DailyDirt: Odd Vehicles

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Mon, Jun 13th 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Lots of researchers are working on creating more efficient methods of transportation, but some folks just like building unique vehicles. Sometimes energy efficiency can't be the main concern in designing a new vehicle. Here are some weird and somewhat impractical ways of getting from A to B.

The FanWing is an unusual-looking plane with a short take-off ability. As its name implies, it has fans in its wings that generate thrust... [url]
If a motorcycle isn't dangerous enough for you, try strapping yourself to a hoverbike. Even though the creators of the hoverbike say otherwise, the stability of this contraption does not look too promising. [url]
A huge tunnel boring machine called Big Becky emerged from under Niagara Falls a few weeks ago. It started in 2006 and dug for a little over 6 miles, so that's a pretty slow 0.00014 miles per hour. [url]
The Leidenfrost effect could be used on the hull of a ship to reduce drag. But heating up a ship's hull so that it can instantly vaporize ocean water seems like a fairly energy-intensive way to reduce friction. [url]
To discover other interesting transportation-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: leidenfrost effect, stol, transportation

7 Comments

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Nicedoggy, 13 Jun 2011 @ 5:51pm

Akira style vehicle.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-electric-diwheel-hints-future-city.html

Safer cycling. Sometimes the simple ideas are the ones that give the biggest returns.
http://www.brighton.ac.uk/cem/news/2011/31may-emilyBrooke.php
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Nicedoggy, 13 Jun 2011 @ 6:06pm

Maybe someday people will be flying in autonomous spheres around the city, like the japanese drones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7dPgzMgf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRqcIPHMlfM
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- Michael Ho (profile), 13 Jun 2011 @ 7:00pm
  
  Re:
  NiceDoggy, those are some cool vehicles, too...
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- Anonymous Coward, 13 Jun 2011 @ 9:28pm
  
  Re:
  Dang, why doesn't any innovation ever seem to occur in the U.S. anymore. We're too patent happy.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 13 Jun 2011 @ 9:30pm
    
    Re: Re:
    (well, this isn't really all that innovative I guess, it's just a rotary inside a sphere. Still cool though).
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iBelieve, 13 Jun 2011 @ 7:58pm

I'll have the boiled Dolphin..
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Pixelation, 13 Jun 2011 @ 9:22pm

"But heating up a ship's hull so that it can instantly vaporize ocean water seems like a fairly energy-intensive way to reduce friction"

Global warming should help by reducing the amount of extra energy necessary to boil ocean water.
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