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Swim with the fishes using Project Tango and a head-mounted display
For a few minutes, I saw the Moscone Center -- and everyone inside it -- under water. Sharks and small fish even swam past me as if I wasn't there. And then, all of a sudden, I stood up straight and discovered that I'd poked my head above the waves. This experience, which is a virtual fish tank developed by 360World, was made possible by Google's Project Tango tablet and the Durovis Dive 7, an Oculus Rift-like contraption. It utilizes Tango's cameras, motion detectors and sensors to give you a sense that you are floating around with the fishes -- no snorkel or SCUBA gear required, of course.
The Big Picture: Exploring the deep blue in a wearable submarine
Developed and built by Nuytco Research, this exosuit is made from hard metal and allows divers to operate safely down to a depth of 1000 feet. The suit has four 1.6 horsepower propulsion thrusters, fiber optic gigabit ethernet, and a host of telemetry devices. The "Exosuit atmospheric diving system" (ADS) will allow wearers to work in deep water without facing problems with decompression. While still in testing right now, diver Michael Lombardi will be taking it out for its first full exploration mission later this summer, at a location called Canyons, approximately 100 miles off the coast of Rhode Island.
Art Thompson, Red Bull Stratos' technical project director, talks circuit breakers, wind shear and biomedical data
While Felix Baumgartner landed safely on the ground just a matter of hours ago, the internet is still resonating with the sound of tweets, status updates and YouTube clicks, all thanks to what was one of the most spectacular human endeavors in recent history. The mission was simple, to send a man up in a balloon higher than ever before, and have him safely jump to the ground. This kind of "simple" is usually anything but -- if you just look past the well-manicured exterior. Which, as luck would have it is exactly what we did. With the cheers of success still ringing in his ears, we got some quality time with Art Thompson, the technical project director, and Baumgartner's earliest collaborator on the Stratos mission. We wanted to know a little bit more about what went on behind the scenes, and Thompson was more than happy to oblige. They're understandably proud of what they just achieved.
We have lift off: Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull Stratos launch for record-breaking space jump, watch right here (update: done!)
Talk about building up the tension! Yep, our favorite Austrian daredevil is back out on the New Mexico desert, hoping the weather will hold, and he can finally fall into the record books. Don't forget, you can catch up on Felix Baumgartner's long journey to Roswell in our project overview, but if you're just here for the jump, no problem, as you can watch right here too. Currently conditions are looking like they might just go in Baumgartner's favor, despite some initial concerns about wind levels. But, as we found out earlier in the week, anything can change in an instant. Hold on to your hat (and your breakfast), and hop past the break to watch the events unfold live. Update: Some spoilers lurk ahead if you didn't get to watch live and wanted to catch the event for yourself, so switch articles if you want to catch replays later on. For everyone else: it's a success! Despite some worries about heat going to the helmet visor that threatened the attempt, Baumgartner has at least unofficially broken records both for the highest-ever manned balloon flight and the all-important altitude record for a jump, either of which respectively occurred just over and just under 128,000 feet. Baumgartner also broke the speed record for freefall, although he was just short of Joe Kittinger's 4-minute, 36-second freefall duration. There's a media event still ahead that should provide more details, but for now we'd just like to welcome Felix back to Earth.
Watch Felix Baumgartner's space dive live right here at 9:30AM ET (update: more delays)
Weather may have delayed Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking "space dive" by another (no doubt torturous) 24 hours, but all going well, the wait is almost over. In just over an hour, proceedings will kick off, and you can watch them live, right here. The latest reports indicated that conditions remain favorable, with the team sending a weather balloon up into the stratosphere earlier this morning. The fun begins at 8:30am eastern, but all you need to do is grab a coffee then head past the break for the live feed. Update: Pre-flight checks have postponed the set off. Earliest launch is now set for 12:30PM 1:30PM ET. Update 2: Sorry folks, the launch has been called off due to gusty winds. The team said that tomorrow was a possibility, but until the weather gives way, Felix will remain firmly on the ground.
Leap of faith: Felix Baumgartner's historic jump from the edge of space
BASE jumping might just be about to enter the mainstream. What has typically been considered a fringe activity, reserved for thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies, could soon be firmly cemented in the public view. For the uninitiated, BASE jumping is like skydiving, without the plane. Participants throw themselves off bridges, antennae, buildings, cliffs, and well, whatever high object they can find. It's not illegal, "in theory", but as many of the chosen launch spots are public or private property -- or pose a risk to public safety -- gaining access to, or jumping from them, can mean stepping over the legal line. This otherwise obstreperous activity has largely kept to itself, occasionally popping up in magazines, or YouTube videos, but -- all going well -- on Monday that changes. Serial boundary pusher (of wing suit across the English Channel fame) Felix Baumgartner is set to leap, in the most literal sense of the word, from relative obscurity into the history books. How? By jumping to earth from the edge of space, likely breaking the sound barrier as he does so. How does one go from humble Austrian beginnings to a capsule 120,000 feet (about 23 miles) above the Earth's surface? Make a comparatively tiny leap past the break to find out.
Ask Engadget: best 'Find my Phone' app for Android?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Jacob, who needs to ensure he can find his Android phone if it's lost. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "Hi good folks at Engadget! I just upgraded to a Galaxy S III and I need a new "find my phone" tool. I used to use SeekDroid on my DROID 2, but the web interface won't work on the new phone. I know Samsung's got an app called DIVE that can do this, but it doesn't seem to be supported on Verizon phones. If you've got any suggestions, that'd be fantastic. Thanks!" Actually, we had a look and we don't think it's available on any US Samsung handset without flashing your firmware. But let's imagine he doesn't want that level of hassle. What app should he be picking up? Where's my Droid? Plan B? Something else? What's worked for you -- share your wisdom.
Richard Branson launches Virgin Oceanic to explore the ocean's depths
Sir Richard Branson may have already branded his Necker Nymph aero submarine with the "Virgin Oceanic" moniker, but he's now finally taken things to the next logical (and ambitious) step. He's just announced a new, full-fledged venture of the same name, which promises to do to nothing short of dive to the deepest part of each of the Earth's five oceans -- all within the next two years, no less. That will be done with the one-manned sub pictured above, which was designed by Graham Hawkes and will be piloted by Chris Welsh on its first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench later this year -- those two are Branson's partners in the venture, and Branson himself is set to pilot the sub on its second mission to the Puerto Rico Trench. Not surprisingly, one of the team's goals is to set a few world records, but they're also planning to conduct some scientific research along the way, and are already musing about future vehicles that could collect samples and allow for more extensive research. Head on past the break for a teaser video, although we're told it should not be assumed to reflect an actual mission.
Cosmonaut returns to WiiWare waters with Dive: The Medes Islands Secret
Click to dive into the gallery Having made its WiiWare debut with last summer's "spot the difference" game 5 Spots Party, Cosmonaut Games is preparing to take the plunge again, this time with a decidedly more ambitious title. Due this summer, Dive: The Medes Islands Secret is a 10-level undersea exploration game featuring "2D underwater puzzle landscapes" and the Metroid-like ability to access new areas in already-visited locales after obtaining upgrades. Check out the first screens below as you wait to live the life aquatic. %Gallery-92801%
Scattered Shots: Pet talent trees in the Wrath Beta
Welcome to another edition of Scattered Shots, the other WoW Insider weekly Hunter column. Daniel Whitcomb is your guest host again this week. So, we theorized about talented pets a bit quite a few installments of Scattered Shots ago, but now we have the actual trees live and testable on the Wrath Beta, and they seem to be firming up nicely. There's a few promised changes yet to come, such as the removal or lowering of focus costs on many major abilities and talents, and it's still very possible that Blizzard may make changes here and there before live, but I think they're solid enough at this point that we can look at each tree and make some solid predictions about how people will use them and how various talent builds might look.
Wrath Beta Patch Notes: Hunter
By now, I am sure you've heard that the Wrath of the Lich King Beta is going live and the patch notes are up. There's a rather extensive section devoted to Hunters on this iteration. We have a few more insights into the pet talent trees that were announced at the Worldwide Invitational, as well as a few changes to existing talents and a nice Steady Shot buff.
Today's saltiest video: Forever Blue
The Wii undersea exploration non-game, Forever Blue, sure looks pretty in this trailer. (We have to imagine how the graphics will look outside of a web browser, but we'd swear this game takes at least three Gamecubes taped together.)While Japan-only at this point, maybe the SCUBA simulation will surface in other regions, with the Wii's success. See the video after the break.Update: Thanks to readers for pointing out that Forever Blue will launch in the U.S. as Endless Ocean on October 29.%Gallery-4554%
DepthX robotic submarine maps world's deepest sinkhole
After the recent streak of robotic failures that we've seen, it's refreshing to see yet another success story come our way. Just as it did in February, the two-meter wide DepthX (Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer) robotic submarine successfully mapped out a massive sinkhole in Mexico, but this time was quite a bit more rewarding. The cavern that it ventured into was the El Zacatón Cenote, which is better known as the world's deepest water-filled sinkhole, and the machine was able to delve some 270-meters down to "create the first map of the giant cavity." The hole itself is large enough to "swallow New York's Chrysler Building," and while the endeavor was indeed a success, researchers are hoping to get it back down there in the near future to better analyze a mysterious slope that it wasn't quite able to probe. Godspeed, DepthX.[Via Slashdot]
Britain's Isis ROV set to trawl the depths of Antarctica
We've seen mechanical devices creep through the inside of intestines, huge mounds of dirt, and even through the San Francisco Bay, but now a British deep-diving remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is getting set to probe the depths of Antarctica. In hopes of uncovering more about the effects of glaciers on the ocean floor, as well as details about the living creatures that inhabit said areas, UK scientists are carting the machine aboard the RSS James Clark Ross as they head for the Marguerite Bay area on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The robot, dubbed Isis, will spend time on its inaugural January mission combing the seabed and channeling live video and pictures back to its captains via the built-in cameras, lights, sonars for acoustic navigation / imaging, and two remotely-controlled manipulator arms. Once the bot gets dried off (and thawed out) from its arctic expedition, the next tour of duty is already lined up, as Isis will head off to the Portuguese coast to do a bit more sightseeing. Of course, if you're interested in taking the £4.5 million ($8.81 million) creature out for a mission you deem worthwhile, it should be available for deep-pocketed renters soon after.
