Newsubstance and the Unboxed crew moved the retired oil rig from its former location in the North Sea to the Somerset coast and transformed it into a new public art installation and visitor experience this summer. It was transported by sea on a barge the size of a football field and then lifted over the seawall by crane and set onto prefabricated legs.

The four-story, 450-tonne rig is set within a shallow pool on the beach. Its top platform hosts the garden, while a 6,000-piece kinetic installation featuring the work of Ivan Black and Trevor Lee shimmers across the front. The vegetation was chosen to stand up to the Atlantic gales and corrosive saltwater sprays. The waterfall, dubbed the “SEE MONSTER’s roar,” recirculates via the pool at the base, and the kinetic art moves along with the wind.

Lee’s installation, WindNest, was designed in collaboration with Land Art Generator initiative and consists of two rotating airborne pods that generate clean energy through wind and solar technologies, powering the irrigation systems for the “Garden Lab” on the upper platform. Black’s installation features 6,000 aluminum tiles representing the “monster’s scales,” fluttering in response to weather conditions. Three drone shows by SKYMAGIC light up the skies above the shores of the town, drawing people in to see the installation after dark.

The creators hope SEE MONSTER will inspire conversations about how our industrial history has shaped our climate (mostly for the worse), and what we can do about it.

“SEE MONSTER is a celebration of how we can use our past to shape our future,” the creators say. “Harnessing renewable energy from the great British weather, this reimagined platform will feature experiments, performances, gardens, and even waterfalls — showcasing local innovation and showing how creativity can challenge and change the status quo.”

“SEE MONSTER is being brought to life on the site of Weston’s iconic Tropicana lido by Leeds-based studio Newsubstance with support from Weston-super-Mare Town Council and North Somerset Council. Throughout the UNBOXED summer, it will stand as a vivid reminder of our shared past — and a symbol of our united journey towards a more sustainable future.”

As for Unboxed’s connection to Brexit, The New York Times explains that the $132 million festival was meant to display the best of British creativity after the nation voted to leave the European Union. It’s now being investigated as a “waste of money” by the government’s spending watchdog. The festival has attracted 238,000 visitors since it opened in March; organizers had predicted it would draw up to 66 million people from then until its closure in November.

The post An Abandoned Oil Rig Became a Massive Art Installation in England This Summer first appeared on Dornob.

It turns out this idea is not only a viable one, but something that could revolutionize the entire construction industry. Publishing their findings in the science journal Nature, researchers at Imperial College London and Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology) created a fleet of small flying 3D printers that can work together to build and repair structures high above the ground. The teams were inspired by swarms of bees, which cooperate seamlessly to construct their hives.

Using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, the scientists created a fleet of drones collectively called Aerial Additive Manufacturing (Aerial-AM). To test their idea, the team tasked the bots with the job of building four cement-like structures. Some drones were designed as “BuilDrones” to do the actual work of creating materials during the job, while others were created as “ScanDrones” to continually assess the BuilDrones’ output and provide instructions for next steps.

After all being fed the exact same blueprints, the drones worked autonomously to create a 72-layer, two-meter-high tower out of polyurethane-based foam, as well as a 28-layer, 18-centimeter higher cylinder out of a custom-designed cement-like compound.
The researchers also acted as human controllers on the ground, analzying the bots’ work in real time and intervening if necessary to make sure they were working collectively and accurately (within five millimeters of the building schematics).

“We’ve proved that drones can work autonomously and in tandem to construct and repair buildings, at least in the lab,” says lead author Mirko Kovac, Professor at Imperial’s Department of Aeronautics and Head of Empa’s Materials and Technology Center of Robotics. He adds: “Our solution is scalable and could help us to construct and repair buildings in difficult-to-reach areas in the future.”

The team’s next goal is to prove the drones’ viability in a real-world setting, and they already have plans for collaborations underway. If the trials are successful, the 3D printing drones could not only construct new buildings and help make standard repairs, but they could also be deployed for massive rebuilding in post-disaster situations, where manpower may be limited or access is obstructed for traditional construction vehicles.

Armies of building drones would significantly lower the risk of human injury and death on tall worksites, all for dramatically lower costs compared to conventional construction methods. The bots’ environmental benefits are also promising, as they would reduce the need for massive fuel-consuming vehicles and cause far less damage to local ecosystems during the construction process.

While we may not yet be at the point where swarms of flying robots swoop down in our neighborhoods to create new homes and buildings from the ground up, these smart drones hint that a world like that could be our reality in a matter of years, if not decades.

The post Bee-Like 3D Printing Drones Can Build Structures on the Fly first appeared on Dornob.

The “friendly flying camera” acts as companion to the Snapchat app. Unlike most drones, there’s very little learning curve to overcome in order to master the device. Instead of a controller, the app has a single button and four pre-programmed flight patterns accessed through a dial on top of the drone. That means nobody has to fuss with their phone or a separate video screen to navigate it (which would defeat the purpose of taking selfies and videos altogether).

https://youtu.be/cqIsDo-f670

In Hover mode, the Pixy floats in front of the user. Reveal mode pans the drone backwards at an upward angle to capture the scene, perfect for when you’re trying to show off a trip to a beautiful locale. In Follow mode, the Pixy will trail you as you walk, run, bike, or drive. Finally, in Orbit mode, the drone flies high up into the air and spins in a 360-degree circle around the user.

The propellers are firmly ensconced within the body of the device, reducing the potential for getting tangled. When the user wants to call the drone back, all they have to do is hold out their hand, and it’ll automatically land on their outstretched palm. It’s also compact and lightweight enough to tuck into a pocket or purse, and charging is easy with a standard USB cable. Just pair the Pixy to your phone, and you’re ready to go.

Pixy can float, orbit, and follow wherever you lead, with videos wirelessly transferred and saved into Snapchat Memories. “From there, use Snapchat’s editing tools, Lenses, and Sounds to customize what you capture,” the company explains. “With a few taps, you can automatically crop into portrait and apply quick Smart Edits, like Hyperspeed, Bounce, Orbit 3D, and Jump Cut. Then, share to Chat, Stories, Spotlight, or any other platform.”

Combining the functionality of a drone with the user-centric focus of a selfie stick is a smart move. The design of the Pixy is accessible and attractive, making it a great entry-level choice for the drone-curious. While many higher-powered drones capable of flying much higher in the air require licenses to operate, the Pixy does not. It’s also much quieter, which could make it more of a pleasure to use.

All of these factors could make the Pixy enticing to Snapchat’s 293 million active daily users around the world. The company says it’ll only be available as long as supplies last, and it’s only available in the U.S. and France. If you want one, you’d better order through the Pixy website ASAP.

The post Snapchat’s $230 Pixy Drone Goes Where Selfie Sticks Can’t first appeared on Dornob.

Now, more than 500 years later, a team of engineers at the University of Maryland have proved that his concept actually works.

Built and tested as part of a student design competition, “Crimson Spin” is an unmanned quadcopter drone that uses da Vinci’s aerial screw to take flight. Led by Aerospace Engineering student Austin Prete, the team spent two years refining the design. Prete used simulators that demonstrate how the aerial screws work, with vortexes of air spiraling down the structure while generating vertical thrust. He found that da Vinci’s design actually improved upon standard propellers by generating less of a downward gust that can blow dust and debris into the air. It’s also quieter.

Prete’s version uses modern motors to enable the slight propeller speed changes that allow drones to navigate. The corkscrew-shaped wings are made of plastic instead of linen, giving them better resistance against the air. Using just a single aerial screw, as in da Vinci’s original design, would have been too complex. Instead, four mini screws get the drone off the ground and give it the kind of nimble handling you’d expect from a similar-sized drone with conventional propellers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoV-N51J2VU

A flight test was performed at the 2022 Transformative Vertical Flight meeting in San Jose, California. Attendees, both in-person and virtual, watched as the drone lifted off, its wings spinning into little red blurs. “I was absolutely surprised it worked,” Prete told CNET. While this model is about the size of a consumer drone like those made by DJI, the concept could theoretically be scaled up, maybe even enough to carry a person. Prete built the drone for his master’s degree and doesn’t plan to continue working on it, but his research might continue at the University of Maryland if others are interested.

“It can be a practical hover machine capable of potentially scaling up to human-carrying capability, but I don’t see it being used in modern company designs until more research is conducted on the function, reliability, and performance,” Prete told Gizmodo, adding that “It may end up working in similar positions as ducted rotors though.”

The aerial screw isn’t the first of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions that turned out to actually work. Though they must have seemed absolutely nutty at the time, the artist dreamed up such creations as the parachute, the tank, a diving suit, a rudimentary machine gun, and even a robotic knight considered the first-ever humanoid robot. Roboticist Mark Rosheim used the knight concept as the basis for his designs for NASA. He also created a flying machine known as the Ornithopter, which takes inspiration from bats and birds to flap a pair of enormous wings.

The post Da Vinci’s 530-Year-Old Helicopter Design Adapted for a Working Drone first appeared on Dornob.

Unsurprisingly, transforming deserts into lush landscapes is no easy task, but as we learn more about this process in the hope of alleviating the effects of climate change, a funny little robot revealed at this year’s Dubai Design Week could help.

Part Wall-E, part mechanical seal, A’seedbot is an oddly adorable autonomous robot designed to roam desert landscapes, using a host of built-in sensors and navigation systems to examine the ground and identify and report on fertile areas. It’s equipped with solar panels that keep it crawling along anywhere within a three-mile radius of its operator on its 3D-printed legs.

Information is transmitted to a receiver so it can be analyzed by scientists, and once planting areas are identified, it can be used to plant seeds. The robot’s built-in collision avoidance system ensures that it won’t destroy itself on rocks and other obstacles.

It may sound like a futuristic dream or the next Pixar movie, but A’seedbot has very real potential, and could vastly reduce the number of human workers needed to work on desert-transforming agricultural research projects. Dubai Institute of Design and innovation graduate Mazyar Etehadi created it as part of his graduation project, which was shown for the Global Grad Show, an annual gathering of graduate design projects that aim to create solutions to social and environmental issues. This year, the Middle East and North Africa section of the show was held as an in-person event within Dubai Design Week.

“Desertification is a massive problem across the globe caused by unsustainable agricultural practices, mining, climate change, and general land overuse,” Etehadi explains on his Instagram. “But much like climate change itself, desertification is a complex ecological issue that is difficult to understand.”

That’s where the use of a drone comes in. A’seedbot, which was chosen for exhibition out of thousands of entries, is a brilliant solution. It’s also surprisingly cute. Measuring about eight inches long, it features a pair of cameras that give it that Wall-E look, a protective shell over its electronic components, and propeller-style legs that look sort of like flippers. Etehadi plans to experiment with modifications that would allow it to get around in different types of sand, and imagines that it will be attractive to both government entities and farmers.

Etehadi says of himself: “My two concentrations in the design field are product and fashion design, and I’m currently focusing to minimize and simplify human problem issues and to ensure beneficial possibilities out of complex issues, basically wanting to make human lives easier. After completing my studies at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, I plan to stick and focus on tasks that would relate to problem-solving on both product and fashion design. Potentially to construct innovative yet straightforward proposals. As a designer, I plan to make a change as small or as impactful as it may be on the world.”

The post Solar-Powered Autonomous Robot Roams the Desert Planting Seeds first appeared on Dornob.

And Studio Drift was no exception. The Amsterdam-based art studio is well-known for its immersive installations that incorporate performance art, experiential sculptures, and kinetic, technical works that “[bring] people, space, and nature on to the same frequency.” The avant garde studio created three spectacular drone shows at the unofficial festival, specifically designed to bring the Burning Man experience to the masses.

Dubbed “Drone Stories,” the shape-shifting light installations formed a burning man, a flock of starlings, and a mirrored orb, all meant to “create meaningful performances to connect people” in the void created by Burning Man’s official cancellation. Each iteration consisted of hundreds of drones, brightly hued, shifting, and swirling above the heads of those gathered in the Black Rock Desert.

Ralph Nauta, the founder of Studio Drift, and Lucas van Oostrum, the founder of Drone Stories, wanted to remind the gathered crowd of past Burning Man festivals by creating “a collection of memories” with their assembled drones. The installations were carefully planned from start to finish, beginning with pen and paper sketches and ending with a translation to custom drone software — itself a complicated process that also required the designers to tinker with otherworldly concepts like speed, flight path, and light power. Indeed, the duo jumped at the opportunity to turn their ideas into living art. As they explained to Dezeen in a recent interview, “We are using this technology to create artistic expression, and we want to push the boundaries of what is possible.”

Each night of the festival brought a new design. Friday was “an homage to the artworks that have defined Burning Man,” including a nod to BIG’s Orb from the 2018 festival. Other formations included a flock of birds dubbed “Franchise Freedom,” which was first presented by the studio at Design Miami/. Pre-programmed by the designers, the “swarm algorithm” was eerily appropriate at Renegade Man, as it was meant to symbolize “the struggle of the individual towards the group…a fitting piece in COVID time,” according to Nauta and van Oostrum.

Dramatically, the birds then transformed into a single man, triumphantly raising his arms into the air, “ready to embrace [his] fellow humans.” The figure then poetically “burns” at the end, a nod to Burning Man’s annual tradition of ending the festival with a burning figure.

The spectacular drone installations were ultimately meant to fill an artistic void created by the cancelation of the popular Burning Man festival for the second year in a row. Though the festival has been presented virtually, many feel the virtual setting fails to represent the bonhomie and artistic connections that make Burning Man so attractive to creatives everywhere. Still, with their triumphant installations, Studio Drift managed to capture the essence of Burning Man at this year’s unofficial festival through their distinctive, technically savvy drones bursting with color — a perfect aerial representation of the festival’s contributions to art and creative expression.

The post Drone Stories: Studio Drift Creates a “Collection of Memories” with Burning Man Aerial Display first appeared on Dornob.

In partnership with drone company FlyTrex, the fast-food chain announced it would begin testing remote delivery of customer orders on June 17th in Southern California.

“El Pollo Loco continues to explore new and innovative delivery services that offer our customers added quality and convenience, and the Air Loco drone delivery pilot program is our latest effort to unlock fresh options for getting our fire-grilled chicken to hungry customers everywhere — piping hot and in perfect condition,” El Pollo Loco VP of Digital Andy Rebhun said in a statement. “We want to offer drone food deliveries that are fast, convenient, and safe. The insights gleaned during this test-and-learn pilot will play a crucial role in helping us shape this exciting new service ahead of its rollout.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, El Pollo Loco’s 2020 digital sales grew 5 percent to make up 10 percent of total sales, and delivery orders were (for obvious reasons) through the roof. “We’re highly encouraged by the evolution of our digital flywheel and continued enhancement of the strategies we put in place last year,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Acoca. “We look forward to further growth on the heels of our record-breaking 250 percent increase in delivery performance in 2020.”

Of course, the company’s operating costs were also up last year, mostly due to the labor of delivery drivers. In fact, the crazy chicken chain raised their prices by 15 to 20 percent on delivery items, pushing larger family and combo meals to compensate for the higher labor costs. With Flytrex drones, the company expects to cut delivery expenses by up to 30 percent, saving money for all parties.

“Our system is so much more affordable, and that allows you to take off the delivery payment for the customer and restaurant,” said Flytrex CEO Yariv Bash in a TV interview.

That’s the result of the drone fleet’s speed and autonomy. The mini food helicopters will cruise about 230 feet above the ground, reaching max speeds of 32 miles per hour and flying within a three-mile radius. Because they can transcend traffic and stop lights, customers could see their food being lowered onto their driveways in a tamperproof bag within just 10 minutes of ordering.

And it requires very little human labor. “The system is completely autonomous. We have an operator on the ground in Southern California and that operator only installs the package and presses a green button…Then all they have to do is oversee the flight,” Bash said, adding that in the near future a single operator would be able to supervise as many as 20 flights at the same time.

The Tel Aviv-based Flytrex has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration for the past three years to develop safe and practical drone rules. After earning FAA approval in May 2021, the company started making deliveries for Walmart and other retailers.

If the test goes smoothly with the first 10 stores, El Pollo Loco could soon roll out drone delivery service across its entire 500-unit chain, significantly upping the ante for other fast-food restaurants to get in on the sky delivery action.

The post El Pollo Loco Becomes First Fast-Food Chain to Launch Drone Delivery Program first appeared on Dornob.

Canadian startup Flash Forest expects to change the world’s landscape quite literally, using reforestation flyers that can replant trees faster and more effectively than humans can.

In 2018, mankind released 34 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, according to the International Panel on Climate Change — a trend that it says leaves humanity just 10 years to avert calamitous, irreversible climate effects. A major part of the CO2 problem is the destruction of the world’s natural forests, coupled with a shortage of replanting.

“There are a lot of different attempts to tackle reforestation,” says Flash Forest co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Angelique Ahlstrom. “But despite all of them, they’re still failing, with a net loss of 7 billion trees every year.”

The new firm hopes to make real progress in that domain. “We started Flash Forest with the goal of offsetting carbon emissions enough to have a significant and measurable impact on climate change within the next decade,” the company website explains. “Instead of humans on the ground, we transfer the hard labor to drones at 10 times the speed. Living in the age of technology, we can effectively harness this to restore entire ecosystems, scaling the global quest for carbon neutrality.”

Flash Forest intends to plant at least 1 billion new trees by the end of 2028. Most recently, the organization sent its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over wildfire-burned land north of Toronto, where they injected 40,000 pine and spruce tree offspring into the earth.

The process begins by sending out software-enabled drones to map an area, locating prime spots for new growth. Then, armed with the appropriate seed inventory, a flotilla of flyers heads out to drop them perfectly on target. In more rugged terrain where simply releasing the pods is not enough, the UAVs make use of pneumatic firing machines to shoot the future saplings into the soil.

“Depending on the project, we’ll go back two months after, and then a year or two after, and then three to five years after” to make sure the pods are sprouting as anticipated, Ahlstrom says. “If we fall under a threshold plant goal of a certain number of trees, we’ll go back and ensure that we are hitting our goal.”

Flash Forest uses a proprietary mix to encase the seeds that allows them to store enough moisture to survive for months with no outside water source. It also helps them germinate several weeks before they would normally, increasing their chances of growth and endurance.

The company also strives to use several different varieties in each sowing region, currently using at least four types at once. “We very much prioritize biodiversity, so we try to plant species that are native to the land as opposed to monocultures,” Ahlstrom explains, adding that they “work with local seed banks and also take into account the different changes that climate change brings with temperature rise, anticipating what the climate will be like in five to eight years when these trees are much older and have grown to a more mature stage, and how that will affect them.”

Because Flash Forest uses native vegetation seeds, the saplings shouldn’t require human effort to stay alive. Plus, by planting so many seeds, the company is ensuring that even if some die off, enough will survive to grow into maturity and repopulate the area.

With their current fleet of UAVs, the startup can embed up to 20,000 pods a day. Compared with the 1,500 trees that Ahlstrom says can be planted by hand in a day, Flash Forest’s efforts could quickly transform whole swaths of country to soak up more carbon emissions. The company looks forward to technology updates that could allow its drone force to sow up to 100,000 seeds each day.

Following their reforestation project in the Toronto area, the business will move on to a 300,000 tree-planting venture in Hawaii. There are also plans in the works to establish new drone-seeded groves in Australia, Colombia, and Malaysia.

The post Flash Forest’s Smart Drones Take to the Skies to Curb Climate Change first appeared on Dornob.

Luckily, there’s a new way to fully immerse yourself in entertainment without bothering anyone around you. The GOOVIS Young is a “personal mobile cinema” headset compatible with common devices like the iPhone, Android, PS4, and Xbox, featuring twin 1920 x 1080 M-OLED goggle displays. The result is comparable to an 800-inch screen viewed from 66 feet away. You can even ditch your glasses or contacts with the built-in diopter adjustment, setting the display to accommodate your eyesight with an accuracy of plus or minus 0.33 degrees.

Recently wrapping up a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, the GOOVIS Young claims its pixel-per-degree (a way to measure sharpness) is four times sharper than other VR headsets, producing the equivalent of one top-of-the-line SONY OLED television for each eye.

The large-angle flip lets you pause your virtual experience to check in with your real surroundings without taking the headset off, and anti-fog ventilation keeps the screens clear at all times. On top of that, there’s no charging required. Just use the included cable (or a video adapter for HDMI) to connect to your device (it remains to be seen how well this feature will actually work with large electronics like televisions and gaming systems).

Using it to watch movies and television is obvious, but the company notes that you can also use it to view anything else you’d normally do on your devices, like performing painstakingly detailed work in Photoshop, browsing the internet, or playing games. One of the GOOVIS’ coolest capabilities might be its drone connectivity, which allows you to fly a drone and look through its cameras in real time, giving you a bird’s eye view of the area around you while remaining firmly on the ground.

It’s easy to imagine scenarios in which a headset like this would be really helpful, not the least of which is enjoying a little Netflix in bed after your partner has fallen asleep. Its release also just happens to coincide with a time of unexpected social distancing, and the company notes that it could be helpful for living in small spaces with people who want to do different activities at the same time.

Devices like the GOOVIS Young might also be a sort of entry-level way to get into virtual reality tech, which, thus far, has been slow to enter mainstream popularity. There’s been a lot of musing over the last couple years about why VR has failed to catch on, resulting in companies like Google shuttering their VR projects. Maybe it’s for the same reason people didn’t like Google Glass: the headsets are conspicuous and nerdy, and the technology might strike some as potentially invasive.

Simple devices like this headset demonstrate the versatility of the technology. You don’t have to become a digital shut-in to enjoy it, and its conveniences are worthy of consideration even by people who don’t consider themselves huge techies and gamers. The GOOVIS Young is currently available for pre-order via Indiegogo.

The post Immerse Yourself in Your Favorite Movies With This Portable Private Theater Headset first appeared on Dornob.

When it comes to getting a great photo, the angle, lighting, and camera quality all play a part. The Moment Drone has you covered on all fronts, with superior specs and the ability to fly.

Capturing the magic moment has evolved over the generations. Beginning with huge box cameras and eventually morphing into handheld equipment nearly anyone can use, photography has become a way of life for people. Where we once had an occasional shot captured during a special function, we now have cameras on our phones — and even those that offer aerial photography —without the need for any professionals.

The Moment Drone provides 4K feature shooting in its camera that takes flight on command. Using an accompanying smartphone app, you can easily control the drone’s height, angle, and image-capturing capabilities.

Foldable and compact, the Moment Drone can easily hitch a ride anywhere you go, from the ballpark to backpacking in the wilderness. It’s similar in size to a small tablet when folded up, weighing only 400 grams. The Moment is also adaptable and versatile, with a battery that allows for up to 15 minutes of flight time. That means you can send it into the field to capture the elk you can’t get close to or film what’s over the next hill in the middle of your hike. Better yet, why not capture 15 minutes of those special events like your child’s birthday party or your parent’s anniversary bash?

Even though the drone is always on the move, your image won’t be thanks to the gadget’s nifty built-in electronic stabilizer. Retrieval is easy, too, with a one-press button return that commands the Moment back to home base. As a default, the drone will also return to home if the battery runs low or a signal is lost during flight.

As a camera, the Moment Drone captures images in three modes: sweep panorama, continuous capture, and delay capture. Visual detection technology also allows you to program the device to track your face or body. After that, you can drop your smartphone in your pocket and go about your journey with the Moment shadowing your every movement.

Coupled with the motor, the drone’s three four-inch propellers provide reliable flight even in winds up to 11 miles per hour. For better control, you can choose from low, medium, or high sensitivity settings. And unlike other drones that can cause injury if you come into contact with them while in motion, the Moment Drone features a protective design with plastic enclosures, so you can launch it from your palm or even grab it right out of the air.

The software on board makes it easy to process and share your images almost as soon as you take them. Simply sync the videos and pictures to your iPhone or Android storage, use the Moment app to edit photos and apply filters at the touch of a button, and share them directly to your chosen social media site.

Since the Moment Drone’s initial crowdfunding goal was easily met in 2017, the product has become widely available in several variations. It looks like this Moment is going to last a long time.

The post The Sky’s the Limit with the Moment Drone, a Foldable 4K Aerial Camera first appeared on Dornob.