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Kalashnikov's next military gear might be hoverbikes
Popular Mechanics reports that a Russian defense company has developed a flying vehicle that took to the air earlier this week as manufacturers demonstrated what it can do. The hovercraft, built by Kalashnikov Concern, gets its lift from 16 sets of rotors and appears to run on battery power, not fuel. It's likely that a future version of this vehicle might be used by military as Kalashnikov is already involved in the production of guns and ammunition as well as combat vehicles and automated gun systems.
Piloted hoverbike redefines 'dangerous'
Good news: a private company has developed a manned hoverbike you might have a chance of owning one day, instead of something destined for the military or the corporate crowd. Only... you may want to take a pass on this one. Hoversurf has teased an electric quadcopter bike that offers both automated and manual control. It's marketed as safe thanks to "state of the art flight controllers" that keep checks on parameters like altitude and speed, and those are no doubt true. But, well, look at it -- you're one jolt away from losing your legs to those unprotected blades. And did we mention how easy it would be to fall off with that unrestrained, motorcycle-style seating?
The US Army successfully flies its hoverbike prototype
The Army has proven that the hoverbike its contractors are developing actually works during a flight demo with the Department of Defense. Dr. William Roper, director of the Strategic Capabilities Office for the Secretary of Defense, watched the large rectangular prototype quadcopter take off at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland on January 10th. The hoverbike began as a Kickstarter project by creator Malloy Aeronautics. Once Malloy secured a contract with the military, it teamed up with defense company Survice Engineering Co. to continue the bike's development. It has since become a joint project between the Army and the US Marine Corps.
ICYMI: Barely hoverbiking, new hair dryer tech and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-698312{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-698312, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-698312{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-698312").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: YouTuber Colin Furze teamed up with Ford to build a working hoverbike within just a few weeks, from his shed. It runs off of two diesel engines so granted, it's probably not the most mass-production friendly item, but does beg the question: What's holding everyone back, then?
ICYMI: An accident impeding big rig, hoverbikes and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-620778").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The hoverbike of your Star Wars dreams is actually being built but sad faces all around, it's being made for the U.S. Department of Defense before you suckers get to try it out; too many car accidents in Argentina inspired Samsung to make a digital display on the back of semi trucks to show other cars what's happening on the roadway with front-facing cameras; and researchers built a boat that gives lower fuel consumption based on a design change that mimics a part of a whale's tail.
The US military is developing Star Wars-style hoverbikes
Last time we heard from Malloy Aeronautics, it was testing hoverbike technology with a robot-carrying drone. A few months later, it's partnering with a Maryland-based defense company to develop a hoverbike for the US military. Working with Survice Engineering Co., the UK aeronautics company will set up shop in Maryland as part of "an ongoing research and development contract." The duo will also work with the US Army Research Laboratory on the project that aims to create "a new class of Tactical Reconnaissance Vehicle (TRV)."
Watch this: A robot traverses the English countryside on a hoverbike
Oh, that? It's just a robot riding across the English countryside on a 1/3-scale model of a hoverbike. The folks at Malloy Aeronautics are hard at work on a similar full-sized vehicle for humans, but as part of its Kickstarter effort to raise funds for the project, a smaller version is offered to backers. What was originally a proof of concept piece is now a fully-operational aerial drone, and can be yours if you're willing to part with around $1,000 (£595) in support of the endeavor. For now, just enjoy watching that tiny robot take flight in your stead, just after the break.
Engadget Daily: futuristic Army helmets, Sony Alpha 6000 review and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: a locomotive that runs on hydrogen, honey detective and a 30 mph-capable hover bike
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Inhabitat is always on the lookout for new and interesting innovations, but some of the things that flashed across our screens this week truly defy the rules of physics. Take, for example, the story of 51-year-old Chinese man Sun Jifa, who lost both of his arms in an explosion and built his own bionic hands out of scrap metal. Building functional prosthetic limbs is one thing, but doing it without the aid of fingers? That's downright mind-blowing. We were also pretty excited to hear that a California-based tech company has developed a working hover bike that travels up to 30 mph. It isn't quite ready for a high-speed chase in the forest a la Star Wars, but it still looks pretty cool. And in another amazing development, a team of Harvard researchers has figured out a way to store 70 billion books in a space the size of your thumbnail.
WildStar Wednesday: Shiny hover bikes
Everybody's favorite extraterrestrial bunnyfolk make an appearance in this week's WildStar Wednesday. While the blog is light on text, it makes up for that with some lovely shots of a female Aurin tooling around on the hover bike we've all come to know and envy from WildStar's first cinematic. A couple of the shots show off the game's lovely scenery while the Aurin performs what would be a wheelie if the bike ever had two wheels on the ground to begin with. Dreaming of the day that you, too, can nab a joyride on this beast of a hover bike? Hop on over to the blog page to check out all the shots, or browse our WildStar gallery to get an eyeful.%Gallery-130867%
Masthead releases Earthrise vehicle concept art
What's Masthead Studios been up to lately? Aside from bug-fixing and putting out fires on the forums of its newly released sci-fi sandbox called Earthrise, the studio is finding time to iterate on future features for the world of Enterra. Player vehicles have been an oft-requested addition since the game's early beta days, and if two new pieces of concept art are any indication, the cries haven't gone unnoticed. Masthead has just published preliminary models for two types of single-occupant vehicles, both bearing the sexy lines and sleek stylings of a futuristic hover-bike, swoop, or insert-sci-fi-motorcycle-analog-here. While there's no word on when we'll see these new pieces of awesome in the game, we'll keep our eyes (and ears) peeled for further details. In the meantime, check out both images in our gallery below. %Gallery-48760%