technology

Shape Search

In software, technology on 6 January 2009 with View Comments

Partbrowser allows you to search your 3D library using a rough 3D shape as a search query: PartBrowser – Browse-by-shape for CAD files from Andrew Sherlock on Vimeo. This technology will be REALLY interesting when we’re downloading 3D files and printing them at home.

Realtime Ridesharing – Optimizing Existing Automotive Infrastructure

In gps, service, software, technology on 4 January 2009 with View Comments

What if you could easily fill empty seats in cars on existing roadways? Avego is a good first step. Avego Shared Transport “Any car that travels while occupied only by a driver is inherently inefficient. And yet, 85% of the time, that’s how cars travel. With our use of iPhone GPS technology, web services and [...]

Space Collective

In science, technology, visionaries on 2 January 2009 with View Comments

SpaceCollective is a beautifully designed web community built to enable the exchange of ideas amongst forward-thinking visionaries. Rather than a standard “About this site” paragraph on a separate page, SpaceCollective has several videos at the top of the front page describing their mission and the site content. Here is the introduction video: Bonus video: Charles [...]

Bullets That Shoot Bullets

In defense, technology on 17 November 2008 with View Comments

The best defense is a good offense.  From TIME’s Best Inventions of 2008, bullets that shoot bullets. Raytheon’s APS will automatically detect an incoming round and then launch a missile to destroy it, all within a split second. If it works, future Army vehicles will be able to head into combat with less armor.

Supercomputer Upgrades for Work on Climate Change and Renewable Energy

In alternative energy, mathematics, science, technology on 16 November 2008 with View Comments

If I had a supercomputer with 1,645 teraflops of processing power and over 360 terabytes of memory, I'd make a few cycles available to scientists working on climate modeling and renewable energy. "According to NCCS, key projects that will benefit from the Jaguar upgrade include, the Climate Change Initiative, which “aims to accelerate discoveries about [...]

2008 Election Poll Data – Analyzed and Presented

In fundamentals, technology on 31 October 2008 with View Comments

FiveThirtyEight.com has all of the near-real-time 2008 election data you can handle neatly analyzed and arranged and presented beautifully. The image to the right shows state-by-state projections. You will also find graphs of Electoral Votes, Win Percentage, and Popular Vote. What are the chances that McCain loses in Ohio but wins the Election? What about [...]

Military Applications in Combat Support

In PLM, manufacturing, technology on 28 September 2008 with View Comments

Make Parts Fast has an interesting article on the US Military’s “Mobile Parts Hospital” (MPH), a facility to quickly manufacture, reverse-engineer, and finish metal and plastic in the field. The program includes a Lathe Manufacturing Model (LMM) based on a 5-axis Mazak Integrex with all tooling and maintenance equipment stored on board. Set up takes [...]

Plastic from Bacteria

In technology on 22 September 2008 with View Comments

Genetic engineering of bacteria yields a strain of E. Coli that generates plastic in the process of growing.   “Scientists at San Diego–based Genomatica, Inc., have announced success in manipulating the bacteria to directly produce butanediol (BDO), a chemical compound used to make everything from spandex to car bumpers, thereby providing a more energy-efficient way of making [...]