Soon, you’ll be able to summon a flying taxi straight from an app, thanks to Munich-based startup Lilium. It has just unveiled a prototype five-seater electric air taxi that is expected to be fully-operational in various cities around the world by 2025. The battery-powered jet is capable of flying 186 miles in 60 minutes on a single charge, and connects cities through a network of landing pads. To book a ride, simply open the app and select the nearest landing pad. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
Videographer Guy Jones managed to get original Lumière Company footage of Paris, France during 1896-1900, and wanted to do some restoration work. So, instead of just cleaning up the artifacts, he added color, thanks to DeOldifty software, corrected the speed, and added a few authentic sound effects to really give people today a glimpse into the life of Parisians during those years. Read more for the clip and additional information.
Japan has already begun testing ALFA-X, the world’s fastest bullet train, ahead of its 2030 launch. Featuring a 72-foot-long aerodynamic nose, it’s touted as being capable of achieving speeds up to 224mph and consists of ten carriages. This silver bullet comes equipped with an air brake as well as a conventional brake on the roof controlled by magnetic plated near the tracks, while dampeners and air suspension keep things stable for passengers. Read more for another video and additional information.
Sure, you could always just buy a Sprinter van conversion or motor home, but Robbie and Priscilla wanted something more cozy. So, they converted a school bus into a modern 210-square-feet home on wheels. It took about 1.5-years to complete, with many issues, like leaky windows, that had to be fixed along the way. The living space now features a host of windows throughout to let natural lighting flood in, white cabinetry, gray laminate flooring, stainless steel appliances and even a cedar tongue-in-groove ceiling. Read more for a short exterior video, additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Vincent Callebaut Architectures
Paris-based architect Vincent Callebaut has come up with an interesting proposal for the Notre Dame cathedral restoration project that hopes to establish a closer symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. If this project is approved, it will unite the cathedral’s nave, roof, and new spire, all in glass with an oak frame. Visitors will be able to walk around this area and take in the natural light, as well as the greenery. “Transparency, sharing, and openness to our society’s development: such are the ideas conveyed by this new, diaphanous forest of Notre Dame, outlining the new face of the church in the 21st century,” said Callebaut. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Nick D
The Øresund Bridge is essentially a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Sweden and Denmark that runs nearly 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Swedish coast to the artificial island Peberholm in the middle of the strait. It’s completed by the 4-kilometer (2.5 mile) Drogden Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager. Simply put, it connects the road as well as rail networks of the Scandinavian Peninsula with those of Central and Western Europe, while a data cable makes the bridge the backbone of internet data transmission between central Europe and Sweden. Read more for another video, additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Biore Construct via Design Boom
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is opening ahead of schedule on May 31 at Disneyland Resort and August 29 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. On opening day for phase one, guests will be able to live their own Star Wars story and take the controls of the most famous ship in the galaxy aboard Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Plus, you’ll get to sample amazing galactic-themed food / beverages, explore an intriguing collection of merchant shops and lots more. Read more for two videos, additional pictures and information.
Mars Base 1, also known as ‘Mars Camp’, has opened in China’s Gobi desert, and the first visitors were a group of students who even got to try on space suits. China’s space agency wants to make the camp a center for researchers and adventure-seekers to experience challenges that could face astronauts on Mars in the future. “I am very excited to be here. We saw the monolith, a crater, and a cave. It’s better than the Mars that I had imagined,” said a 13-year-old student. Read more for another video and additional information.
Assassin’s Creed Unity maker Ubisoft, which recreated the Notre Dame Cathedral in its 2014 game “Assassin’s Creed Unity” has pledged $565,000 in its restoration efforts. The Paris-based video game publisher said Wednesday that it will make its virtual rendition of the cathedral available to those involved in the rebuilding of the church. Plus, they’re also making “Assassin’s Creed Unity” available free to players on PC for the next week. “As the smoke clears on the events that unfolded on Monday at the Notre-Dame de Paris, we stand in solidarité with our fellow Parisians and everyone around the world moved by the devastation the fire caused. Notre-Dame is an integral part of Paris, a city to which we are deeply connected. Seeing the monument in peril like this affected us all,” said Ubisoft. Read more for a virtual tour of Notre Dame in Assassin’s Creed Unity.
Reaction Engines researchers have developed a ‘pre cooler’ that works at a simulated speed of 3.3 mach (2,500 mph) in hopes that their Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (Sabre) will eventually make it onto large aircraft, like the Skylon Spaceplane, to transport passengers around the world in hours. Future tests will see how it handles Mach 5.5 (4,200mph), and possibly one day soon, hit the proposed Mach 25 top speed, which means flights between London and New York that take under 1-hour. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.