Become an Astronaut with the Space Expedition Corporation |
Photo Courtesy of Space Expedition Corporation
Traveling across the globe can be great, but constant jet-setters generally hit a point where they feel as if they have seen it all. If you have stars in your eyes – and by that, I literally mean stars – then this holiday season the Space Expedition Corporation has something that might be right up your trajectory; a luxury flight into space.
Part of the Founding 100 Astronaut Program, a once in a lifetime opportunity, offers 100 lucky travelers the chance to be part of its inaugural flight to space in 2014 and fulfill their childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. |
 Available for $100,000, the program has already signed on 75 astronauts in training; including blonde bombshell and Victoria’s Secret model Doutzen Kroes and world-renowned master of beats, DJ Armin van Buuren. Included with the purchase is mission training, invitations to events and trips, test flight attendance, the Solar Eclipse Australia festival, as well as a three-night stay at a first-class luxury hotel in Curacao. Once all seats have been booked, a raffle will be hosted in which a name will be drawn to determine which one of the 100 “Founder Astronauts” will be the first to travel into space. |
 For this stellar experience, passengers will board the sustainable and piloted, SXC Lync Spaceship, which only carries two people at a time. This limitation allows the passenger an unparalleled experience of being able to co-pilot the ship – giving them an authentic space voyage and educational experience during the mission. Once the Lynx Spaceship reaches its maximum height of 64 miles (the official frontier of space begins at 62.1 miles) the passenger will be able to officially call themselves an astronaut. Surrounded by darkness and space, once the new astronaut reaches this height they will be able to look down and view the entire Earth in all its wonder before once again descending towards land. |
| Read More on SpaceXC.com |
Friday, 21 December 2012
Here comes 'zSpace!'
I started on an A00 Engineering Drawing
Board in small town manufacturing company in 1981. It took months on end to
draw up details and assemblies for even the simplest products.
Then in 1982 Autodesk published
AutoCAD 1.1. It still took many weeks to draw even sophisticated engineering
assemblies.
Then came solid modelling in 1985.
It took a few weeks to model and draw complex injection mouldings and castings.
In 2006 came the first consumer priced
NURBS based 3D modelling and detailing CAD system. Same time scale of few week but cheaper
at the front end.
Now comes zSpace unleashing the
full potential of human creativity. By blending the physical world with a
sensory-rich virtual world that people can naturally and intuitively manipulate
and navigate, we significantly advance the way we solve problems, learn, teach,
communicate and create our world. zSpace is a revolutionary, immersive,
interactive 3D environment for computing, creating, communication and
entertainment. On the physical level, zSpace includes new computer hardware,
software, and most importantly a true 3D user experience. In zSpace:
- Objects appear in open space, with full colour
and high resolution.
- You cannot tell a real object from its
virtual-holographic twin.
- You directly interact with these
virtual-holographic objects.
- You engage with an easy to use yet powerful 3D
user interface.
- You have total viewing comfort.
- Developers can quickly enable their
applications or build new ones.
To accomplish this, our unique
technology transforms today’s computing environment. We integrate human
perception into an incredibly realistic, interactive experience that is
simultaneously virtual and real. The multisensory platform provides a highly
realistic way to view, manipulate, and communicate complex ideas through direct
interaction with zSpace virtual-holographic simulations. They appear
realistically “solid” and can be directly manipulated by using a stylus as if
they were actual physical objects. It is designed to transform your PC into a
virtual-holographic system where you can collaborate with colleagues and
friends by directly interacting with stunningly realistic virtual objects and
environments.
In zSpace, you don comfortable,
lightweight passive polarized eyewear and pick up the zSpace stylus. When the
zStation is activated, 3D objects of incredible clarity are fully rendered.
When you examine an object in zSpace, you understand its depth and volume. Pull
it toward yourself or push it away exactly as you would with a real object.
Move your head around to visualize details from every angle. Create 3D objects
from scratch or alter pre-existing models. Access a virtual camera to zoom in
and examine the internal content of objects.
The richness of the zSpace
platform provides breath-taking, interactive graphics and an unsurpassed,
highly visceral experience.- Discover hidden information
- Learn more quickly
- Simulate and model more accurately
- Represent ideas more effectively
- Create incredibly realistic virtual prototypes
The applications of zSpace are as
limitless as your imagination.
See video in post below and review by clicking here!
See video in post below and review by clicking here!
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Slingshot WaterPurification System Will Bring Hope to Billions.
Coca-Cola Co plans to deliver and operate water purification systems in rural parts of the developing world, working with the inventor of the Segway transportation device in a project that will also help further Coke’s sustainability targets.
The world’s largest soft drink maker said that it is teaming up with American inventor Dean Kamen to roll out his new invention, called the Slingshot, to bring clean water to areas where it is limited.
Kamen, whose organization is called Deka R&D, has made many inventions in the medical device field but is best-known for his Segway personal transporter. He also worked with Coke on its Freestyle fountain dispenser.
Kamen expects to deliver 30 Slingshot machines to Coke by the end of 2012. Next year, Coke will place machines in rural areas of South Africa, Mexico and Paraguay, in places like schools, health clinics and community centers.
By 2014, the distribution should widen to include thousands of units, and later to extend to India, the Middle East and Asia.
“For us to partner with Deka and embark on a project with huge societal implications gives me huge excitement,” Coke Chief Executive Muhtar Kent told Reuters. “And it fits perfectly with our other sustainability pillars, such as our goal for water neutrality.”
As part of Kent’s “2020 Vision” Coca-Cola has committed to replenish 100 percent of the water used in its drinks and their production. Through 3
86 water projects in 94 countries, the company is 35 percent of the way toward the goal.
86 water projects in 94 countries, the company is 35 percent of the way toward the goal.
The Slingshot uses a vapor compression distillation system that runs on very low levels of electricity. Through boiling and evaporation, the system can clean and purify anything from ocean water to raw sewage, Kamen and Coke said. One Slingshot unit can purify up to 300,000 liters of water a year, or enough daily drinking water for about 300 people, Kamen said.
Coke declined to quantify its financial investment, but Kent said the company would dedicate “whatever funds are necessary” to make the project meaningful. Still, significant investments in time and effort by Coke and its local bottlers will translate to millions of dollars.
Lack of access to clean water can lead to diseases including diarrhea, the second-leading cause of death in children under five years old, according to data from the World Heath Organization.
Kamen, who has developed insulin pumps, said that giving everyone access to clean water would be a major contribution to preventing such diseases.
“Talk about low-hanging fruit,” Kamen said in an interview.
He said he reached out to Coca-Cola for its vast distribution network and ability to deliver small products everywhere.
Kent said he envisions the Slingshots, which each weigh about 200 pounds and can fit in the back of a truck, being placed in kiosks that will run on solar power or biofuel and could provide rural communities with other benefits, such as refrigerated vaccines, mobile-device charging stations and entrepreneurial opportunities for women.
Last year, Coke and Kamen’s organization conducted a field trial of the Slingshot, testing it at five schools outside Accra, Ghana.
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