via coolmaterial

Yes, there is no engine installed on the Dragonfly DF1, but rather tiny hydrogen peroxide rockets at the tip of each blade. Reportedly, “it can stay aloft for 50 minutes and has a maximum speed of 40 mph.” Video after the break.

Rather than being powered by a conventional engine, someone decided that it would be a good idea to install itty bitty rocket engines on the tips of the blades of this helicopter to power it. And the really scary part is that it works. Very well, in fact. The hydrogen peroxide rockets (the same things that power most jetpacks) produce no pollution and are supposed to be significantly more stable than their conventional counterparts due to the lack of, um, an engine. In fact, there’s really nothing to the helicopter at all apart from a seat and some big fuel tanks. Called the Dragonfly, it can stay aloft for 50 minutes and has a maximum speed of 40 mph. The Dragonfly has completed a successful series of flight tests and obtained its airworthiness certificate last November, so it’s currently on track to be for sale sometime this year.

This is actually not the craziest thing you can do with a rocket propelled airfoil. The craziest thing is to use model rocket engines, one blade, and then just forget the rest of the helicopter.

via techeblog, ohgizmo

There’s nothing like wacky convergence to brighten up a long day at the Mobile World Congress phone extravaganza. So we were keen to take a look at the Samsung Beam i8520, the phone with a tiny projector in. Will it light up our lives?

We headed for the Samsung stand in search of illumination. We wanted to shed some light on the question of whether a projector as small as a mobile phone would be worthwhile, or whether the projector would make the phone too unwieldy.

There isn’t much compromise in size, happily. The Beam isn’t as dramatically different to the norm as the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj, the oversized camera that crams in a projector.

We wonder if this will see the start of wacky gimmicks being bolted on to phones — hey, it works for cameras. What other crazy convergence ideas would you like to see in your phone? We suggest a phone with a stapler in. Clamshell phones are already the right folding shape, and the big benefit is that if you clap the phone to your face hard enough — hands-free!

via cnet

Oh, biomimetic desigin. Is there anything you can’t do? Well, at any rate, you’re doing this, which is cool enough for now. Qualcomm is putting out a new display technology they call “Mirasol,” which uses reflective bits of color to display an image, much like the way the iridescent scales on butterfly wings do. They claim it draws even less power than e-ink, which is really saying something.
The little prototype they use to demonstrate it is… just that: little. I wonder if that’s just a choice they made, or if the display technology is actually limited to smaller sizes due to some technical quirk. Who knows? It’s brand new at the moment and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more soon, so let’s not think too hard about it.

via crunchgear

The new Wacom Bamboo Touch trackpad hooks into any USB port to turn your computer into a multitouch marvel. Amaze your friends as you rotate and zoom those images with some two finger twirls. Astound strangers by adding funky shortcut commands to any of the four ‘ExpressKeys’. Double tap your way to fame and fortune for just $69.00 and a few suitable gestures.

Bamboo Touch lets you add Multi-Touch input to any computer. Navigate, scroll, and accomplish all your tasks using simple hand gestures. With the tablet’s ample touch area, there’s more room to navigate than you’d experience with a mobile device or a traditional laptop trackpad. Bamboo Touch makes it easy to move around your desktop, scroll through documents, navigate the web, zoom in and out of photos, and rotate images.

via redferret

Barely out of a global economic meltdown, the world’s remaining billionaires have been presented with the largest and most extravagant superyacht yet.

The floating palace has been designed at a whopping 656 feet (200 meters) in length — as long as two football fields end-to-end.

If built, it would surpass the world’s current largest private yacht, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s “Eclipse,” by 99 feet (30 meters).

With a myriad of over-the-top luxury toys — including a two-level cinema, a nightclub and helipad — the yacht unsurprisingly comes with a hefty price tag.

Berkeley March, the yacht’s naval architect, told CNN the boat could cost up to $1 billion (£650 million) to build, “depending on the needs of the clients.”

“For example, the client could request gold furniture,” March explained.

The designers believe that despite the recession, there are still enough people who have a spare $1 billion to spend on what is described as the “ultimate luxury.”

“Some people may say the timing was a little bit daft,” March said. “But I think that many people who previously would not have had the power to buy such a yacht, are thinking that now is their chance. The people left with a lot of money have more power now, as there is less demand.”

According to March, the yacht, now known only as “Project 1000,” could be in the water in under five years.

Replete with features that would make even the most blasé billionaire take notice, it will also include a drive-in-garage, a 100-foot swimming pool, a casino, a health spa and numerous bars and nightclubs.

According to March, the recession did not change rich people’s beliefs that “size matters.”

“When you are used to living in a palace with dozens of servants, you don’t want to cruise the oceans on a small yacht,” he said.

And at the end of the day, added March, “recession or not, it’s still all about men’s egos.”

via cnn

Today I got my wish with a new product form WildCharge for the iPhone that allows Pre-like charging by just sitting the iPhone down. The good news is that the charge system works on any iPhone from the original to the new 3GS.

The WildCharge Skin is a durable form fitting case that can protect the iPhone from drops and has a little part on the inside that plugs into the charge port of the phone. Then all you need to do is sit the phone on the WildCharger Pad to get power to your phone. The skin is available for $34.99 and a kit with the skin and the charge pad is about $80. The only downside I can see is that it appears you have to remove the case to synchronize your phone.

via ohgizmo