denis Shiryaev is back at it again, and this time, he’s upscaled and colorized “A Trip Down Market Street” in San Francisco on April 14, 1906 using AI-powered neural networks. What you may not know is that this shoot happened four days before the tragic San Francisco earthquake and fire, which destroyed over 80% of the city of San Francisco. Read more for the video and additional information.
Technically speaking, a safe is a secure lockable box used for storing valuable objects against theft and/or damage from fire. Modern versions are usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. However, back in the 1800s, things were a bit different as you’re about to see. This particular safe from France requires multiple keys and moving several ordered switches before the door pops open. Read more for a video and additional information.
First unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show, the Mercedes C111-II quad-rotor boasts a mid-mounted rotary engine producing 345 horsepower, enabling it to hit 60 mph in under 5 seconds, while topping out at 186 mph. Believe it or not, this concept was also the first car to ever be designed entirely on a computer. This meant that engineers could predict dynamic loads and also speed up the design process by four months. Read more for a test drive video, additional pictures and information.
Denis Shiryaev is back again with another AI-upscaled video, and this time, it’s of laborers in Victorian England from 1901. Neural networks were used to upscale this footage from the dawn of film taken by Mitchell and Kenyon in North England. You’ll see how life took its toll on the people back then, and the grittier nature of their work in those days. Read moore for the video and additional information.
Even before the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, there was the 1980 Briggs & Stratton Hybrid concept car. This company was a famous builder of small engines for everything from washing machines to lawn mowers. However, this vehicle wasn’t built for speed, as Richard Petty managed to only hit 68 mph on a closed course, while Briggs & Stratton Engineering Technician Craig Claerbout achieved 60 mph. All things considered, this isn’t half bad for an twin-cylinder Briggs engine producing just 18hp. Read more to see Jay Leno get up close with the car.