Gizmag: Inventors and Remarkable People

Shovelhead's outrageous techno art

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:41:29 -0600

You may have already come in contact with the work of techno-artist Yasuhito Udagawa (AKA Shovelhead) before and not realised it. He has created many of the theme icons of major art, technology and other exhibitions and shows over the last decade, and has become far better known since his sponsorship by Nike. Shovelhead's work is mesmerizing. A Japanese salaryman who found himself jobless in 1995 when the company he worked for went into bankruptcy, Yasuhito turned to his passion for making models and his fertile imagination and attention to fabricating the minutest detail have propelled him to the brink of superstardom. Make sure you browse the extensive image gallery for this story. Spellbinding!.. Continue Reading Shovelhead's outrageous techno art

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Art, Irex, Robotic, Shovelhead, Steampunk, Yasuhito Udagawa

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Film-makers doing a sci-fi space flick - without using any computer-generated effects

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:36:15 -0600

When you think about the best-loved movies depicting space travel, what names come to mind? Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek - The Motion Picture, Silent Running, Battlestar Galactica? Interestingly enough, all of those enduring films were made decades ago, and utilized hand-built model spaceships for their space-flight sequences. Today, even low-budget productions usually use CGI (computer-generated imagery) for the same purpose – it’s logistically much easier to create and “film” a virtual spaceship on a computer, than it is to build, light and shoot an actual model. Nonetheless, that second approach is exactly what New York film-makers Derek Van Gorder and Otto Stockmeier are taking with their short film, C... Continue Reading Film-makers doing a sci-fi space flick - without using any computer-generated effects

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Filmmaking, Kickstarter, Movies, Space Travel, Special Effects

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Spanish engineer crafts "world's smallest" V-12 engine

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:55:57 -0600

Anyone who appreciates the precision art of engine design ought to get a kick out of this offering from a Spanish engineer named Patelo. Starting with hunks of aluminum, bronze and stainless steel, he spent over 1200 hours designing, milling, turning and drilling what he claims is "probably" the world's smallest V12 engine. Powered by compressed air injection (0.1kg/sq cm), this little marvel boasts a total displacement of 12 cubic centimeters from its twelve 11.3 mm diameter pistons and works like a charm. Best of all, you can see it come together in the detailed video that follows... Continue Reading Spanish engineer crafts "world's smallest" V-12 engine

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Compressed Air, Engine, Motor, World's Smallest

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The coffee cup-a-day project

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:35:53 -0600

Prolific Spanish designer Bernat Cuni has come up with a whimsical way to help bring the relatively new 3D ceramic printing process into the mainstream. Recently, he unleashed his creative energies on what he termed the "coffee cup-a-day" project to highlight the versatility and immediacy of what is also known as "additive manufacturing" - the layer by layer construction of tangible objects from digital models. The results, while not necessarily the most utilitarian, could be just the thing for the coffee drinker who has it all... Continue Reading The coffee cup-a-day project

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: 3D Printer, Ceramics, Coffee

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Hublot painstakingly recreates a mysterious, 2,100-year-old clockwork relic - but why?

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:32:05 -0600

Why on Earth would you want to strap one of these to your wrist? It barely tells the time, and it can't take pictures, tweet or connect to your Facebook. In fact, very few people would have the faintest idea what it is, or why you'd want one at all. But for those that do recognize its intricate gears and dials, this tiny, complex piece of machinery tells a vivid and incredible tale. It's a story of gigantic scientific upheaval, of adventure and shipwreck on the high seas, of war and death. A story of amazing intellect, lost riches and impossible chance - a sunken treasure that Jaques Cousteau once described as "more valuable than the Mona Lisa" - and it's connected with an ancient celebrity whose star shone so brightly that he's still a household name more than 2200 years after his death... Read on!.. Continue Reading Hublot painstakingly recreates a mysterious, 2,100-year-old clockwork relic - but why?

