High speed video reveals the bizarre physics of an ordinary water droplet - StumbleUpon. Autonomous Quadrotors Fly Amazing Formations | Autopia | Wired.com - StumbleUpon. Roboticists at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP are able to get as many as 20 of their autonomous microcopters to fly in formation and perform complex maneuvers flawlessly. In an impressive new video, the GRASP — General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception — team makes their swarm of flying microbots flip, change direction, navigate through obstacles and even fly figure-eights with jaw-dropping agility and precision.
GRASP has since 2010 made remarkable advancements in the capabilities of their tiny quadrotors, developed by Kmel Robotics, and documented them with a series of videos showing bots flying hoops and building a tower-like structure. The lab is developing the ability to fly autonomously in formation, communicating with each other to maintain position.
Last year the team demonstrated a basic formation flight with a lost-communication demonstration where one of the aircraft drops out on its own. Video: YouTube/TheDmel. Julian Treasure: The 4 ways sound affects us | Video on TED.com - StumbleUpon. International Space Station experiment explores fire in micro-gravity. Say what you will about the International Space Station (ISS), but it seems like it’s being put to good use. One of the currently running experiments is taking a look at how fire burns in micro-gravity, and how to create extinguishing substances to create a safer environment for future space voyages. Called Project Flex (Flame Extinguishment Experiment), the video above depicts the experiment in action, which is run from the ground using cameras and telemetry.
Researchers on Earth control robotic arms that release small droplets of flammable materials, such as heptane or methanol, that are then ignited and studied. There has been some interesting results of these experiments, including the fact that some of the material remains burning after the flames have been put out. There is no explanation for this phenomenon, but scientists are working hard on coming up with an answer.
The FLEX experiments have been ongoing for the past year, and will continue on through 2012. NeverWet waterproof spray demo | VidAddict.com - StumbleUpon. The scariest video you have ever watched in the name of science - StumbleUpon. The Biggest Waves And The Bravest Surfers: The 2012 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards.