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Drone flies as both biplane and helicopter using one propeller
There are helicopter drones and fixed-wing drones, but creating a hybrid of both is tricky. Even Parrot's Swing, as clever as it is, needs four propellers and elaborate wings to pull off its stunt. However, TU Delft (with backing from Parrot) has a far more elegant solution. Its DelftAcopter drone doubles as both a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter using only one propeller -- its tailless biplane design lets it take off and hover vertically, but gracefully turn into a fast-moving airplane (up to 62MPH) at a moment's notice. It's an incredibly simple design that makes you wonder why someone hadn't considered it for drones before.
Super-maneuverable drone airplanes are coming
Helicopter-like drones are extremely nimble, but their fixed-wing counterparts aren't so lucky. Chinese researchers have a way to bring some of that agility to conventional airplane designs, though. They've developed a vectored thrust propeller system that lets the drone make tighter turns, take off quickly and otherwise fly in areas where it would normally be too dangerous. And unlike jet-based vectored thrust (such as on the F-22), this system is light and small enough to fit into a relatively compact UAV.
Bananaphone touch synthesizer replaces ring ring rings with chiptunes (video)
If you're tired of bananaphones that just make calls, the crew at Gadget Gangster now has a homebrew project to use them for musical escapades. A custom-coded (and appropriately named) Adafruit Propeller board turns a bunch of bananas into the Bananaphone TouchSynth, a synthesizer using the same capacitive touch principles that let a MaKey MaKey turn anything into a controller. The project as it's built won't be rocking stadium-sized crowds anytime soon -- not with those beeps and that lone speaker -- but there's nothing stopping it from scaling up to bigger sounds. Just remember that your fresh beats will turn very brown within a few days.
Adafruit Propeller Platform USB entices DIY electronics builders, 'Gadget Gangsters' at large
It's days like today where you realize just how badly you need to scratch that DIY itch, and Adafruit's newest two circuit boards couldn't be landing at a more opportune time. Both of these bad boys are classified as Gadget Gangsters, which makes 'em viable for purchase without any additional investigation. Should you choose to, however, we'll have you know that the Propeller Platform USB is an open-source platform for building your own electronics projects with a new eight-core Parallax Propeller chip; the ProtoPlus model adds video / audio support as well as a "prototyping area." Tutorials are available in the source links for those inexperienced with Spin, and at just $50 / $15 (respectively), we'd say they're well worth the purchase if you're looking to simply get your toes wet. Better known as "become hopelessly addicted to modding" 'round these parts.