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Antikythera, Astronomy, History, Hublot, Watches, Wristwatch

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Barn find quadrant identified as one of Britain's earliest scientific instruments

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:08:47 -0500

You just never know what you've got in the shed. This horary quadrant was found in a bag of old pipe fittings in a shed on a farm in Queensland, Australia, forty years ago. Last year the owner of the quadrant was surfing the internet and came across this article where he recognised not just the same tool, but the same stag-coronet insignia that was on his quadrant (he thought it was an astrolabe) signified it was made for King Richard II (of England). He subsequently contacted the British Museum, which identified the item sitting on his desk for the last forty years as a 1396 horary quadrant. It will be auctioned next month and is expected to fetch between GBP150,000 and GBP200,000... Continue Reading Barn find quadrant identified as one of Britain's earliest scientific instruments

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Bonhams, Instrument, Quadrant

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Bike mechanic pedals his workshop to clients' homes

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:51:31 -0500

For many people, commuting by bicycle is a fun, economical and healthy way of getting around. When their bike breaks down, they throw it in their car, drive it to the shop, then drive for several days until it’s fixed. Some bicycle commuters, however, don’t own cars. These people can’t drive their bike to the shop, and have no independent means of transportation as long as their two-wheeler is gone. It is for people like these – and others – that Wyse Cycles exists. As far as its owner Ben Wyse knows, it’s America’s only self-propelled mobile bicycle repair service... Continue Reading Bike mechanic pedals his workshop to clients' homes

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Bicycles, Cycling, Eco-friendly, Repair

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Steve Jobs dead at 56

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:16:07 -0500

Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs has passed away aged 56. This sad news comes just a little over a month after Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple, the company he co-founded in 1976. Apple's new CEO Tim Cook summed up the loss in an email to the company's employees today: "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.".. Continue Reading Steve Jobs dead at 56

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Apple

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The business legacy of Mr. Jobs

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:48:28 -0500

Revered by many, hated by some, but respected by most, the indisputable fact remains that Steve Jobs is the most successful business leader of his generation and quite possibly of all time. The numbers are impressive in themselves but the most remarkable aspect of his success is how it was achieved. Though he remains at Apple, the end of his tenure as CEO is the end of an era and an opportunity to try and grasp just exactly what it is he did and what lessons there are for all of us "trying to make a dent in the universe.".. Continue Reading The business legacy of Mr. Jobs

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs.

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Google helping Bletchley Park Trust to rebuild Block C

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:28:36 -0500

Search giant Google has teamed up with the Bletchley Park Trust to kick start a fundraising effort to rebuild the records center known as Block C. A Google-supported garden party was held within the grounds of the famous WW2 decoding center last week to start off the restoration fund, which aims to transform the now derelict building into a visitor and learning center... Continue Reading Google helping Bletchley Park Trust to rebuild Block C

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Communications, Computers, Enigma Machine, Google, Historic

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Eight young inventors give us a 2-minute elevator pitch

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:16:00 -0500

The James Dyson Awards for young inventors are always a treasure trove of fresh ideas and up-and-coming innovators - so we caught up with 8 of the Australian finalists and got them each to deliver us a 2-minute 'elevator pitch' explaining their designs and the inspiration behind them. The videos after the jump highlight some of our favourite entries for this year's prize, including the winners. See if you can guess which of these young contestants took the prizes!.. Continue Reading Eight young inventors give us a 2-minute elevator pitch

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Australia, Design, James Dyson Awards, Video, Young Inventors

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Google Science Fair quarter-finalists announced

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:21:15 -0500

Fifteen Google Science Fair quarter-finalists have been announced as the competition moves towards the 2011 Grand Final in July. These fifteen finalists will be flying to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California for the Google Science Fair event, and final judging will take place on 11th July by a panel of acclaimed scientists. Open to all students aged 13 to 18 from around the world, the online competition is designed to champion young scientific talent and give students the opportunity to showcase their ideas. Three winners will be chosen from each age group, with an overall winner chosen from those three. .. Continue Reading Google Science Fair quarter-finalists announced

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: CERN, Competition, Google, Lego, National Geographic

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Spicy precursor to the arcade game brought back to life

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:58:13 -0500

Hard though it may be to believe for anyone raised since the advent of VCRs, there was a time when people actually had to leave their homes to see adult movies. Going to sleazy cinemas ended up being the main option, although it was predated by a little something known as the peep show machine. Now largely forgotten, these pieces of erotic entertainment history were once a common sight in penny arcades, fair grounds and other sometimes-questionable locales. So, what would one would look like if it were built using today's technology? California's Michael Ford decided to find out... Continue Reading Spicy precursor to the arcade game brought back to life

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: 3D, Adult, Projectors, Retro, Stereoscopic

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Farseeing inventor pioneered computer music

Mon, 09 May 2011 07:41:19 -0500

Renowned computer generated music innovator Max Mathews has died at the age of 84. Back in 1957 Mathews wrote the program that enabled an IBM 704 mainframe computer to play a composition lasting 17 seconds – an achievement recognized as one of the first examples of digital synthesis of music on a computer. For the next 54 years Mathews pioneered the field of digital audio research and devoted most of his life to learning how computers could aid musicians in performance. .. Continue Reading Farseeing inventor pioneered computer music

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Audio, Computer, Digital music, Music

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Liber Chronicarum – one of history's first illustrated printed books for sale

Thu, 05 May 2011 00:08:44 -0500

It’s easy to become blasé in the ubiquitous, 24-7 avalanche of information in which we live our lives – the challenge now is about filtering, organizing and synthesizing information into a useful and relevant form. Think back though to an earlier time when the very first books became available to the public, when the treasure trove of knowledge in our pocket that we take for granted simply did not exist. A book coming up for auction, the Liber Chronicarum (1493), was one of the very first history books available, one of the first printed illustrated books available and its scope is remarkable given it was produced 500 years ago... Continue Reading Liber Chronicarum – one of history's first illustrated printed books for sale

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Auction, Bonhams, History

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A sled designed for the long, long way down

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:51:32 -0500

Swedish adventurer Johan Ernst Nilson definitely has his work cut out for him. On April 6th he began his one-year Pole2Pole trek, in the course of which he intends to travel from the North to South Pole using only carbon-neutral transportation. He has already begun to ski down from the North Pole, with other legs of his journey intended to include travel by dog sled, sailboat, bicycle and kite-assisted sled. Given that his life may depend on everything performing properly, he won’t just be using a garden-variety toboggan to haul his gear across the Arctic and Antarctic ice caps – instead, expedition sponsor Audi has made him a one-of-a-kind sled... Continue Reading A sled designed for the long, long way down

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Antarctic, Arctic, Audi, Carbon Fiber, Expedition, Winter

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April 12, 1961: A remarkable date in human history

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 03:23:03 -0500

A remarkable milestone in human history took place exactly 50 years ago today when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. During the flight of Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, Gagarin, then 27, completed a single orbit of Earth in approximately 108 minutes. His flight begun at Baikonur cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan and ended with his safe arrival by parachute in the Saratov region of central Russia, where he was famously welcomed back to our planet with a hospitable offer of bread and milk by Anna Takhtarova and her four-year-old granddaughter Margarita. .. Continue Reading April 12, 1961: A remarkable date in human history

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Anniversary, Space, Space Travel

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Historic 15th century Fibonacci manuscript up for auction

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:15:20 -0500

A collection of revered mathematical works will soon be put to auction in New York, including significant pieces of the Liber Abaci or Book of Calculation by Fibonacci. Esteemed as one of the most brilliant mathematicians in Western history, Leonardo Pisano Bigollo (Fibonacci) was one of the first to explain Arabic numerals, the superiority of these numerals and the importance of zero. Above all it was Fibonacci's work that has helped modern day mathematicians find breakthroughs in mathematical equations, whilst also defining sequences used for computer programming and the financial markets. .. Continue Reading Historic 15th century Fibonacci manuscript up for auction

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Arabic, Auction, Book, History, Text

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Pioneering audio engineer Owsley 'Bear' Stanley dies at 76

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:28:54 -0500

Owsley “Bear” Stanley, pioneering audio engineer for the Grateful Dead, died in a car crash near his home in Australia on March 13. The sound designer, artist, and counterculture icon was perhaps best known for producing massive amounts of LSD during the psychedelic 1960s. But it was his groundbreaking sound work that may have the most lasting effect on rock musicians and audiences... Continue Reading Pioneering audio engineer Owsley 'Bear' Stanley dies at 76

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Audio, Loudspeakers, Sound

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The Cockeyed experiments and creations of Rob Cockerham

