Adam Kovacs and Adam Westbrook explain why Elon Musk’s Hyperloop and Boring Loop are not serious solutions to real-world transportation challenges.
Related:
“What’s a Gadgetbahn?” Anton Dubrau, Catbus
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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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“… 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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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that, since July 2021, 392 car crashes in the United States ocurred while vehicles were using advanced driver-assistance systems. Of these, 273, about 70 percent, were Tesla vehicles running its Autopilot software. During the same period, Honda reported 90 crashes and Subaru reported 10 crashes.
More:
“Teslas running Autopilot involved in 273 crashes reported since last year,” Faiz Siddiqui, Rachel Lerman, and Jeremy B. Merrill, Washington Post
“NHTSA: ‘Self-driving’ cars were linked to 392 crashes in 10 months,” J. Fingas, Engadget
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From the 2nd century BC on, concrete (opus caementicium) was everywhere in the Roman Empire, in breakwaters of artificial harbors, soaring vaults of great public baths, the Colosseum, and the dome of the Pantheon. But during late antiquity, concrete all but vanished, and would not be used again until the twentieth century. Garrett Ryan explains.
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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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Engineer Nehemiah Mabry explains which types of bridges are used in which situations.
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The Netherlands would be underwater, if not for the Delta Works. A TED-Ed video by Stefan Al, animated by Jody Ghani Nordby.
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