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Researchers develop device that extracts water from desert air
Researchers at MIT and UC Berkeley have developed and now tested a device that can extract water out of the air even in the driest of climates. The team proposed the device in a Science article last year and now they've improved the design and tried it out in Tempe, Arizona. While there are a few ways to pull water out of the air, most come with significant limitations. They usually require humidities upwards of 50 percent and some need a lot of energy input to make them work. The research team's latest design, however, works passively, without the need for energy input, and can work in places with humidity as low as 10 percent.
Nanorods could harvest water in dry climates
Sometimes it's the accidental discoveries that make the biggest impact. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have learned that carbon-rich nanorods created in a botched experiment might be ideal for harvesting water. When there's relatively low humidity (below 50 percent), the rods trap water inside their gaps; if it's any more humid, however, they promptly expel that water as vapor. It's a very unusual trait that's likely caused by water condensing into a "bridge" in the nanorods, whose surface tension forces them to close and eventually kick the water out.
ICYMI: Action sports drone, the future of shoes and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-364035{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-364035, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-364035{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-364035").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: AirDog took us on an adventure in the desert to showcase its nearly $1600 drone that can follow action sports junkies autonomously. While other action drones that follow users exist, AirDog claims this one is superior based on 40mph speed and software settings that change depending on the activity of choice. The major drawback for now is that one removable battery charge lasts only 14 minutes, which meant an attempted landing was more of a controlled crash when we took it for a spin.
ICYMI: Worm mind control, a creepy new Barbie and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-630410{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-630410, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-630410{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-630410").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A new $75 Barbie with speech recognition software can talk to your kids and give them career advice, as well as store previous conversations to refer back during girlfriend chats. Holy hell, yes? Meanwhile, some scientists figured out how to use mind control on worms in a lab with an ultrasonic pulse that gets the slimy suckers to change course. And a group of friends gathered in the desert in Nevada to build a scaled seven mile solar system. Bummer alert: They left off Pluto.
To scale Solar System model built across seven miles of Nevada desert
If you treat the Earth as a marble, what would an accurate, to-scale model of the Solar System actually look like? Something much larger and expansive than a textbook illustration would suggest. To explain the sheer scale of our planetary system, Wylie Overstreet, Alex Gorosh and some friends decided to build their own model at a dry lakebed in Nevada. Using a reported scale of 1 astronomical unit per 176 metres, the group leveraged seven miles of empty desert to plot the planets and etch their orbital lines into the dirt. Sure, you can't print it out or keep it on your desk, but it's a novel idea and does a fantastic job of putting our Solar System into perspective. After you've finished watching the short below, we recommend heading here to see how it was all put together.
Mortal Online is expanding into the deserts of Sarducaa
Is it too early to declare the MMO expansion of 2015 yet? If not, then Mortal Online might have it in the bag as it prepares to open the doors of a new continent. Coming soon(tm) to the game will be the continent of Sarducaa, a land dominated by deserts as well as a smidge of "inpenetrable jungle." Sarducaa will be broken up into six zones and is larger than the existing Myrland. It will also boast enemy creatures with "expanded AI" and better loot. The team has posted a preview of Sarducaa, including concept art and a few tracks of the new soundtrack. [Thanks to Sandboxer III: Return of Sandboxing for the tip!]
Tour one of Earth's grandest deserts in Google Street View
Visiting a large desert in person can be difficult. Roads will only take you so far, and you probably aren't used to navigating gigantic sand dunes. Thankfully, you no longer have to plan a whole adventure just to see this austere beauty at ground level. Google has used camel-mounted Trekker cameras to bring Street View to Liwa, an oasis-laden desert in the southern end of the United Arab Emirates. The move gives you 360-degree panoramas of everything from massive dunes (up to 131 feet high) to date farms. This won't compare to making the trip yourself, but it'll probably be much more comfortable.
