Hand Gesture Design and Visualization

So Elon Musk does it again with this video from SpaceX:


Using the Leap Motion, Oculus Rift, some glass projection thing like in Iron Man apparently. 3D printing gets a mention too.

While this is really wow and pro, I would definitely like to see if they use hand gestures beyond visualising to do some designing work.

Hyperloop - Finally! (by Elon Musk & co)

http://www.spacex.com/hyperloop
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/hyperloop

Actual white paper linked to in those two identical blogs.

It's basically like the Alcubierre Warp Drive in a low pressure air tube.. haha. Sub-sonic, solar panels on top, sky-mono-rail so tube lifted by pylons to reduce ground impact and earth movement problems. Propulsion is by electromagnetic linear induction motor acceleration powered through the tube. (Think sub-orbital railgun).

Star Citizen - RSI, from the makers of Freelancer etc.

from the makers of Freelancer ... THIS. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen

• A rich universe focused on epic space adventure, trading and dogfighting in first person.
• Single Player – Offline or Online(Drop in / Drop out co-op play)
• Persistent Universe (hosted by US)
• Mod-able multiplayer (hosted by YOU)
• No Subscriptions
• No Pay to Win

Only thing missing from it is shiny MMORPGFPS gameplay on the planetary surface found in the likes of Precursors (which gameplay-wise was amazing =D).
What makes me so excited: MMO persistent universe, FPS elements, Ship combat which is like Freelancer and not MOBA-style (sorry DoTA2, D3, Torchlight, just not so into click click click =P).
Shameless plug for my favourite game of all time (Tribes 1) remade into an arcade style FPS: less gameplay complexity, and weird speed gain when skiing but nevertheless FUN.


BOARDING SHIP MECHANIC explained
Multiplayer and Single player instancing explained.
Because, FIREFLY for inspiration. =) - would love that job xD
Support Linux at the poll for stretch goals (click thru to RSI website for the poll), give CryEngine3 the incentive to go to the quickest growing gaming platform right now with Source, Steam, Unity supporting =) Linux. Speaking of Linux, Humble Bundle for Android 4 finishes in 6 days!


Final-week's (3 days left to pledge!) pitch:


FINAL WEEK PUSH from Roberts Space Industries on Vimeo.

So a few points of our next major stretch goal (from boarding ship mechanic post and RSI star citizen website):
$4.0 million Level Additions

• Melee & Heavy Weapons
• Zero-gravity Simulation
• Suit HUD Options
• Increased Customization
• Outside-the-ship combat (magnetic boots on a hull; think Moonraker)
• Pro MOD TOOLS FREE to players!
• Persistent Universe (forever instead of 30 months), 50 star systems
• More Squardron 42 campaign gameplay
• Increased community updates

- According to RSI website, we need $250k left till $4mil. Also, back on Kickstarter, your pledge will go towards stretch goals of BOTH kickstarter and the overall stretch goals at RSI.  
SO PLEDGE ON KICKSTARTER NOW =D.


I've always wanted to do Precursors MMO'd with friends. This is the closest thing I have ever seen. No amount of procedural universe generation, even if done by big industry pros would sway me. Just damn good gameplay with friends =).
That said, I've had my eye on Infinity Universe for years, because dang-it, its got great gameplay and scale, just without the FPS element >=| and definitely will be happily playing when it comes out.

omg 150k/year making hats!!

***Update 7/11/2012 (yes, Aussie/UK date format)***

nVidia supports Steam Linux beta in latest drivers:
http://steamforlinux.com/?q=en/node/127
Yay! I'm on nVidia GT330M on my laptop (Samsung R580-JS02AU) but I didn't really care which manufacturer: ATI or nVidia I got, as long as it was Linux-supported well. 
And yes, this post is basically another Steam fanboying post =P

*************************************************


Yes, TF2 hats woooot! xD
And yes, another Steam on Linux post and windows is =/ post .. =P

http://gamingbolt.com/gabe-newell-windows-8-is-a-catastrophe-for-everyone-in-the-pc-space
Wish I could make $150k/year making hats!!!

Found the link from here:
http://gamingbolt.com/valve-engineer-drew-bliss-explains-why-they-favor-linux-over-windows

And I didn't know Gabe Newell worked 13 years on Windows o_O
Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/378666/the-battle-between-windows-8-and-computer-game-developers/

News post #11?

