Hybrid RotorWing design transitions from fixed to rotary wing mid-flight

Welcome to the newsletter for Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for April the 23rd, 2013. Hybrid RotorWing design transitions from fixed to rotary wing mid-flight Attempts to combine the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities of a helicopter with the high-speed flight and long range capabilities of a fixed-wing aircraft have been tackled in a number of different ways – from tiltrotor designs, such as the V-280 Valor and Project Zero, to fixed rotor aircraft that transition from vertical to horizontal flight, such as the SkyTote and Flexrotor. Australian company StopRotor Technology has taken a different approach with its Hybrid RotorWing design concept which features a main rotor that switches from fixed rotor to fixed wing in mid air. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Next-generation Very Light Car architecture takes center stage The team at Edison2 has not been idle since winning the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize with its Very Light Car (VLC) back in 2010. An electric version of the VLC was unveiled in 2011 and this month saw the new architecture that will form the basis of the company's consumer prototype unveiled at the The Henry Ford museum. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Gizmag's top picks from the Milan SaloneSatellite Recently, Gizmag was lucky enough to meet a diverse range of young designers taking part in this year's SaloneSatellite, which runs alongside the Salone Internazionale del Mobile as part of Milan Design Week. Dedicated to up-and-coming designers under the age of 35, the event is a melting pot of some of the best innovative new works from around the world. This year the event included 700 participants, showcasing their works geared to the theme "Design and Craftsmanship: Together for Industry." Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Lamborghini's Aventador LP 720-4 50° Anniversario Edition As part of Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary celebrations the company has set aside some special editions for a select few. First off came the outrageous, fire spitting Veneno. Given only three Venenos were made at US$4 million a piece, your disappointment in not acquiring one is understandable. But with the release of the Aventador LP 720-4 50° Anniversario, the company from Sant'Agata hopes to change your odds. Gizmag's Mike Hanlon was on hand to lay eyes and pixels upon the limited edition beast as revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile "Rapid Deployment Module" shelter assembles in 25 minutes, no tools required Massachusetts company Visible Good has developed a new emergency shelter design that could prove useful during a humanitarian crisis. Dubbed "Rapid Deployment Module" (RDM), the shelter is portable, reusable, and can be assembled in around 25 minutes by just two people, no tools required. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Velkess flywheel technology promises cleaner, more efficient energy storage It's no secret that the successful future of wind, solar and other renewable sources hinges on the development of cost effective energy storage systems. Silicon Valley inventor Bill Gray believes his novel approach to flywheel technology could be the answer. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Friend-Me: Nissan unveils vision for growing Chinese auto marketplace China's already huge automotive market is predicted to triple in size by the end of the decade and it's a scenario that has the world's car makers scrambling for a foothold. Nissan is among those, and its efforts to appeal to the youthful Chinese market were revealed in Shanghai this weekend in the shape of the Friend-ME concept car. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Hang on tight – Outrider USA's electric recumbent trikes can go up to 40 mph Electric bikes are becoming quite popular, although some riders might be frustrated by the fact that – in many parts of the world – they're legally limited to a top motor-only speed of 20 mph (32 km/h). Any faster and they're no longer classified as bicycles, and must be licensed accordingly. If that's not a problem for you, however, then you might be interested in Outrider USA's line of pedal-electric recumbent tricycles. Not only do they look pretty spiffy and comfy, but they can reach speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h). Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Buick cuts the cord: Riviera plug-in concept offers wireless charging The fourth global concept car developed by the Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) joint ventures, the Buick Riviera emulates the form of moving water. The concept designed for the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show is powered by a plug-in hybrid system that can be recharged wirelessly. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile World's largest OTEC power plant planned for China Lockheed Martin has been getting its feet wet in the renewable energy game for some time. In the 1970s it helped build the world's first successful floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system that generated net power, and in 2009 it was awarded a contract to develop an OTEC pilot plant in Hawaii. That project has apparently been canceled but the company has now shifted its OTEC sights westward by teaming up with Hong Kong-based Reignwood Group to co-develop a pilot plant that will be built off the coast of southern China. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Pebble watch face SDK released The makers of the Pebble smartwatch have released a "proof-of-concept" watchface SDK that allows third party developers to create custom watch faces and very basic apps. Shortly after the release there was already various watchface designs, a stopwatch app and a Tetris game (Pebblis) available for download in the Pebble forums. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Loopwheels put a spring in your cycling When you have plenty of bicycle to work with, such as is the case with a mountain bike, it's not such a big deal to design it with front and rear suspension. When the bicycle in question is a diminutive folding city bike, however, it gets a bit trickier. That's why UK industrial designer Sam Pearce has created Loopwheels. Instead of relying on a suspension fork and rear shock, it lets the bike's 20-inch wheels absorb the bumps. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Google reveals tech specs for Glass New smartphones and tablets always create a stir. But let's be honest: most of them are relatively minor updates. They don't compare with the launch of an entirely new product category. That's why there's so much buzz around Google Glass. You get the sense that it might be something entirely new that changes the game. Today we have more info about Glass, after Google released the tech specs of its upcoming smartglasses. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Spherical "Ekinoids" to house future generations in off-grid towns A self-assembled spherical house may sound like a simple idea, but the founders of the Ekinoid Project are extraordinarily ambitious. It's thought that the global population could reach 9 billion by 2050, and to house some of those 2 billion extra people, the Ekinoid Project would see pop-up off-grid towns comprised entirely of spheroid pods accommodate 10,000 people at a time in some of Earth's least hospitable places. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile World's largest optical telescope gets construction approval The world's largest optical telescope got the go ahead last Friday when the Hawaiian Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) granted a building and operating permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to be sited on a plateau of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The next-generation telescope, which uses a 30-meter (98 ft) segmented mirror promises to capture images from the near-ultraviolet to the mid-infrared wavelengths with unprecedented clarity. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Norwegian soda company sets world's largest message in a bottle adrift Sending messages in bottles has been around since at least the Ancient Greeks, but it's doubtful that anyone back then sent out a bottle quite like this. As part of a promotional campaign, Solo, a soft drink company based in Norway, recently built an 8-meter (26-foot) tall replica soda bottle outfitted with solar panels, a camera, and tracking technology and set it adrift in the ocean. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Udoo mini computer combines best of Arduino and Raspberry Pi What do you get if you cross a Raspberry Pi computer with an Arduino microcontroller? It might be an awful setup for a joke, but it's an enticing question if you're an electronics hobbyist or Internet of Things doer. Happily, thanks to Udoo, this is now a question with an answer. The mini PC combines the best of its predecessors in a compact PC-on-a-board with four times the power of a Raspberry Pi with all the functions of an Arduino Due microcontroller. The tinkerers of the internet have made short work of Udoo's Kickstarter target with 53 days remaining. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Review: Kindle Fire HD 8.9" tablet "This is the iPad with Retina Display," begins the ad. "And this is the new Kindle Fire HD with an 8.9-inch display." We then see two "stunning HD" screens, with the narrator telling us that we may not be able to tell the difference. Then he drops the bomb: " ... but your wallet can." See, the iPad starts at US$500, and this Kindle Fire starts at $270. But is it really the great deal that Amazon says it is? Let's find out, as we review Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 8.9" tablet. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile World's fastest electric car, the Detroit Electric SP:01, unveiled in Shanghai Detroit Electric clearly isn't coy when it comes to its SP:01, the world's fastest production electric car, publicly revealed for the first time at the Shanghai Auto Show today. The company made no attempt to cover up its high-performance EV ahead of its press conference, and our man on the ground didn't hesitate in wiring these pictures in to Fortress Gizmag. The SP:01 tops out at 249 km/h (155 mph) and can hit 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in a fleet 3.7 seconds. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile "Algae-powered" building opens in Germany Splitterwerk Architects and engineering firm Arup have unveiled what is thought to be the world's first building to be powered partly by algae. Officially "unveiled" at the International Building Exhibition hosted in Hamburg, the design, dubbed the BIQ, has a "bio-adaptive" facade that is claimed to be a first for using algae within its glass louvers in order to generate energy, and provide shade, to a working building. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Special promotion for Gizmag readers "Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide" This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter. For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. Read More You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. 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