Prepare to feast your eyes on an epic Lego reinterpretation of “The Dark Knight Rises” trailer.
Fans of the modern Batman series are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Dark Knight franchise, due in theaters this summer. To help them pass the time until the movie’s release, Lego aficionado ParanickFilmz created a reimagined trailer, along with help from a few associates who handled the mouth animation and CGI effects.
Did anyone else squeal after hearing the original audio from the trailer integrated with this Lego-ized version?
We have to applaud the level of detail seen in the various buildings and time-consuming stop-animation. The figure chosen for Christian Bale’s character seems to perfectly capture his gritty expression. ParanickFilmz created the sets and scenes and shot the entire thing with a simple handheld HD camcorder.
Category: İngilizce / English
BMW will introduce a two-seater topless version of the i8 at the Beijing motor show later this month.
While most auto manufacturers are focusing their attention on the news and new models being revealed at the New York International Auto Show this week, BMW is setting its sights on the Beijing motor show, where it will debut the latest addition to the i family of vehicles.
Click To Go to BMW i8 Concept Spyder (photos)
The BMW i8 Concept Spyder is a topless two-seater version of the i8 coupe, and will make itsfirst appearance at the Beijing motor show later this month. Slightly shorter than its 2+2 sibling, the Concept Spyder makes generous use of the carbon fiber reinforced plastic used in the LifeDrive architecture, features windowless doors that swivel up and a transparent tailgate. The interior is decked out in a mixture of plastic, carbon, and leather, and features an 8.8-inch high-definition screen that displays driving information in 3D.
Powered by a combined 354-horsepower eDrive power train (131-horsepower electric motor on the front axle and a 223-horsepower turbocharged three-cylinder engine in the rear), the i8 Concept Spyder achieves a 0-60 mph time of under 5 seconds and tops out at an electronically controlled 155 mph. And yet, the roadster sips fuel to the rate of up to 94 mpg in the European test cycle.
BMW introduced the i8 and i3 electric and plug-in car concepts last year, and the i8 Concept Spyder will keep the sub-brand in the public eye until the plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles enter production some time in 2013. It’s also a way for BMW to show off its lightweight and modular LifeDrive architecture by quickly developing a new model using the same powertrain and materials.
With a tour of duty in Japan’s Fukushima under their belt, iRobot’s military robots are now working at a U.S. nuclear plant as part of routine operations.
If you thought military robots were only fighting wars overseas, think again. iRobot’s war-bots are now working at a nuclear plant right here on home soil.
The company’s Warrior and PackBot military robots are carrying out inspections and other duties at a nuclear power plant in South Carolina, iRobot announced today.
Last fall, operator Progress Energy purchased one Warrior 710 and two PackBot 510 units for its Robinson Nuclear Plant near Hartsville. It marks the first time iRobot’s machines are being used at a domestic nuclear plant.
Priced around $350,000 to $400,000, the Warrior is a rugged machine that can haul payloads of more than 150 pounds and lift up to 220 pounds. The PackBot, at $100,000 to 150,000, is used for tactical operations such as inspecting objects.
Variants of the remote-controlled droids have been used in the aftermath of the nuclear crisis in Japan. iRobot sent two Warriors and two PackBots to Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to help with surveys and debris removal at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by core meltdowns.
“In an industrial environment, they have two great values — personal safety and increased efficiency,” said Tim Trainer of iRobot’s military business unit. Tepco has requested two more PackBots and they will have improved treads for tackling wet metal stairs, Trainer added.
Japan today lifted some exclusion orders for towns near the Fukushima plant, but residents cannot stay overnight. Meanwhile, Tepco has found that the coolant water level in the No. 2 reactor is only 23 inches deep, suggesting it is leaking from the containment vessel into the plant.
Trainer says iRobot has learned from its experience at Fukushima and he believes robots will play a greater role in standard maintenance operations at nuclear facilities.
“The challenge is what kind of emergency response capability will you plan for?” he said. “I don’t know that anyone would have foreseen a complete meltdown of reactors in Japan, but had we had a robust robotic infrastructure for routine operations, I think you can build off of that to a higher-level requirement.”
So far, the robots at the Robinson plant in South Carolina have been inspecting high-dose areas and doing surveys of radiological shipments, keeping human workers at a safe distance.
“Robots are something that’s really being pushed now to protect workers in the nuclear industry,” said Jessica Lambert, a spokesperson for Progress Energy.
In the future, she added, the Warrior and PackBots at Robinson could be used in handling nuclear waste.
Watch This Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tN6jFuuQFVY
Forget the viewfinder and display. Ubi-Camera lets you frame a shot using your fingers, film director-style.
If you want to get more natural with your pics, Japanese researchers are working on a gesture-based mini camera that lets your hands frame the shot.
The group at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS) in Gifu Prefecture recently showed off something they call the Ubi-Camera, a play on “ubiquitous” and “yubi” (“finger” in Japanese).
As the vid shows below, the simple prototype attaches to your index finger while your other fingers form a viewfinder around it. Push a button with your thumb to snap the shot.
Instead of a zoom lever, your arms determine how wide or tight a shot you’ll get. An infrared rangefinder on the device measures the distance to your face, and then determines the appropriate zoom level for processing the shot on a PC.
The result is a photo that looks just like what you see through your finger frame.
The Ubi-Camera was shown off earlier this month at Interaction 2012 organized by the Information Processing Society of Japan at the Miraikan museum in Tokyo.
Yoshimasa Furukawa and colleagues at IAMAS want to make the device wireless and improve its sensor so that it can work in various lighting conditions.
The lightweight and compact nature of the device make it appealing, but I think it would tire your arms when shooting dozens of shots.
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