Biski amphibious motorcycle can switch from land to water in just 5 seconds

Riding your motorcycle into a lake is definitely not the brightest idea, unless of course, you’re talking about the Biski motorcycle. The amphibious vehicle converts from motorcycle into jet ski in less than 5 seconds.


The product is being produced by Gibbs, a company specialized in amphibious vehicles which is also developing the Triski and already produces the Quadski (as the name suggests, a tricycle and a four-wheeler, respectively, that work both on land and in the water), the latter can already be purchased for US$40,000.

Watch the video here :

According to Gibbs, the Biski can reach 60 km/h on water and up to 130 km/h on land with its 55-horsepower, twin cylinder engine. Powered by gasoline, the motorcycle weighs around 228 kilograms and takes around 5 seconds to convert to water mode retracting the wheels out of the way and switching to jet propulsion. Gibbs hasn’t yet revealed when exactly the Biski will be available for purchase or even how much it will cost.

Scientists Design Tires That Can Repair Themselves After Getting Punctured

A flat tire can result into quite a tiresome experience and at times a very frustrating one. Thanks to new technology, you might not have to experience this ordeal anymore. A research is being carried out in Europe that is focused on how a damaged tire will be able to heal itself within a few minutes.
Right now, the manufacturing process for tires employs the use of vulcanization process. The process adds sulfur along with other compounds thus enhancing the durability of the finished product by creating cross-links between the polymer chains that are responsible for making up the material. The only downside being that once these links are broken they can’t be repaired.
A team comprised of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Germany, the Tampere University of Technology in Finland and the Dresden University of Technology in Germany are working through this limitation by taking out the vulcanization process from the manufacturing process.

The team has learned that by imparting a nitrogen/carbon compound they are able to acquire the same effect with the added benefit of polymer links being able to form again after having being broken.
In a series of tests, the rubber created using this process exhibited its healing power by tackling cuts in them at room temperature. Heating the rubber to 100 ºC for the first ten minutes sped up the process. After 8 days, the healed pieces of rubber were capable of withstanding pressures of up to 52 bar. The team speculates that adding reinforcing agents such as carbon black or silica would enhance the self-healing rubber’s strength even more.

A paper on the research was recently published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Why You Should Never Point A Laser At Anyone’s Face

Laser technology has seen an unprecedented number of uses after being perfected in recent times with cutting edge applications in low-cost sheet cutting, navigation and precise measurement being some of them. While it is being used in many industries around the world, the health and safety code in these setups ensure that the deadly laser doesn’t harm the workers. But, same cannot be said of these common laser devices that have been introduced in the market mostly used in toys and instruments. Many of these devices are handheld, and people get carried away and abuse them openly. A shocking stat shows that scores of aircraft pilots throughout the world suffer eye damage when targeted by lasers from the ground when flying at a low altitude. Some of them are left with serious consequences and even lose their jobs in the process as well.



Laser technology has seen an unprecedented number of uses after being perfected in recent times with cutting edge applications in low-cost sheet cutting, navigation and precise measurement being some of them. While it is being used in many industries around the world, the health and safety code in these setups ensure that the deadly laser doesn’t harm the workers. But, same cannot be said of these common laser devices that have been introduced in the market mostly used in toys and instruments. Many of these devices are handheld, and people get carried away and abuse them openly. A shocking stat shows that scores of aircraft pilots throughout the world suffer eye damage when targeted by lasers from the ground when flying at a low altitude. Some of them are left with serious consequences and even lose their jobs in the process as well.

There is also a growing misconception about the green lasers that is allowing people to misuse them. For some dubious reason, people have arrived at the fact that green lasers aren’t harmful to the human eye, only red lasers are, which is just nonsense. A recent study shows us that 90% of the green pointers used in the US don’t lie in the 1 or 2 safety levels. In fact, they are producing up to a hundred times more dangerous amplified light than the allowed levels. People need to understand that these green ones are just as bad as the red ones and stop pointing them at each other thinking they are harmless. The FDA and the EU are now working hard to remove these dangerous green lasers from the market, but nothing matches the right level of awareness in this issue that is quite serious. Especially in the case of airline pilots, the laser cannot only damage their eyes, but it can also result in a lapse of concentration that may cost us lives one day.
So, all in all, don’t go for the fancy headlamps, dazzling pointers and toys before researching about the kind of lasers they operate. It is a simple SOP that may save people’s eyes and even lives one day.

Chinese Company Unveils A New Supersized Drone That You Can Ride In

Ehang has unveiled an amazing drone here at CES 2016. Ehang is a Chinese drone maker and has taken the veils off of a drone that weighs in at 500 pounds and is an autonomous transportation vehicle for a single person. Say hello to Ehang 184!



It is pretty big, however, has been designed quite elegantly. As per the company, it is capable of flying at 100km/hr on a 23-minute trip and can support a weight of about 100kg. User makes use of an app to plan the trip. All that you need to do is to select the destination and get in. The drone will take off and shall take you to your desired spot. It features a fail-safe system that works to protect the user and in case of any system failure; the drone goes into hover mode or attempts to find a safe landing spot.



This amazing all-electric drone features eight propellers, eight motors, four arms and two sets of sensors along with a redundancy to make sure that flight is safe even during bad weather. According to the website, although the vehicle is thunderstorm-proof, the command center will not allow takeoff during weather conditions that are best described as extreme.

The downside? It is not legalized in the US yet. Ehang’s co-founder and CFO, Shang Wen Hsiao said that the company is in talks with the FAA – it requires 28 hours of flight time to ascertain air worthiness. The vehicle is expected to take off and land vertically at targets that have been pre-set.

