Somebody call Spider-Man, because I think we just spotted the Green Goblin! What you’re about to see is a jet-powered Flyboard Air being piloted at speeds up to 103.4 mph. This thing looks like a lot of fun. At least until something goes wrong and you nosedive toward the ground. I mean, there’s a reason this guy is wearing a parachute on his back. Luckily, he didn’t have to use it.
Imagine going this fast in a standing position, while in the air. It would be a scary ride, but super fun. You would feel like a God. You almost have to become the Green Goblin and start throwing pumpkins at Spider-Man and causing mayhem.
Seriously though, I would love to take a ride on this thing even if I would likely die upon landing. It would be quite an adrenaline rush on the way out, with jet engines strapped to your feet! Just the idea is nuts. We live in amazing times with some amazing gear, folks.
[via Geeks Are Sexy viaGeekologie]
We’ve seen drones that mimic real bird flight, but the ones we’ve seen have been for strictly experimental purposes. However, China is taking flight with the idea and taking it seriously. This drone looks like a dove so naturally it is called “Dove”. This drone can mimic about 90 percent of the real bird’s movement… and it will spy on you.
Apparently, the drone has been in trials in a few provinces by around the government and military. It flaps its wings and glides like a bird, making it much quieter than propeller based drones. From a distance, it will fool most humans into believing it is a real dove so they won’t know they are being watched, making it the perfect surveillance craft.
It boasts a flight control system, a high-definition camera, GPS module with antenna, and a data link with satellite for communication. They are saying that this thing’s movements are so real that researchers have learned that some birds don’t even have a problem flying alongside.
It can fly at speeds of up to 24 mph for 30 minutes at a time. Its wingspan is 20 inches, which is a bit larger than an actual dove, but no one on the ground is going to notice. You can’t even trust the birds in the sky anymore.
[via SCMP via Mike Shouts]
One of the things I am often glad of is that snakes can’t fly. I can’t think of anything worse than being chased by a flying snake set on biting me with its gross forked tongue and fangs. This snake-like flying DRAGON robot from the University of Tokyo looks set to fly right into my bad dreams.
The squiggly bot can change its shape to suit the obstacle it needs to transverse. It is a prototype made of linked sections each with their own pair of ducted fan motors to help it morph and fly through challenging obstacles like holes in a wall. Of course you could accomplish the same with a mich smaller and simpler drone, but where would the fun be in that?
DRAGON can fly in the formation of an L, a straight line, a square, a zig-zag depending on its needs. When it gets to its goal, it can’t shoot water or anything to put out fires like the water shooting snake bot, but it could scare the crap out of a hapless bro stuck in a building or cave.
[via iEEE Spectrum]