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506466/given-tablets-but-no-teachers-ethiopian-children-teach-themselves/
Woot, u go, hacker children!!
Personally, I think humans are naturally hackers and makers, curious about things, tinkering with them, and wanting to make/create things. This bit of news kind of supports my thought =P
Also, good to see OLPC is doing stuff, their $100 XO-1 is pretty neat too, I've seen it in action before at ASSC, one of the guys from Lunar Numbat brought it along =)
Speaking of which, haven't heard much news from LN and White Label Space, but Canberra UAV had a pretty good year, and they presented at CLUG too! =D

Yep, lots of group dropping there =P Don't forget the hackerspaces I follow: MHV and HackJamHK@Dimsumlabs(-their FB page is pretty well updated) =D
Being a Melbourne boy, it's kinda sad I dont' follow these guys (CCHS) nearly as much (due to me not being around Melbourne -my fav city- as much as the other two places these days! ><") though some of them are LN and they've had some pretty cool projects. Their computer-in-car is especially cool =P and is part of the inspiration for Project Sheila (now much easier with mobile computing and Li batteries =D) which first requires a car and license (lol) xD Anyone get the project name reference? (Hint, my AI will be called Sheila).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In other cool news:
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/october/carbon-solar-cell-103112.html
First whole carbon solar cell including electrodes (apparently some researchers as engadget points out, has made the energy transducer part before)
Pretty cool.

Copenhagen Suborbitals first LES+capsule test

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/copenhagen-suborbitals-test/?pid=4590&viewall=true

So check out the stuff there.

Or click here for full article right here:

I hope this code from http://bungtutor.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/how-to-make-spoler-in-blogspot-blogger.html works ...

View as gallery

Every space capsule needs an escape system. But to be sure the safety net isn’t a death trap, it must be tested.
A do-it-yourself spaceflight program called Copenhagen Suborbitals tested their own launch escape system early on Sunday, Aug. 12 in the middle of the Baltic Sea.
The system didn’t quite work as intended. “We had perfect launch, but quickly the entire configuration began to tumble,” said Kristian von Bengtson, co-founder of Copenhagen Suborbitals. “The main chutes clearly did not have complete deployment and the capsule hit water in high speed, buckling the bottom shield.”
Yet failures are expected in any spaceflight program, especially during early hardware tests. Without them, engineers couldn’t learn how their systems truly perform. “The capsule remained intact and kept sending live data from inside the capsule,” von Bengtson said. “From a long list of things that could have gone wrong, we are very satisfied.”
Experience Copenhagen Suborbitals’ exciting launch sequence, and its crushing end, in this gallery.
Above:

Liftoff!

The launch escape system — the space capsule, named Beautiful Betty, and a small rocket — ascends from its seafaring launch pad in a picture-perfect start.
In a full launch, a large rocket would carry the entire system into suborbital space, or roughly 62 miles above the Earth. If something went wrong on the way, the system would detach, with the small rocket delivering the capsule and its crew to safety.
Image: Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa

Boom and Splash

The launch was supposed to loft the 950-pound suborbital space capsule, and a 150-pound dummy named Randy inside, to about 3,000 feet. As a video (above) shows, the rocket and its payload quickly spun out of control.
High-speed shots of the launch pad show engine performance, while a camera inside the capsule captures Randy’s unique view.
Video: CphSuborbitals/YouTube

Mobile Launch Pad

Copenhagen Suborbitals ran its tests from a floating launchpad called Sputnik (above). Shown here is the launch escape system rocket, which is attached to the Beautiful Betty capsule with explosive bolts.

Images: 1) Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa; 2) Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa

Tumble in the Sky

Things looked good until a few seconds into liftoff. At that point, as it arced hundreds of feet into the air, the launch escape system began to tumble out of control. Von Bengtson and his colleagues haven’t had a chance to fully review the sequence, but he thinks the system’s center of gravity moved toward the center of pressure — the firing rocket nozzles — as the rocket burned through propellent.
“If those two centers get too close, you get an unstable rocket,” he said.
Image: Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa

Late Separation

As their launch escape system tumbled out of control, Copenhagen Suborbitals didn’t want to remotely trigger the explosive bolts and separate rocket from capsule. That could have unleashed an out-of-control rocket toward their observation ships. Instead von Bengtson waited until the engines had almost stopped burning, then triggered the separation and the capsule’s parachutes.

Images: 1) Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa; 2) Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa

Big Splash

After separation, the parachutes only partly deployed. The capsule slammed into the water at very high speed, crushing its circular bottom and denting the capsule’s frame.
Image: Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa

Rough Recovery?

Despite a very hard splash that caused significant damage, the capsule and Randy the dummy remained intact.
Von Bengtson and his team are now reviewing the launch to understand every moment of their milestone test.

Images: 1) Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa; 2) Copenhagen Suborbitals/Picasa

View as gallery

Dave Mosher is a Wired.com contributor and freelance science journalist obsessed with space, physics, biology, technology and more. He lives in New York City. G+
Read more by Dave Mosher
Follow @davemosher and @wiredscience on Twitter.

Tags: copenhagen suborbitals, DIY, Launch Escape System, Open Space, rocket launch, rockets, space capsule, Tycho Deep Space

• Post Comment |
• Comments | 
• Permalink

Back to top
Or just watch the cool vid here: