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Gyroscopic Public Transit Concept Hovers Above Traffic at Varying Heights

26 Aug

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

In this strange vision of a city in the not-so-distant future, disc-shaped public transit, emergency vehicles and cargo vehicles rise up above traffic on vertical supports to zoom through the streets unimpeded, lowering to the ground at designated stops. Created by designer Dahir Insaat, ‘Gyroscopic Transport’ looks like an alternate take on China’s traffic-straddling bus (which turned out to be a giant traffic-snarling scam, by the way.) Could this new proposal be any better?

In a video announcing the concept, Insaat explains how the technology works and lays the groundwork for gyroscopic vehicles with the potential to be more successful than their predecessors. Taking inspiration from recent developments in the area of electric motor control, Insaat developed a gyro car that “meets all current safety requirements.” Noting that it’s financially and often physically impossible to significantly expand roads in existing cities, the designer suggests that we take to our “unused road medians” as a solution.

The Gyro car could fit into existing roadway infrastructure while remaining independent from the flow of regular motor vehicle traffic below. It can elevate high enough on its supports to safely pass over most vehicles, running along a special fortified strip between lanes. The car itself has a lightweight body and can either be designed with mass transit interiors to fit large groups of passengers, or as luxurious lounges. In the video, the designer also explains how the concept could extend to emergency responders like firefighters.

Of course, the concept hasn’t avoided criticism and questions as to its feasibility. What happens when a vehicle hits its support pillars at high speed, for example? These kinds of technical details don’t seem fully fleshed out yet, but it’s an interesting idea, and watching the pods navigate traffic circles is kind of mesmerizing.

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Taking Competition to New Heights: This Skyscraper Dangles from an Asteroid

30 Mar

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

dangling skyscraper 1

That tongue-in-cheek ‘world’s longest skyscraper’ design we highlighted last week seems totally reasonable compared to a new proposal taking the competition for the world’s tallest structure to absurd heights: The Analemma Tower literally dangles a skyscraper from an asteroid. An actual asteroid, orbiting the Earth. The design is firmly in sci-fi territory, with the renderings resembling matte paintings made for ‘70s and ‘80s movies set in space, but the architects offer details as to how this could actually work.

dangling skyscraper 2

Clouds architecture Office envisions a space-based supporting foundation, noting that NASA has planned a 2021 mission to capture and redirect an asteroid. Of course, NASA’s budget is up in the air right now, and who knows what’ll happen to the United States’ space-related endeavors by then. The asteroid would be located about 31,000 miles above the Earth’s surface, with the tower using what the firm calls the Universal Orbital Support System (UOSS) to hang the multi-use tower via super-strong cables.

dangling skyscraper 4

The portion of the tower that sticks up above the Earth’s atmosphere will host an extraterrestrial cemetery, with the three sections below it designated for ‘devotional activities.’ The architects say these portions of the tower wouldn’t be attractive to live in due to “extreme conditions,” though they’d benefit from an extra 45 minutes of daylight each day. The residential area is fairly small in comparison, set just above the garden and agricultural section, an area for offices and business activities, and a transfer station with dining, shopping and entertainment options.

dangling skyscraper 5

Analemma would get its power from space-based solar panels, with water filtered and recycled in a semi-closed loop system and replenished with condensation captured from clouds and rain. It could be placed in an orbit allowing it to travel between the northern and southern hemispheres on a daily loop, with its slowest trajectory occurring over New York City so people can get on and off. They go into some detail on these technicalities on their website.

dangling skyscraper 3

“Manipulating asteroids is no longer relegated to science fiction. In 2015 the European Space Agency sparked a new round of investment in asteroid mining concerns by proving with its Rosetta mission that it’s possible to rendezvous and land on a spinning comet. NASA has scheduled an asteroid retrieval mission for 2021 which aims to prove the feasability of capturing and relocating an asteroid…”

“Analemma Tower is a proposal for the world’s tallest building ever. Harnessing the power of planetary design thinking, it taps into the desire for extreme height, seclusion and constant mobility. If the recent boom in residential towers proves that sales price per square foot rises with floor elevation, then Analemma Tower will command record prices, justifying its high cost of construction.”

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Great heights: Tim Kemple’s aerial mountain photography

13 Nov

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Adventure photographer Tim Kemple has made a project of photographing some of the world’s tallest peaks from high-altitude planes and helicopters. ‘I’ve always been fascinated by the mountains. Call it a genuine obsession honestly,’ he tells Resource Travel.

Given the potential risks – and great expense – to fly near these behemoths, Kemple has been working on his passion project slowly, crossing locations off his list one by one. When he’s done, he hopes to have captured each of the seven summits and a number of his favorites photographed. We’d say he’s off to an excellent start.

Read the full interview and see more of Kemple’s photos at Resource Travel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Drone Design: 14 Autonomous Gadgets Taking Tech to New Heights

20 Sep

[ By SA Rogers in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

drone-design-millennium-falcon-2

Their efficiency in the real world is yet to be established, but if these drone concepts and fully-realized creations are any indication, some of us could be looking at losing our jobs to robots in a range of industries over the net couple decades. From emergency responders to face-recognizing cameras, many of these autonomous flying gadgets take over tasks currently completed by pilots, construction workers, delivery drivers and videographers – but sometimes, they’re just for selfies.

Mercedes-Benz Electric Vision Van with Rooftop Drones

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Designed for last-mile delivery in urban and suburban contexts, the all-electric ‘Vision Van’ by Mercedes-Benz is the first of its kind to feature built-in aerial drones that enable multiple package deliveries in a single neighborhood at the same time. This theoretically reduces the number of vehicles in any given residential area and makes the delivery process totally emissions-free. The van also features blue LED lighting on the lower body and slide-out shelving units. It certainly takes windowless vans to another level.

ROAM-e Mini Selfie Drone

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What would have been seen as undeniably dystopian in previous decades is now packaged as a selfie assistance tool. The ROAM-e drone can be programmed with facial recognition technology so it follows you around like a puppy, snapping your photo or streaming live video all the while. Admittedly, the video function could be helpful, standing in for a camera operator in all sorts of settings and going where they can’t go (unless they’re secretly superheroes). The drone can be collapsed and folded to the side of a water bottle an two hours of swappable charging keeps the drone in the air for up to 20 minutes (for longer videos, switch out the battery.)

PowerEgg Drone

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A small egg-shaped device sprouts propellers and turns into a personal camera drone at the push of a button. The PowerEgg by PowerVision is clean, simple and easy to transport, featuring a 360-degree panoramic 4K HD camera, advanced sensors for indoor navigation and real-time, long-range video transmission. You can snag one yourself for $ 1,288.

Drone Ambulance by Argodesign

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Could this Drone Ambulance concept by Argodesign save lives by enabling more flying responders to hit the ground faster than a single helicopter? It’s about the size of a compact car and can land in much smaller areas, and a single pilot can manage an entire fleet of them remotely.

Trident Underwater Drone

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Explore bodies of water without ever getting wet thanks to the Trident drone by Berkeley robotics company Openrov. No scuba gear and training is required when you send this portable machine down into the water in your place, and it can dive to a depth of 100 meters, sending live HD video to the surface via a thin buoyant tether. It can be controlled from the surface by a laptop or mobile device. The Trident is set to hit the market in November.

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Drone Design 14 Autonomous Gadgets Taking Tech To New Heights

[ By SA Rogers in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

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SkyCycle: London Concept Takes Biking to New Heights

04 Jan

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

SkyCycle London Bike Route 1

London could become much more bike-friendly with SkyCycle, an elevated route for bicycles only that runs along the existing rail network and would enable commuters to see the city in a new way. Never mind sitting in your vehicle inhaling exhaust while you’re stuck in traffic, or battling the perpetual jam of vehicles on your bike, which has proven to be a dangerous proposition. 14 cyclists died in traffic accidents in London in 2013 alone.

SkyCycle London Bike Route 4

Designed by Foster + Partners in collaboration with Exterior Architecture and Space Syntax, SkyCycle is a 136-mile route with over 200 entrance points that can accommodate 12,000 cyclists per hour. The fact that the route follows the train system is actually ideal, since the railway lines were built for steam trains and follow contours that avoid steep ups and downs.

