Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Holy Mother of God! What is this monster?

The Army's newest robot
This mechanized pack animal will follow soldiers wherever duty calls them.

The Army's Robot Sherpa

by John B. Carnett: DOG OF WAR Big Dog poses for the camera in Boston Dynamic's robot proving grounds in Massachusetts Photo by John B. Carnett

Meet BigDog, a mechanical mutt that does more than snare Frisbees and irrigate fire hydrants. It totes hundreds of pounds of gear so soldiers won't have to, and it will never spook under fire. Developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from the U.S. military, the BigDog prototype is arguably the world's most ambitious legged robot. Its stability and awareness of its own orientation make it the first robot that can handle the unknown challenges of the battlefield. The Great Dane-size ´bot can trot more than three miles an hour, climb inclines of up to 45 degrees, and carry up to 120 pounds-even in rough terrain impenetrable to wheeled or tracked vehicles. But this one is just a puppy; Boston Dynamics expects the next iteration, ready this summer, to be at least twice as fast and carry more than twice as much.

BigDog's body is a steel frame that houses a one-cylinder gasoline engine driving a hydraulic system, a computer, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that uses a fiber-optic laser gyroscope and a suite of accelerometers to track its movement and position. These devices function together with the legs to create BigDog´s precision gait.

Each of the robot´s aluminum legs has three joints that the computer can reposition 500 times a second using hydraulic actuators. The joints are fitted with sensors that measure force and position, and the computer cross-references this data with information from the IMU to determine where the legs have to be to keep the 'bot upright and moving in the right direction. By regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid to each joint, the computer precisely places each paw.

And the robo-rover has eyes: It sports a stereo camera and laser scanner mounted where the head would go, if it had a head. Although these don't currently influence navigation, the next BigDog will use them to read the terrain ahead and spot obstacles.

For now, the robot is remote-controlled, but future versions will come unleashed, able to make intelligent decisions about their course without guidance from humans. The more powerful, autonomous BigDog will be ready for battle within the next eight years.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Gorgeous babe gets a nurse outfit painted on (NSFW - Duh)

Friday, April 25, 2008

Transforming Dubai: Artificial Islands, Tallest Buildings, Largest Themeparks, and MORE

Dubai in 1990

The same street in 2003

Last year

The madness. Dubai is said to currently have 15-20% of the world's cranes

The Dubai Waterfront. When completed it will become the largest waterfront development in the world

All of this was built in the last 5 years, including that island that looks like a palm tree.

The Palm Islands in Dubai. They are the largest artificial islands in the world and can be seen from space. Three of these palms will be made with the last being the largest of them all.

The World Islands . 300 artificially created islands in the shape of the world

Each island will have an estimated cost of $25-30 million.

The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai. The worlds tallest hotel.
Considered the only '7 star' hotel and the most luxurious hotel in the world.
It stands on an artificial island in the sea.

Hydropolis, the world's first underwater hotel.

Built in Germany and then assembled in Dubai, it is scheduled to be completed by 2009 after many delays.

The Burj Dubai. Construction began in 2005 and is expected to be complete by 2008.
At an estimated height of over 800 meters, it will easily be world's tallest building whn finished.
It will be almost 40 percent taller than the current tallest building, the Yaipei 101

This is what downtown Dubai will look like around 2008-2009.
More than 140 stories of the Burj Dubai have already been completed.
It is already the worlds tallest man made structure and it is still not scheduled to be completed for at least another year.

The Al Burj. This will be the centerpiece of the Dubai Waterfront. Once completed it will take over the title of the tallest structure in the world from the Burj Dubai.

Recently it was announced that the final height of this tower will be 1200 meters.

That would make it more than 30 percent taller than the Burj Dubai and three times as tall as the Empire State Building .

The Trump International Hotel & Tower, which will be the centerpiece of one of the palm islands, The Palm Jumeirah.

Dubailand. Currently, the largest amusement park collection in the world is Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando , which is also the largest single-site employer in the United states with 58,000 employees.

Dubailand will be built on 3 billion square feet (107 miles^2) at an estimated $20 billion price tag. The site will include a purported 45 mega projects and 200 hundred other smaller projects.

Dubai Sports City. A huge collection of sports arenas located in Dubailand.

Currently, the Walt Disney World Resort is the #1 tourist destination in the world. Once fully completed, Dubailand will easily take over that title since it is expected to attract 200,000 visitors daily.

The Dubai Marina is an entirely man made development that will contain over 200 highrise buildings when finished. It will be home to some of the tallest residential structures in the world.
The completed first phase of the project is shown.
Most of the other high rise buildings will be finished by 2009-2010.

The Dubai Mall will be the largest shopping mall in the world with over 9 million square feet of shopping and around 1000 stores. It will be completed in 2008.

Ski Dubai , which is already open, is the largest indoor skiing facility in the world.
This is a rendered image of another future indoor skiing facility that is being planned.

Some of the tallest buildings in the world, such as Ocean Heights and The Princess Tower , which will be the largest residential building in the world at over a 100 stories, will line the Dubai Marina .
The UAE Spaceport would be the first spaceport in the world if construction ever gets under way.
And .. The DubaiMetro system, once completed, will become the largest fully automated rail system in the world. The Dubai World Central International Airport will become the largest airport in size when it is completed. It will also eventually become the busiest airport in the world, based on passenger volume. There are more construction workers in Dubai than there are actual citizens.