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:57:30 -0600

When you think of people having a blast with science experiments, hands-on product research and wacky but clever inventions, chances are you think of MythBusters. Five years before that show’s 2003 premiere, however, Sacramento’s Rob Cockerham set about doing much the same thing on his Cockeyed blog. Today, approximately a million readers from around the world visit it every month, checking out his latest activities as documented in sections such as Incredible Construction, Science Club, and Pranks. We had a chance to talk to Rob recently ... when he wasn’t busy making cyclones out of fireworks, analyzing the compostability of SunChips bags, or sneaking bogus time machines into shopping mall displays... Continue Reading The Cockeyed experiments and creations of Rob Cockerham

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Art, Education, Special Effects

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ahumanright.org plans to buy satellite and provide free Internet access for entire world

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:46:50 -0600

For those of us who live in the developed world, internet access has become pretty much a given. It’s become so ubiquitous that we almost expect to have it at all times and in all places, but even in this “Information Age,” the majority of the world’s population lacks access to the internet – either because service isn’t available where they are, or they can’t afford it. Kosta Grammatis has a plan, however. Through his charity group ahumanright.org, Grammatis aims to set up a network of satellites that will provide free internet access to everyone in the world. He’s starting by attempting to buy a single used satellite that’s already in orbit and moving it to a location above a developing country. .. Continue Reading ahumanright.org plans to buy satellite and provide free Internet access for entire world

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Charity, Internet, Satellite

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Happy 10th birthday to Wikipedia

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:22:19 -0600

Like "Google", "Wikipedia" has entered the common lexicon. I haven't yet heard anyone say they're going to Wikipedia something but I'm sure that someone, somewhere, is already doing it. Many of us have Wikipedia bookmarked as our "go to" site, the first port of call to get an overview of a topic. The free, online encyclopedia features roughly 17 million articles in 270 languages, all created by a volunteer community. On 15 January this year Wikipedia celebrates its tenth birthday – what had the potential to become disastrously chaotic has become a valued icon, consulted by more than 400 million people every month... Continue Reading Happy 10th birthday to Wikipedia

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Information, Internet, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia

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Education and inspiration via underwater robot

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 19:33:35 -0600

If you like gadgets, and you like the ocean, then you must like ROVs – it’s just that simple. For the uninitiated, ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles) are small unmanned submarines that are used for underwater operations deemed too deep, dangerous or difficult for human divers. They’re tethered to a support ship, from which a human operator controls them in real time, watching a live video feed from an onboard camera. It’s all incredibly appealing to those of us who are fascinated by the prospect of what secrets lurk beneath the surface of the ocean... or of the local pond. A few dedicated souls go so far as to trying to create their own homebuilt ROVs, many of them turning to what has become the bible on the subject, Build Your Own Underwater Robot and other Wet Projects. Gizmag had a chance to talk to the two authors of the book, and found out what inspired them to pursue such an unlikely project... Continue Reading Education and inspiration via underwater robot

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Book, Education, Marine, Ocean, Robotics, Students, Submarine, Underwater, Unmanned

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Interactive projector that turns any flat surface into a touch screen wins UK design award

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:45:37 -0600

Light Blue Opitcs (LBO) has won the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Awards 2010 prize for Product Design with its Light Touch interactive projector. The device uses an infra-red touch sensing system that transforms a projected image into a virtual 10-inch touch screen. It allows users to interact with multimedia content and applications by touching the image, which can be projected onto any flat surface. .. Continue Reading Interactive projector that turns any flat surface into a touch screen wins UK design award

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Interactive, Projector, Touch Screen

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The 'mother of all demos' debuted the computer mouse, hyperlinks, and more

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:02:40 -0600

Dr. Douglas Engelbart is perhaps best known as the inventor of the computer mouse, but when he unveiled that device at a computer conference in 1968 he also introduced additional technology that would profoundly affect computer-human interaction as much as the mouse has. During the "mother of all demos" at the Fall Joint Computer Conference held at the Convention Center in San Francisco, Engelbart and his team of researchers from the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford Research Institute gave a live demonstration of hyperlinks, remote collaboration software, on-screen windows, and even video conferencing... Continue Reading The 'mother of all demos' debuted the computer mouse, hyperlinks, and more

Section: Inventors and Remarkable People

Tags: Computer, Inventor, Mouse, Stanford University

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