The IAV engineering company has developed a smart cargobike that follows couriers around, a quick and zero-emission solution for urban deliveries.
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In the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, battery-powered trucks get recharged while they’re rolling down eHighway truck lanes, using the century-old technology of catenary wires and pantographs. Tom Scott explains.
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“… New Story, a Y Combinator-backed charity that works to build houses for people in developing nations, and Icon, a robotics construction company in Austin, Texas, unveiled what is believed to be the first 3D-printed house that is fully up to code and permitted for people to inhabit.”
— “You can now 3D-print a house in under a day,” Mike Murphy, Quartz [links added]
More:
“The Quest to Bring 3-D-Printed Homes to the Developing World,” Arielle Pardes, Wired
New Story website
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We know, you’re thinking “Great, yet another pizza-making robot.” But the inventors of RoDyMan (RObotic DYnamic MANipulation) digitized the actions of noted pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia, who wore a motion-capture suit while making traditional pies. Result: a robot going through the motions of making pizzas while producing soulless, pizza-like objects.
More:
“$2.9 Million Pizza-Making Robot Still Can’t Make Pizza,” Joel Hruska, ExtremeTech
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In Kabul on Sunday morning, July 31st, Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda, was out on the balcony of his villa, smoking a cigarette, maybe, when his revery was interupted by two Hellfire AGM-114R9X missles, which killed him instantly without disturbing other occupants of the building.
The R9X (Romeo Hellfire) missile does not have an explosive warhead. While it has been called the “Flying Ginsu” since it sprouts a bunch of knife blades immediately before impact, it is the blunt kinetic force of the laser-guided, rocket-powered 100 lb. object dropping out of the the sky like a falling anvil that makes it effective. The missiles have been used to minimize collateral damage to bystanders while eliminating targeted individuals, often while they are in automobiles.
Face it, it’s a precision-guided assassin’s weapon, often called the Ninja Bomb, more a tool of vengeance than justice. Whether it’s an appropriate or ethical instrument for anti-terrorism or foreign policy is another matter.
More:
“Ayman al-Zawahiri: How US strike could kill al-Qaeda leader – but not his family,” Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC News
“Ayman al-Zawahiri’s death: What is the Hellfire R9X missile that the Americans purportedly used?” Sandra Favier, le Monde
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Mihkel Joala has invented SprayPrinter, which performs automated printing of giant outdoor murals.
More:
“Robot Spray Paints Large Murals Onto Buildings,” Ayda Ayoubi, Architect
SprayPrinter website
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In honor of the iPod’s 20th anniversary a few weeks back, the Panic blog gave us a look at the first iPod prototype, which was almost as big as a MacBook. The big box was functional, but it was mostly full of air. Apple engineers diguised the original form factor to protect the design from leakers.
More:
“The original iPod ‘prototype’ was an Apple design to prevent leaks,” Emma Roth, The Verge
“20 years of the iPod: how it shuffled music and tech into a new era,” Eamonn Forde, The Guardian
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Perhaps believing there aren’t enough unemployed delivery drivers in Texas, Domino’s Pizza will deliver pies via Nuro R2 autonomous robot vehicles in Houston. Domino’s selling point to customers: no tipping.
Houston traffic. Robot cars with a top speed of 25 MPH. Texan gun ownership rate. What could possibly go wrong?
More:
“Nuro’s self-driving robot will deliver Domino’s pizza orders to customers in Houston,” Kim Lyons, The Verge
“Houston, we have a robot: Nuro, Domino’s team up for autonomous pizza delivery,” Brian Straight, Modern Shipper, via FreightWaves
“Beep Beep: Domino’s Is Testing a Self-Driving Delivery Car,” Jenny G. Zhang, Eater
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“Here’s some news hot off the press. Researchers have found a secret ingredient for making solar panels that absorb the sun’s energy more efficiently. Depending on what you like to eat, there’s a good chance you can find it at home. Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chili peppers their spicy sting, also improves perovskite solar cells – the devices that make up solar panels.
NotionsCapital 