Giving again takes totally different varieties. Maybe it’s volunteering for Habitat for Humanity or serving to to wash up a neighborhood park. For Toyota Research & Development (R&D) Engineers Aaron Atkinson and Scott Smith, giving again seems like robots. FIRST Robotics, to be particular.
The duo every mentor FIRST Robotics groups in Saline, Michigan, and people FIRST Robotics groups occur to be fairly good at it.
Both Atkinson’s FIRST Lego League workforce and Smith’s Middle FIRST Tech Challenge workforce just lately received respective Michigan state titles. While world domination is all the time a plus, the true reward of their volunteering is mentoring the engineers of tomorrow.
With that, see Atkinson and Smith in motion with certainly one of their practices. Watch the video under to see mentoring in motion.
Maybe you need to spend every week tenting, however for as soon as, you do not need to take your RV. It’s a price to have photo voltaic panels which might be versatile for each camper and cell use. Grecell’s 100 Watt Portable Solar Panel is a superb possibility for a mobile solar panel for all styles of camping. It’s straightforward to make use of and transport because of its capability to fold in half and be carried like a briefcase. However, in contrast to different foldable photo voltaic panels, this one is extremely light-weight — it solely weighs 10 kilos. For being so small, it additionally comes with kickstands as a way to alter it to the place of the solar simply.
This photo voltaic panel obtained a 4.6 out of 5 ranking from over 400 shoppers. According to most of the evaluations, it would not really feel cheaply made, and there isn’t any worry of the folded space changing into affected after a number of foldings and unfolding, that means it’s a high quality product. However, of the damaging evaluations, some state that the photo voltaic panel is incompatible with the Jackery Explorer power station, regardless that Grecell acknowledged that it was. Sometimes, it’s best to maintain with the identical manufacturers when coping with know-how tools so you already know the items of compatibility.
Maybe you’ve observed, however there’s an arms race happening inside the superbike spectrum. Bike corporations have misplaced their rattling marbles as every strives to ship extra energy, higher digital aids, wilder aerodynamics, and no matter else they’ll assume as much as make these bikes sooner round a race observe. BMW Motorrad’s newest proposition? Active aerodynamics affixed to your M or S 1000 RR.
BMW’s patent proposes taking the normal static aerodynamic winglets that’ve come to be affixed to superbikes currently and turning them energetic. The thought is that static winglets are nice in serving to stabilize bikes whereas pointing straight and decreasing wheelies, which in flip provides the rider extra grip. But static aero doesn’t assist in corners the place airflow will get bizarre, inflicting all kinds of points for the rider and people behind them.
BMW Motorrad energetic winglet patent drawing.
Making these dynamic elements permits BMW’s engineers to cut back these air-funneling points whereas channeling it the place they need to enhance the bike’s general downforce by the corners, by no means sacrificing stability all through a observe. What the patent tells us is that BMW’s engineers designed the system in order that irrespective of how the bike leaned, the winglets would all the time keep parallel to the highway’s floor. This then retains all that valuable downforce pointed the suitable manner, and that’s fairly friggin’ cool, even when it’s not for you or me.
If you haven’t already guessed by now, the proposed tech is to assist BMW compete in WSBK, not for us fats sacks of jelly donuts driving our state’s backroads, canyons, or freeways. Yes, it’ll most certainly find yourself on an S 1000 RR quickly, however similar to all of the attention-grabbing tech that’s being dropped at MotoGP from Aprilia, Ducati, and Honda—energetic aero is unlawful in MotoGP—this sort of know-how is constructed for the professionals and execs alone.
BMW Motorrad energetic winglet patent drawing.
What I see by way of what we’ll get as common shoppers is one thing alongside the strains of a homologation particular. Think Ducati’s Panigale V4 SP2, Honda’s Fireblade SP, BMW’s personal M 1000 RR, or WRC’s legendary Group B period the place producers had been pressured to make miniature nuclear bombs that most of the people might purchase.
As for a way BMW’s system will work, that’s nonetheless undisclosed because the patent doesn’t go into a lot element apart from that the winglets are hinged with actuators. But since lean-angle sensors are commonplace tools on almost each new motorbike, and people assist fashionable superbikes with traction management, stability management, and even drift modes, my finest guess can be that BMW would tie this into these programs.
However we might even see this aerodynamic system utilized sooner or later, it’s gonna be wild. I received’t have the ability to extract each ounce of functionality, however most individuals exterior of these competing at WSBK, Isle of Man, and MotoGP in all probability will not have the ability to both.