The company has also had meetings with officials in New Zealand, Los Angeles, California and China. New Zealand is interested in experimental tests while the Chinese government supports it but has to go through the application process. The company has successfully carried out more than 100 flights with a person onboard. The expected cost of Ehang 184 is supposed to be around $200,000-300,000.

Some day, you might fly inside this Ehang 184 Drone. Seriously. #CES2016 pic.twitter.com/5dY4ysmWqE

— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) January 6, 2016

 

Here’s How You Can Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal Using An Aluminum Can

Every now and then you find yourself in your home without the Wi-Fi signal. It sucks. You actually have to make changes to your room’s setting so that you get strong signals on your bed or your table. A little bit of knowledge about how the Wi-Fi router works can help you boost its signal though. What follows is a guide on how to enhance the Wi-Fi signal using a simple can (beer/soda).


Before we jump into the DIY guide, let’s talk about how a Wi-Fi signal works. In simplest of words, it makes use of radio waves similar to TV or smartphones. The Wi-Fi router receives the data via the broadband connection and then transmits it as a radio signal which is then picked up by wireless adapters of our devices. The signals are stronger closer to the router and drop as you move away from it. The signals are extended out using the antenna incorporated into the router, however, sometimes that antenna just doesn’t cut it and that’s where YouTube channel KipKay comes in!All that you required for this particular project are scissors or a knife along with an empty aluminum can (1 or 2 depending upon number of antennas on your router).



Once you have washed the empty can, make use of scissors or knife for cutting out the bottom. Now repeat the process at the top as well but don’t cut all the way, instead leave an inch or two of top (refer to picture).



Now place a straight cut from top to bottom opposite to the not-cut-top and fan the tin out into a U shape.



Make use of the opening at the bottom for placing your DIY booster over the antenna of the router.



What the video here...

HUDWAY Glass: keeps your eyes on the road while driving

Head-up displays are becoming more common in high-end cars, but stand-alone units remain beyond the financial reach of many drivers. The crowdfunded Hudway Glass is a basic device that will take full advantage of your smartphone to give you a flexible HUD on a very modest budget.

• 
• 
• 
• 

When it comes to safe driving, HUD technology must walk a fine line to be useful rather than harmful. Drivers often avert their eyes to check their phones or look at the speedometer, so projecting that information on the windshield can prevent dangerous distractions. On the other hand, studies have suggested that displaying too much data on a HUD can reduce driver safety.
The simplicity of the Hudway Glass (particularly when compared to some of its feature-rich alternatives) could help it keep on the right side of that safety line. This device is a simple smartphone cradle that sticks on top of your dashboard while a transparent plastic lens reflects and optically enhances key pieces of data displayed by your phone.
Users can pick from a number of apps that use their phone's GPS and accelerometer to provide data like driving speed, location, and turn-by-turn directions. In keeping with the safety theme, Hudway's own app for Android and iOS doesn't visually overwhelm users, but instead focuses on displaying only a few bits of data at a time, making them large, easily readable, and (hopefully) not too distracting.

The "glass" at the core of the device is a sturdy and lightweight plastic lens shaped to enlarge a smartphone's image by 20 percent, while minimizing aberrations that would distort the view of the road. A coating on the lens also cancels the double image effect you would experience if you were to simply stick your phone on top of the dashboard and let the windshield take care of the reflection.
As the device is not powered, there are some limits to the brightness, contrast and general quality of the reflected image. In particular, the creators warn that some small details might become illegible when drivers are directly facing the sun, which is yet another reason to stick to apps that don't overload the screen with information.
The Hudway Glass will come with two mounts – a compact one that should fit most cars, and a tiltable one that lets users better adjust the angle at which the phone is held. Both stick to the dashboard using industrial strength adhesive, hold the phone in place using magnets, and support smartphones as large as the iPhone 6.
Less than two weeks into its Kickstarter campaign, the Glass has already doubled its crowdfunding goal of US$100,000. Interested parties can pledge $49 plus shipping for the device and, if everything goes to plan, Hudway expects to start shipping the budget-yet-futuristic HUD by March next year.

Jaguar 'MindSense' Technology Reads Driver's Brainwaves

The premium car maker from UK is working on new 'MindSense' technology that promises to read the driver's brainwaves to see if they're concentrating enough on the road. Soon the JLR cars will be able to read your mind and make you aware of your own state through innovative feedback mechanisms. Jaguar believes that this approach will make the roads safer from stressed and distracted drivers which is one of the major causes of road accidents.

This research project at JLR is officially called 'MindSense' and it's based on the mind reading technology developed by NASA to train astronauts. It relies on medical-grade sensors that continuously scan the driver's heart rate, sweating along with brain activity to quickly identify whether the driver is in good condition to drive or not able to concentrate on driving task. It'll also check whether the driver is looking at the road or constantly taking eyes off the road.



Brainwave measurements typically involve attaching the sensors to a headband to be worn by the driver. In a car, this would be impractical. JLR therefore decided to mount the sensors on the steering wheel. JLR spokesperson said that because the sensors are away from driver's head, a special software has been developed to amplify the signals and filter out noise from pure brainwaves.

Dr. Wolfgang Epple, the director of research at JLR said that even if the driver is looking at the road he or she might be daydreaming. They may miss a warning or a sound alert from the car's system. To handle such scenario, the JRL team is including a vibration system in car's steering wheel and pedals. If the brain waves indicate that the driver is not concentrating on driving, the feedback mechanism will quickly vibrate the steering and pedals to get driver's attention.

JRL engineers are also developing a 'mid-air-touch' technology that will guess what buttons is the driver wants to press and then offer successful button selection without touching the touch-screen. A haptic feedback would inform the driver that the button selection was successful. These sensations can be of various types like 'tap' on your finger or 'tingling' on the tip.


Check the video: youtu.be/HW_44KcAn4o