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Trexa's EV platform comes out of its shell, reveals its true torque-tube nature
We liked what we saw when we first set eyes upon Trexa's EV platform, but the company decided to ditch the skateboard façade for a slimmer, cylindrical form factor. After stripping away that somewhat chunky exterior, Trexa used a torque tube (where the center tube is the main load-bearing structure for the suspension and drivetrain) to create an egalitarian EV platform suitable for any road going application. The Entertube chassis's both flexible (2WD or 4WD) and scalable -- from a nine-inch diameter tube with seven kWh of juice in an eight-foot wheelbase to an 18-inch diameter tunnel with a massive 90kWh power pack crammed in a 180-inch wheelbase. That means there's an EV for every occasion, from small cars to semi-trucks and anything in between. What you see is a production prototype, but it's being commercialized as we speak, so it won't be too long until Enertube-powered EVs are ready for the open road. Until then, you'll have to settle for the plethora of pics below and press release after the break. %Gallery-121182%
Trexa EV development platform is modular, extremely customizable
You know how you've been telling all your friends that, if you had the chance, you'd totally design the perfect electric vehicle? Well, here is that treasured opportunity. The modular Trexa EV, built by the eponymous startup company and designed by you, contains all the motor, battery and drivetrain basics within the low-profile base you see above, and lets you stack whatever optimizations you desire on top. That means customizable acceleration, suspension, torque and top speed, as well as the predictable versatility in outward appearance. In truth, it is really just aimed as a test mule for more professionally inclined (and presumably funded) EV designers, but we can't help but admire the simple genius of it all. Hit the source link for more.%Gallery-83502%
How to build a Skulltrail machine for $2,500
Intel's gunning hard for the high end of the gaming market with the new Skulltrail platform, but nothing about it is cheap -- the D5400XS mobo at the heart of the platform costs $649 to start, and the flagship "fastest ever" config features two $1,499 3.2GHZ QX9775 processors. Still, if you're a hardcore gamer, you know you want it, so the folks over at Techgage have put together a handy guide to building a Skulltrail system for just $2,500 -- sure, you're not getting those crazy processors for that money, but the specs are still pretty respectable. Techgage priced out a pair of $300 2.3GHz Xeon E5410s, a single NVIDIA 8800GT-based graphics card, 320GB drive, 4GB of RAM and all the chassis bits for $2,520 -- not bad, not bad at all. Grab your screwdrivers and check out all the sample configurations at the read link.
Not satisfied with current HDTV models? Build your own!
So you're looking at that new LCD television on the showroom floor, but you think, "I could totally get into this if only it had three component inputs, and two high-def tuners." Well, AVING brings us news that Korean value added reseller A1display has the solution for you, with new "DIY" 1080p LCD models you can have custom built to your specifications. It seems that you come to the company's store, select your components, and then engineers gather all the parts and assemble it for you, with in-home service options available once the set has been delivered. From our machine-translated Korean page, we deduce that the company is using some stock LG glass and various internal parts to assemble the unit, implying that you can choose your tuner and input options, while keeping much of the bezel casing and other hardware the same. Still, keep in mind that your options are somewhat limited by the pre-configured parts, so your dream of a 4K set with 5 HDMI inputs and 2 built in subwoofers will have to remain just that.
Vstone goes affordable with Robovie-i
Our favorite consumer robotics firm has just announced a new addition to their lineup, but unlike their other multi-thousand dollar offerings, Vstone's new build-it-yourself Robovie-i will retail for a very affordable $270 when the pre-order period begins in July. You may remember the Japanese company as manufacturing such humanoid bots as the soccer-playing Manus-I and Robovie-V, or the Gigantor-like Tetsu-jin 28, although at less than 10% of the cost of its comrades, you can't expect the 2-foot tall Robovie-i to display the skills or freedom of movement found in other members of its family. In fact, a video of the new model-- which will come in your choice of red, white, blue, or gold -- shows that it does little more than wobble drunkenly back and forth in an amusing attempt at forward motion, although dumping two of them in a sumo ring together elicits a good 15 seconds worth of dizzying action (not exciting ROBO-ONE-type action, mind you, but more like ho-hum Rock'em Sock'em Robot-esque action).[Via ployer]