What do you get while you put a supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2R engine inside an unmanned drone? Maybe you have by no means requested your self that query. Kawasaki itself apparently did, although, and to all of our profit, it is since demonstrated the reply.
The Kawasaki Okay-Racer challenge is a multidisciplinary effort put collectively by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Taking a few of the finest technological developments it is provide you with throughout its varied little one corporations, like Kawasaki Motors and Kawasaki Robotics, KHI has been working to advance its imaginative and prescient for what it calls “Near-Future Mobility” within the 2020s.
Back in November 2021, Kawasaki first confirmed off its proof-of-concept prototype Okay-Racer X1. It’s Kawasaki’s first unmanned vertical takeoff and touchdown (VTOL) drone to be powered by the supercharged engine taken from a Ninja H2R.
The objective of this craft, says Kawasaki, is to move cargo for logistics achievement. The challenge additionally includes a specifically crafted supply robotic that boards the Okay-RACER together with the cargo. Once the payload is delivered, the supply robotic is there to finish last-mile supply of the cargo to its ultimate vacation spot.
Okay-Racer, by the way, is an acronym for Kawasaki Researching Autonomic Compound to Exceed Rotorcraft. (We promise we aren’t making that up.)
Earlier in January 2024, Kawasaki examined the second iteration of its Okay-Racer challenge. Called the Okay-Racer X2, this prototype has integrated what Kawasaki has discovered by means of its developments up to now, and created a VTOL prototype that may efficiently carry a 200 kilogram (slightly below 441 pound) payload.
It demonstrated this functionality within the video you possibly can see above, and says this may allow it to hold weights that common drones can’t. So far, Kawasaki claims that that is “the largest [payload] ever flown by an unmanned aircraft developed in Japan.” It’s a really particular declare, to make certain, but it surely’s nonetheless spectacular.
Why Build The Okay-Racer Project At All?
Kawasaki Delivery Robot, which hitches a journey on the Okay-Racer to assist last-mile cargo supply.
According to Kawasaki, the thought comes from the growing difficulties in deliveries and logistics within the extra mountainous areas of Japan. People stay within the mountains, and so they want provides. Viable companies like people who the Kawasaki Okay-Racer challenge might probably allow look like an thought price pursuing, in Kawasaki’s view.
Other potential use instances for this know-how embody harmful places, or within the occasion of pure disasters. While motorcycles with skilled riders are frequently called upon to help in supply of provides and relays of messages in emergency conditions, an unmanned drone with carrying capability just like the Okay-Racer X2 may very well be extremely helpful.
The Okay-Racer X2 has an estimated vary of a minimum of 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles. Its estimated endurance is a minimum of an hour, says Kawasaki. The firm plans to proceed testing and growth, in addition to work towards creating a mass-production model of this idea going ahead.
So you have turned to ChatGPT for assist producing concepts, or possibly you have used it to create visible photos from textual content prompts, one thing that is now potential since OpenAI integrated Dall-E into its paid ChatGPT Plus. Now what? Who owns the output from ChatGPT? How are you able to belief ChatGPT’s output is not infringing on different copyright house owners? Can you even copyright what you have generated?
The solutions are advanced, and the legal guidelines as written and utilized at the moment lag behind the applied sciences. In half, the query comes again to the definition of artwork and authentic work versus by-product work, necessary distinctions contemplating writers and artists are creating all types of “original” work with the assistance of ChatGPT and promoting it to shoppers. Beyond that, is it authentic work, given AI learns from present content material, and does so with out attribution? Further, whenever you’re utilizing generative AI in a picture editor or on a tool just like the Google Pixel 8 Pro, what share of that {photograph} is your actual, authentic work?
OpenAI is not clear about how the ChatGPT mannequin trains on present content material. The firm acknowledged the copyright elephant within the room at a November developer day, when OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman introduced OpenAI will cowl the prices of copyright litigation for its Enterprise and developer prospects. This is an effective begin that matches guarantees by Microsoft, Adobe, Google, Amazon, Getty Images, and Shutterstock, however it additionally leaves free and ChatGPT Plus customers on their very own to navigate these waters — which have gotten murkier every single day.
Are those some of the words that came to mind when you set eyes upon the Yamaha PG-1 for the first time? (We’re not counting the thoughts of the Honda CT125 Hunter Cub that you probably also had, although they’re almost certainly there.)
Regardless of your answer, one word that probably didn’t occur to you is “mean.” Yet that’s exactly what K-Speed, led by Tanadit, has done with the bike.