MIT harvests fog to make water in one of the driest places on Earth
The climate is so arid in some corners of the globe that virtually any source of water is crucial to survival; even the fog rolling over the hills could make a big difference. MIT is well aware of this, and has been testing an advanced form of fog harvesting in Chile's Atacama Desert (one of the driest places on the planet) to see how the technology can help communities in very harsh regions. By taking inspiration from fog-collecting organisms like beetles and grass, researchers built large meshes that are 500 percent more efficient at turning fog into drinkable water than previous systems. In the Atacama experiment, they're good enough to produce half a gallon of water a day for every 10 square feet of mesh. That's not a lot, but it's sufficient for watering gardens of edible plants like aloe vera.
Contour+ vs. GoPro HD Hero 2: through the desert and into the skies
Engadget Show segments come about in any number of ways. Sometimes it's a no brainer, with some awesome new gadget just aching for some air time. Other times it's a matter of our wanting to do something cool, like, say, flying a plane. The GoPro / Contour segment from the last Engadget Show was a little bit of both. The ultra-rugged camcorders were a perfect fit for our desire to take on some extreme activities in the Nevada desert. We started out by taking Polaris RZR for a spin on some sand dunes around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And while we didn't really anticipate that it would be windy enough that day to ground planes at nearby McCarren Airport, the 50MPH sandstorms certainly did their part in testing the mettle of the devices -- and our camera crew, for that matter. We strapped both to the roll bar of the all-terrain vehicle and took off into the desert. Things were thankfully a bit calmer when we took to the sky the following day with help from the folks at Sky Combat Ace. The camcorders joined us in our respective cockpits, proving that they could take the punishment of a several G ride -- even if we didn't hold up so well. So, which of the two camcorders fared better? Tim and Brian hash it out after the break.
GENIE rocket system does smooth VTOL, lateral flight, cheap trips to Mars (video)
NASA can't just park up in the middle of space and rely on Robotnaut 2 for its entertainment. Actually, it probably can, but at some point the urge to explore new worlds will become too strong to resist. That's when it'll need a suborbital rocket guidance system like the GENIE ("Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment"), which transforms a flood of sensory data into reliable and autonomous maneuvers. Fortunately, the system's economics make a whole lot more sense than its name, which is why NASA is depending on technology like this to control the next generation of affordable and reusable space craft. The test flight shown after the break can only boost GENIE's chances: it took a Xombie rocket up to 160 feet and then made it fly laterally for another 160 feet before landing with a degree of swagger that makes the previous flight in 2010 look plain rickety.
Rise and Shiny recap: Nadirim
Ah, the desert. Great sand dunes, long shadows, and the sun burning hot all day. It's no place for the weak of heart. Designing an entire game that takes place in that setting isn't easy, either. Sure, many MMOs feature a desert zone or area and might feature a desert people whom we can choose to play. Generally, though, MMOs are lush and full of green. Perhaps gamers just prefer elves, forests, and wet weather effects? Nadirim has pulled players into a great expanse of desert and asked them to find adventure. I have to admit that desert area in games like Vanguard: Saga of Heroes are usually not my favorite, but I can understand their appeal. The desert is one of the last alien landscapes in our lives. Most of us have trees around us or a local swimming pool or at the least a green lawn to trim. Then we imagine an area devoid of anything leafy and it feels surreal. Luckily, Nadirim does a good job in many areas, so it was a pleasure to step into the sand. Click past the cut and I'll tell you more.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: modernizing the US national grid, not to mention deserts and pyramids
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. This week at Inhabitat, we were thankful to be able to witness the long-awaited unveiling of the futuristic solar-powered Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi, and we also heard the exciting news that scientists are developing a project that could have us using the Sahara desert to supply 50% of the world's energy by 2050. We were also dazzled by the dynamic "dancing" facade of the Kiefer Technic showroom and this towering greenery-lined pyramid caught our eye with its modern take on ancient Mayan architecture. The world of green tech had a lot to be grateful for too as the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would award $19 million to modernize the national grid and green transportation saw the first flight powered by jatropha-based biofuel. On a lighter note, this solar-powered wheelchair and its designer prepared to embark on a 200 mile journey to showcase its capabilities. For those of you on the hunt for Cyber Monday deals, don't forget to check out our Green Gadget Gift Guide with our picks for the hottest eco-friendly tech out there. We also spotted this ingenious wood speaker system that amplifies music using the properties of the material it's made of and needs no electricity at all.
