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The Ocean Cleanup Array Will Use Advanced Technologies to Rid the Oceans of Plastic, Here’s a First Look

By Jackson Chung July 23, 2018

The Ocean Cleanup array, started by 23-year-old Boyan Slat, is closer to deploying its advanced technologies to rid the oceans of 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic junk in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A gigantic floating tube, around 2,000 feet long, will serve as a U-shaped barrier to help trap plastic. This structure is flexible enough to bend with ocean waves and is made of HDPE plastic. The first piece of the system is as long as a football field and will be connected to the larger system following the local tow test, while the final test 200 miles offshore will occur after assembly is finished. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one about skydiving from the International Space Station.

MIT Engineers Create Magnetic Shape-Shifting Structures That Can Crawl, Roll, Jump, and Play Catch

By Jackson Chung July 22, 2018

Photo credit: Felice Frankel

MIT engineers have created soft, magnetic 3-D-printed structures that can transform their shape almost instantaneously by the wave of a magnet, enabling them to crawl, roll, jump, as well as play catch. These innovative structures are flexible, yet strong and could one day be used to develop remotely controlled biomedical devices. “We think in biomedicine this technique will find promising applications. For example, we could put a structure around a blood vessel to control the pumping of blood, or use a magnet to guide a device through the GI tract to take images, extract tissue samples, clear a blockage, or deliver certain drugs to a specific location. You can design, simulate, and then just print to achieve various functions,” said Xuanhe Zhao, the Noyce Career Development Professor in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one of eight egg gadgets put to the test.

Terrafugia Transition Flying Car Goes on Sale in 2019, Has 400-Mile Range and 100MPH Top Speed

By Jackson Chung July 20, 2018

Photo credit: Airliners

The Volvo-owned Geely announced that the Terrafugia Transition flying car will finally go on sale in 2019, nearly one decade after it was first unveiled. It now boasts a hybrid powertrain, capable of an airborne range of at least 400 miles and a top speed of 100 mph for the stand-alone Rotax internal-combustion engine. There’s also going to be a ‘boost’ throttle option that provides a quick burst of extra power, as well as an upgraded interior, parachute system, seatbelts, airbags, and three rearview cameras in road-going mode. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one of the LEGO vacuum.

This is What Happens When the Jet Engine-Powered Flyboard Air Takes on a Lamborghini Huracan

By Jackson Chung July 19, 2018

For those who don’t know, the Flyboard Air is a type of jetpack/hoverboard powered by proprietary turbojets, and created by French inventor Franky Zapata. It allows flight up to an altitude of 10,000 feet and has a top speed of over 100 mph, while offering 10 minutes autonomy. The video above shows what happens when it takes on a Lamborghini Hurcan in the desert. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one showing how movie trailers are made.

Ziegler Adventure Expedition Vehicle is Based on Mercedes-Benz Unimog U4023, Goes Anywhere

By Jackson Chung July 17, 2018

Based on the Mercedes-Benz Unimog U4023 4×4 platform, the Ziegler Adventure is an expedition vehicle that combines comfort, luxury and ruggedness into one. During normal use, the bed is pushed up directly into the ceiling. “The many factory options meet virtually every wish. Unique selling points include a 1.20-meter wading depth without water leakage into the living space. Ziegler Adventure offers separate toilet, shower and washing areas. This means multiple occupants can use the facilities simultaneously,” according to the company. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one showing what gallium does to an aluminum can.

Mind-Blowing NVIDIA Tech Demo Uses Deep Learning AI to Generate Synthetic Photos from High Level Labels

By Jackson Chung July 16, 2018

NVIDIA researchers, led by Ting-Chun Wang, have developed a new deep learning-based, artificial intelligence system that can generate photo-realistic images using only high-level labels, and at the same time creating a virtual environment that allows the user to modify a scene interactively. The method, which uses a conditional generative adversarial network (GAN), has the potential to revolutionize how visual algorithms, including those for medical imaging, are trained. “Conditional GANs have enabled a variety of applications, but the results are often limited to low-resolution and still far from realistic. In this work, we generate 2048×1024 visually appealing results with a novel adversarial loss, as well as new multi-scale generator and discriminator architectures,” said the researchers in their paper. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one where “As Seen on TV” pest control gadgets are tested.

Roborace’s Autonomous DevBot Race Car Takes on Pro Drifter at the Track, Epic Battle Ensues

By Jackson Chung July 15, 2018

Autonomous cars may be years from replacing actual humans, but Roborace wanted to see just how far they’ve come. So, they brought pro drifter Ryan Tuerck to the track to take on its autonomous DevBot race car, which weighs in at just 2,200 pounds and boasts 550 horsepower. Since it boasts an electric drivetrain, power comes on near instantaneously, while all-wheel drive helps put that down on the pavement. Just how did the autonomous car fare? Let’s just say that the DevBot set a best time of 2:18.4. Click here for the first image intoday’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one on someone who spent $1,120 on weird eBay gadget mystery boxes.

There are Autonomous Cars, Drones, and Now, Boeing’s MQ-25, an Unmanned Aircraft Designed for Refueling

By Jackson Chung July 14, 2018

There are autonomous cars, drones, and now, Boeing’s MQ-25, an unmanned aircraft system designed for the U.S. Navy that provides the needed robust refueling capability thereby extending the combat range of deployed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and Lockheed Martin F-35C fighters. This aircraft brings the right combination of refueling, autonomy, and seamless carrier deck integration to deliver a solution that meets the U.S. Navy’s goals: put a low-cost unmanned aerial refueling aircraft on the flight deck as soon as possible. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one about the coldest thing in the world.

Take a TRON Lightcycle, Combine it with a Chopper, and You Get the Futuristic TMC Dumont Motorcycle

By Jackson Chung July 13, 2018

Cross a TRON Lightcycle with a chopper, and you get the TMC DUMONT, a futuristic concept art bike built by Tarso Marques. This hubless bike comes equipped with a 300-horsepower Rolls-Royce Continental V6 engine sourced from a 1960s aircraft and massive 36-inch wheels. “The name DUMONT is a tribute to Alberto Santos-Dumont who is a national hero in Brazil and a renowned pioneer in aviation. He’s one of few people to have contributed significantly to the development of both ‘lighter-than-air’ and ‘heavier-than-air’ aircraft,” according to its creator. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one of the world’s fastest internet.

Forget Private Jets, OPENER’s BlackFly is an All-Electric Flying Car That Can Take Off Vertically

By Jackson Chung July 12, 2018

OPENER’s BlackFly is essentially an all-electric flying car that will not require a pilot’s licence to, and it can travel for up to 25 miles at a speed of 62mph. The production model will eventually cost the same as a typical sports-utility car, while early models will be slightly more expensive. “You have total command of three-dimensional space. When you press the thumb-stick to climb, you have absolute full control. When you stop in the middle of the air and go off the joystick, the aircraft freezes. And when I say freezes…it literally freezes in the air,” said OPENER’s chief executive Marcus Leng. Click here for the first image in today’s viral picture gallery. Continue reading for the five most popular viral videos today, including one of a case worthy of a $100,000 PC.