This is the K-Speed Yamaha PG-1 Rock Scrambler, and it’s so good. The entire bike is a symphony of black, but with a variety of shades and textures that keep the visual impression dynamic. Even the engine, which comes stock with a silver cylinder head, has been completely blacked out.
Pops of silver show up in the form of the wheels, rotors, a little silver side plate with round holes, and the silver mesh that shows up in the round holes of the exhaust cover. The Yamaha logos get a touch of silver as well, but the scarcity makes those little pops of contrast stand out.
There’s a wide handlebar, a single bar-end mirror on the left side, tiny turn signals, and front and rear fenders that have been both chopped and raised up. The aforementioned exhaust is now a high-mount unit, adding to the overall scrambler aesthetic. As you can hear in the extremely short video (too short, in our opinion; we would have loved to hear more of it), it also sounds very good.
The tail section has been tidied up, and the saddle is now a solo unit that echoes the knobby tires with its own block pattern contrast stitching. Diamond stitch? Who needs it when you can have block stitch instead? Incidentally, the wheels are now 17-inch units, up from the standard 16-inch ones found on the stock PG-1.
For those unfamiliar, K-Speed is pretty well known for two things: Custom full bike builds, and aftermarket accessories that it makes to fit a variety of bikes. It also sells some of the custom bikes that it makes, and the K-Speed Yamaha PG-1 Rock Scrambler is currently listed for preorder on its website at a cost of ¥1,280,000 (about $8,638) including shipping.
K-Speed ships internationally. However, please note that the listing includes a bunch of information about the differences between shipping K-Speed bikes (and parts) within Japan and shipping them to other countries around the world. Things like additional fees (such as customs fees), unavailability of certain accessories in other countries depending on local laws, and more.
The eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox performs well even in auto mode, although it tends to be hesitant when downshifting. It’s better to take control using the paddles, as the response is immediate.
If you push the car harder, you’ll notice that the Comfort mode has a conservative traction control setting. Switching to Sport mode doesn’t provide as much of a difference as expected; it’s slightly firmer and noisier, but the overall character of the car remains the same.
The real excitement comes with the Race mode. The engine noise becomes more pronounced, and the gearbox delivers forceful upshifts (which might be seen as a bit uncouth, but many people enjoy the theatricality). The Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer is activated in this mode, offering a combination of torque vectoring by braking and a more lenient stability control setting.
Unlike some other Ferraris, the Roma lacks a CT-off mode that allows for sideways drifts. However, Race mode is still well-suited for the road, allowing the car to tighten its line when accelerating without becoming uncontrollable.
The steering ratio is the same as the coupé version, but the softer suspension and body of the Roma Spider result in a slightly slower response. Nevertheless, it still offers the characteristic quickness of Ferrari steering. While it may not provide excessive feedback, there’s enough to complement the reliable front grip and controlled body roll, giving the driver a high level of confidence.
You can push the boundaries by turning the manettino all the way to disengage the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and unleash the full balance of the Roma Spider. Despite the tremendous traction, when the car does start to slide, the quick steering provides the necessary tools to catch the oversteer, making the experience thrilling rather than frightening.
We’ve all forgotten some trash inside our cars at some point, whether it’s a parking ticket or a receipt from the grocery store. But it’s hard to understand how some people let the interior of their cars get so dirty that it looks like a vacuum cleaner. Case in point, the video above shows a red 2013 Dodge Dart that is in desperate need of cleaning, especially on the inside.
The owner of the car had to take an unpaved road to get to the shop of The Detailing Geek, where the video was posted on YouTube. This explains why the exterior is covered in mud. But what’s even more interesting is the condition of the interior.
And by interesting, we mean absolutely filthy. It’s gut-wrenching to see and probably smell. The 2013 Dodge Dart shown in the video needs a lot of love to make it a bearable driving experience.
Fortunately, the person cleaning the car seems to know what they’re doing. They start by removing all the mud from the bodywork and then move on to cleaning the interior step by step.
The trunk liner is thoroughly cleaned using a pressure washer and a round brush attached to a cordless drill. The carpets are vacuumed meticulously, but not before removing all the trash, plastic cups, and toilet paper.
The back seat is particularly concerning, with nasty stains that would make any germaphobe panic. However, with the help of a special carpet cleaner and the round brush attached to the cordless drill, the stains magically disappear, leaving an impressive result.
If you think this is bad, you should see the Fiat 124 Spider that spent 38 years in a garage and became a cozy home for unwelcome mice.
Returning to the Dodge Dart, nothing is left behind. By the end of the cleaning, it looks like it just rolled off the assembly line. But don’t take our word for it, watch the video at the top of this page and share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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