Telling Time Used to be a Ball
If you watch the New Year’s festivities from New York, you know that they mark midnight with the dropping of a big, gaudy ball. You might assume this was just …read more Continue reading Telling Time Used to be a Ball
Tag Archives: Navigation
Before GPS There Was LORAN
We found it nostalgic to watch [ve3iku] fire up an old Loran-A receiver and, as you can see in the video below, he got it working. If you aren’t familiar …read more Continue reading Before GPS There Was LORAN
A Compass That Looks to the Stars
Although a lot of tools have been digitized and consolidated into our smartphones, from cameras, music players, calendars, alarm clocks, flashlights, and of course phones, perhaps none are as useful …read more Continue reading A Compass That Looks to the Stars
Hacking Global Positioning Systems Onto 16th-Century Maps
What if GPS had existed in 1565? No satellites or microelectronics, sure—but let’s play along. Imagine the bustling streets of Antwerp, where merchants navigated the sprawling city with woodcut maps. …read more Continue reading Hacking Global Positioning Systems Onto 16th-Century Maps
Overcomplicating the Magnetic Compass for a Reason
Some inventions are so simple that it’s hard to improve them. The magnetic compass is a great example — a magnetized needle, a bit of cork, and a bowl of …read more Continue reading Overcomplicating the Magnetic Compass for a Reason
Record-setting drone utilizes ant-inspired smarts to make its way home
Tiny aerial drones have many potential uses, but their ability to navigate is severely limited by their minuscule amount of onboard processing power. Scientists have now set about addressing that limitation, taking a cue from foraging insects such as a… Continue reading Record-setting drone utilizes ant-inspired smarts to make its way home
Six-legged robot looks to replace guide dogs for the blind
The ratio of guide dogs to blind people in China is roughly one service pooch for every 40,000 people. Researchers are currently developing a six-legged, AI-enhanced robodog to close the gap and safely guide users to their destinations.Continue Reading… Continue reading Six-legged robot looks to replace guide dogs for the blind
GR-1 humanoid takes a multi-camera approach to the world around it
Instead of equipping its sharp-looking GR-1 general purpose humanoid with a full next-gen sensor suite including such things as radar and LiDAR, Fourier Intelligence’s engineers have gone vision-only.Continue ReadingCategory: Robotics, TechnologyTags: … Continue reading GR-1 humanoid takes a multi-camera approach to the world around it
Who needs north? GPS compass points to a place of your choice
While most compasses have a needle that points north, the Truest North Compass is different. Its main needle always points to a location of your choice, while its secondary needle shows the distance to that place.Continue ReadingCategory: Good Thinking… Continue reading Who needs north? GPS compass points to a place of your choice
Inside a Mystery Aerospace Computer with [Ken Shirriff]
When life hands you a mysterious bit of vintage avionics, your best bet to identifying it might just be to get it in front of the biggest bunch of hardware …read more Continue reading Inside a Mystery Aerospace Computer with [Ken Shirriff]