Top TechTop Tech #20: Electromagnets launch jets; Tesla drives cars; drones shoot 3D
Promising products and interesting innovations
Today’s Top Tech:
• Electromagnets to launch Navy jets
• Tesla will drive your car for you
• Monumental 3D shot by drone
Electromagnets to launch Navy jets
While the US Navy now launches fighter jets from its carrier decks with a steam catapult, in the future it might instead move ’em with magnets.
The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System is now aboard the new USS Gerald R. Ford, Defense Tech reports. The smoother electromagnetic launch reduces wear-n-tear on planes — and pilots. It can also work with more types of aircraft, including drones, Engadget adds here.
There’s a demonstration video here.
Tesla will drive your car for you
While many companies now talk about offering all-new self-driving cars, Tesla is the first to say that the vehicles it’s already selling will retroactively drive themselves.
How? Wouldja believe through a mere software update this summer on the Model S?
“Autopilot combines a forward looking camera, radar, and 360 degree sonar sensors with real-time traffic updates to automatically drive Model S on the open road and in dense stop and go traffic,” the company says. “Changing lanes becomes as simple as a tap of the turn signal. When you arrive at your destination, Model S will both detect a parking spot and automatically park itself. Standard equipment safety features are constantly monitoring stop signs, traffic signals and pedestrians, as well as for unintentional lane changes. With Autopilot activated, Model S automatically follows the road, steering around curves and varying its speed to match the flow of traffic.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also predicts that someday soon humans driving cars will be outlawed. “It’s too dangerous. You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine,” Kurzweil AI reports.
What do you think — ready to turn over control of your car?
Monumental 3D shot by drone
Drones have generated the first accurate 3D model of Brazil’s “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro.
The NEXT Lab of PUC University in Rio de Janeiro contacted image processing developer Pix4D to determine if a 3D reconstruction could be achieved using both image processing technology and unmanned aerial vehicles from Aeryon Labsfor data acquisition. A total of 3,584 images were acquired during 19 ten-minute flights.
The monument tops the 700-meter Corcovado Mountain, and is itself 38 meters high. “Accurate 3D reconstruction has not been possible until today because technologies, such as LiDAR, cannot scan the complete statue due to its size, location, difficult accessibility and challenging weather conditions,’ the companies say. “All previous 3D models and replicas of the statue have been designed by hand.”
There’s a video here .
A white paper
is here.
Technology
Review has more on the story here.