Runes of Magic 3.0.6 update will feature new desert zone
Frogster's latest press release talks up the forthcoming content patch for free-to-play MMORPG Runes of Magic. The update, version 3.0.6, will introduce the new Limo Desert zone, which boasts nine sub-regions, a new instance, and seven oasis settlements that double as player supply points. The desert is inhabited by dog-like bipedal creatures, appropriately called the Canine, who have split into two sects (the Iron Teeth and Rotteneyes clans). The Kingdom of Limon -- one of the aforementioned desert sub-regions -- features a pyramid burial chamber that houses a decorated Canine war hero as well as plenty of new tactical challenges for players. Check out more information on Runes of Magic at the game's official website.
Star Wars: The Old Republic gives an official reveal of Tatooine
Despite being an obscure planet on the outer rim in Star Wars: The Old Republic, everyone knew that the desert planet Tatooine was going to be in the game. No, really, everyone. It's like Hoth, it shows up all the time, probably because the first movie in the franchise started on it. BioWare has thrown us a few curveballs, but to think they wouldn't send us to a well-known and iconic planet in the franchise would be silly. And sure enough, today's update to the official site is details on the sprawling desert wasteland with occasional pockets of civilization. There's plenty to do in the desert, however, even if the traditional stomping of tusken raiders doesn't appeal to you. The official page details the aftermath of the Czerka Corporation's meddling with the biosphere and with unfettered weaponry, which the Sith Empire is attempting to reclaim. There's the promise of something truly horrible under the sand as well, which should provide players of Star Wars: The Old Republic plenty of searching around dunes. Take a look at the official page on the planet, and if that doesn't sate your need for the game's universe, the newest installment of Threat of Peace is also available for your reading pleasure.
Newest batch of Global Agenda concept art released
In our third installment of concept art images from Hi-Rez Studios' Global Agenda, we get a look at some of the newest environments from the game. Previous batches have shown us tropical, arctic and underground scenery, as well as some gorgeous in-game shots of characters and environments. This set, however, takes us into a few of the desert locations with a look at a desert mine tunnel, desert lab hallway and a desert test chamber.As you may remember from our hands-on time with the game, Global Agenda is a fast-paced action MMO using Unreal® Engine 3 set in Earth's near future, a spy-fi world of advanced technology and player-driven conflict. These concept images represent the type of exotic and futuristic locations that players and player-run groups will visit as they compete in a global conflict for territory, resources and advanced technology. Be sure to check out our entire Global Agenda gallery linked below.%Gallery-35351%
MapleStory patch 0.56 adds desert region, rad surfboard drops
MapleStory's 0.56 patch has gone live! The patch's additions are impressively robust; they include a new region and town, guild alliance support, windowed mode support, auto-inventory sorting, macros, and extra party search features.The new area is called Ariant. You'll find it on the continent of Ossyria. Apparently it's some kind of Arabian Nights-esque desert setting (summer, desert; they're both hot -- get it?). A whole slew of new quests, NPCs, monsters, and items have been introduced as well. Of course, the shop has been updated, too. A special event begins with this patch -- summer-themed items like surfboards will drop throughout the season.Dude, that's like totally rad! Um, sorry. You're right; that was uncalled for.
Breakfast Topic: Desert island mod
A few days ago, 1up was asking readers about their "desert island game". You know the scenario, you've probably done this with friends before. It's usually books or CD's or movies, but 1up's article got me to thinking. Let's say you're stuck in a desert island, you have a gaming laptop powerful enough to play WoW well, and have rigged up solar power and wireless internet. Unfortunately, for the sake of our conversation, your internet and power only work to get your laptop playing WoW, no other outside communication, and you inexplicably forget to ask your guildies to send a rescue plane to your island. Oh, and your account is free. Hmm, come to think of it, why would anyone WANT to leave this situation?? Great weather, we'll pretend there's ample food, and all the WoW you can handle! It's like a little gamer's paradise there, just hanging out, getting tanned, swimming with little Nemos in the nearby offshore coral reef, finding new and interesting ways to cook fish in coconut milk. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, so you're on this island, with your WoW laptop and all that goodness, but you can only bring 1 addon/mod with you (no compilations). What would your addon/mod be, and why?
