Take A POV Ride Around This 224-Foot Long LEGO Roller Coaster

Giving the roller coaster that was 2020 a run for its money, enjoy this GoPro’s point-of-view ride along the 68-meter (224-foot) roller coaster constructed by Akiyuki Brick Channel. Could you imagine if this had existed in Honey I Shrunk The Kids? Those kids would have never even wanted to be returned to normal size.

Traveling at a speed of 0.38-meters/second (1.2-feet/second), the roller coaster cart pulls itself along the track, which includes cranks, corkscrews, somersaults, stairs, wall rides, and bridges. I particularly liked the parts where the track was moved to allow the cart to continue on its way instead of crashing, like at 1:58 (track moves down) and 2:14 (seen below, LEGO Mustang pushes the track into place). I only wish I could ride this in real life.

After the POV ride, there’s some additional footage of how the roller coaster cart moves, and how each unique element of the roller coaster track works. It really is a marvel of ingenuity, and I wish I had the time and money to build something similar. But mostly the money, because then I’d be rich.

Think a GoPro on Your Dog Is Cool? How About Video Cameras on Beetles?

Strapping a GoPro onto your pet can result in some pretty amusing video footage. But what if you prefer insects to mammals? There’s no way you could fit a regular action camera onto one of those, unless it’s one of those giant bird-eating spiders you find in South America maybe. Now, thanks to the miracles of modern science and technology, we have a video camera that’s tiny enough to attach to a beetle.

Photo: Mark Stone – University of Washington

Researchers from the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, working under a fellowship grant from Microsoft have come up with a miniature camera that weighs just 250 milligrams. That makes it light enough to be carried by some sturdier insects, including the death-feigning beetle and a pinacate beetle.

Photo: Mark Stone – University of Washington

The teensy camera unit includes an image sensor, processing circuitry, a Bluetooth transmitter, and a battery. But given the size limitations, its image quality isn’t very good at this point, capturing low resolution greyscale images at a very low frame rate. It streams images at somewhere from 1 to 5 frames per second, with a 160 x 120 resolution, and is capable of being remotely steered so a wider field of view can be observed.

The research team also developed a tiny, 2cm long robot that can also carry a steerable camera, which has the potential to reduce robot power consumption needs, since it doesn’t need to move the whole robot to survey a scene. I can only imagine the potential for building tiny camera robots that look like insects to carry out espionage.

If you’re interested in learning more about the beetle-cam, the full research paper is available from Science Robotics.

[via Gizmodo]

Guy Solves Rubik’s Cube While Waterskiing, No Big Deal

I have a hard time solving a Rubik’s Cube while sitting on my couch at home, but some brainiacs can not only do it fast, but they can do it while being daredevils.


Take, for instance, juggler and magician Joey Fratelli, who recently created a very cool POV video where he successfully solves a Rubik’s Cube while waterskiing across a lake. Using just one hand no less. That’s just showing off. And making the rest of us look bad when it comes to solving the iconic ’80s puzzle.

Sure, you can solve it while waterskiing, but how about with sharks jumping all around you? I bet you can’t do that, Joey. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

[via Laughing Squid]

This Hot Wheels Nightmare Is a Fever Dream

The group at 5 Mad Movie Makers have created something truly stunning here. They captured POV footage of a Hot Wheels car racing through a magical world of colorful lights, glow sticks, and deadly fire. It is appropriately titled Hot Wheels Nightmare.

It is visually stunning to watch this car on its sometimes psychedelic journey through rings of light and fire. It is very reminiscent of moments from 2001: A Space Odyssey, only with Hot Wheels. Check it out:

There’s no telling where the track will go next. Filmed with a Sony VG30H and a GoPro Hero Session 4 mounted on a Bull Whip car. Built with Hot Wheels track, unit blocks, Tinkertoys, lighter fluid, kerosene, lamp wicks, wire, rain gutters, plastic garden edging, LED lights, and lasers.

[via Laughing Squid]

GoPro on a Sword: First-person Slicer

Want to see things get sliced and diced from the sword’s point of view? Of course you do. That’s what we are here for. This video from YouTubers Sam And Niko shows what happens when you mount a GoPro to the blade of a katana, then watch what it sees as it slices through things.


The video shows the whole process from the initial experimentation to the final shots, so it takes a bit to get into the POV slicing action. Just skip ahead to about 6:30 if you only want to see the main event.

I personally love seeing watermelons with faces drawn on them get what they deserve. They should not have faces, and now they are going to pay the price for their mimicry of us.

[via Sploid via [Geekologie]

The post GoPro on a Sword: First-person Slicer appeared first on Technabob.

Awesome 4K NASA Video Takes Aboard the ISS

When I was a kid all I wanted was to be an astronaut. Like 99.9% of all kids with that dream, it never came true for me. About as close as we normal folks can get to being an astronaut on the International Space Station is watching this awesome new video from NASA.

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The video was produced by Harmonic just for NASA and takes us on a 4K fisheye exploration of the ISS, module by module. It’s a tight fit in some of those spaces and there are cables, tubes, containers, and other stuff everywhere.

I love the view out of the cupola at the beginning. I’m also a bit grossed out about the cans of astro-turds mixed in with cans of dry food in the storage area.

POV PRO24MC 480p Video Recording Sunglasses

POV PRO24MC

Capture hands-free video with POV’s new 480p video recording sunglasses, the PRO24MC. Featuring polarized lenses with a sleek design, these fully functional video recording sunglasses are built with a CMOS sensor, a 63-degree angle of view, one button operation function, a built-in microphone, a microSD card slot (up to 32GB) and a USB 2.0 port.

Powered by a built-in lithium-ion polymer (LiPo) battery, the PRO24MC has the ability to record 736 x 480p video (w/ mono audio) at 30fps. Coming in Matte Black color and weighing just 2.3 ounces, these lightweight video recording sunglasses will set you back just $49.99. Grab yours now! [Product Page]

The post POV PRO24MC 480p Video Recording Sunglasses appeared first on TechFresh, Consumer Electronics Guide.

First V1sion Wearable Broadcast Camera: Chest’s Eye View

Action cameras are already a hit with both professionals and amateurs, but they still have a ton of untapped potential, with live broadcast being one of its biggest applications. For example, earlier this year the NHL announced that it will be equipping its players with GoPros. A new company called First V1sion wants to provide an alternative system for live broadcasts: a chest-mounted camera and transmitter.

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Founded in 2013, the Spanish company’s eponymous broadcast system is housed in an undershirt. While it’s noticeably bulkier than a normal undershirt, it’s still thin enough to be worn under a jersey. Its biggest benefit, of course, is that it’s less intrusive for athletes and can be used in sports where typical cameras would be impractical.

Its demo videos show a biometric tracking overlay, but on its website the company doesn’t mention if its system actually includes the sensors needed to gather the relevant data.

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The onboard radio transmitter can send 720p or 1080p video from up to 100m (approx. 330ft.) away with less than 2ms delay. The battery lasts up to 90min per charge.

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Here are more demo videos:

First V1sion looks like it has the connections to reach out to professional sports leagues, and I’m not going to dismiss it as useless based on what little we’ve seen. That said, the camera’s perspective takes a while to get used to and is not as immersive as videos that are shot from the shoulder or head. It could also benefit from some sort of image stabilization. Perhaps this would be useful more as an officiating or a training tool rather than for entertainment.

[via Gadgetify]