SkyCycle London Bike Route 3

The route could speed up treks across the city by up to half an hour by avoiding traffic and taking more direct lines from one busy area to another. If approved, the routes could be in place within 20 years or so.

SkyCycle London Bike Route 2

The High Line in New York City, an elevated pedestrian route built along disused railroad tracks, is a great example of what can happen when a project like this is integrated into a busy city. Not only is the High Line a popular route for foot traffic, it also helped revitalize large swaths of industrial land that wasn’t living up to its potential.

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Floors So Vain: The World’s Ten Tallest Vanity Heights

29 Sep

[ By Steve in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

CTBUH Vanity Height Top 10
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH for short) has coined the term “vanity height” to describe the empty, unoccupied space atop the world’s tallest towers. Here are the top ten wasteful Supertalls from the top down.

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE: 244m/800.5ft of Vanity

CTBUH Burj Khalifa Dubai (image via: 4ever.eu)

The CTBUH has been using the term “supertall” to describe skyscraping buildings at least 300m (984.25ft) in height and has recently added the term “megatall” for buildings over 600m (1,968.5ft) high. All of the buildings on our list are at least 309m (1,013.75ft) tall but Dubai’s 828m (2,719ft) tall Burj Khalifa truly belongs in a class of its own.

CTBUH Burj Khalifa Dubai (images via: Business Insider and Izismile)

The Burj Khalifa’s staggering height is a bit misleading, however, if one takes the CTBUH Vanity Height factor into account. Fully 29% of the structure is non-occupiable – that works out to 244m (800.5ft), higher than a host of notable skyscrapers that DO offer renters and owners a significant amount of useable commercial and residential space.

Zifeng Tower, Nanjing, China: 133m (436.5ft) of Vanity

CTBUH Zifeng Tower Nanjing (image via: Skyscraper City)

The 450m (1,480ft) tall Zifeng Tower boasts 89 stories and was completed in 2010. Looking out the window on an 89th-floor suite won’t get you the view you expect, however, as the top 30% of the building is non-occupiable. Formerly known as the Nanjing Greenland Financial Center, the building was designed by a team led by Adrian Smith of Gordon Gill Architecture.

CTBUH Zinfeng Tower Greenland Nanjing (images via: Forbes and Jeffchenbiao)

The Zifeng Tower still offers tenants and visitors 317m (1,040ft) of practical and accessible space, with the upper floors providing a spectacular view of downtown Nanjing from any direction. Restaurants, a hotel and a public observatory are stacked atop a mix of retail and office space in the Zifeng Tower’s lower section. Amusingly, the building’s official website header reads “GREEDLAND PLAZA/ZIFENG TOWER”… we realize this is a commercial endeavor but could the owners be a little less obvious?

Bank of America Tower, New York, USA: 131m (429.8ft) of Vanity

CTBUH_ Bank of America Tower New York (image via: Panoramio/Ken Fries)

Too big to fail? Not according to CTBUH who note the 366m (1,200.8ft) tall Bank of America Tower in midtown Manhattan offers a mere 235m (771ft) of occupiable height to its tenants. That works out to a whopping 36% measurement of non-occupiable height. Not the ideal return on investment for the billion-dollar project, one might say.

CTBUH Bank of America Tower New York (images via: Horizon Solutions Site and Curbed)

On the bright side, COOKFOX Architects designed the Bank of America Tower to be one of the world’s most efficient and ecologically friendly buildings. Admirable indeed but the building, completed in 2009, needs asterisks added to its claims to be the third tallest building in New York City (after One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building) and the fifth tallest building in the United States… and you can bank on that.

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[ By Steve in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

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Take Your Creativity to New Heights with Self-Portrait Photography

29 Jul

Self-portrait photography, since the beginnings of the industry, has always been popular among photographers. I mean what is there not to love? Finally you get to work with a model that does exactly what you ask of them! Aside from the ego obvious elements, It’s also great for learning how to get to grips with a new camera, practicing newly Continue Reading

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7 Easy Steps To Take Your Photography Career To New Heights

12 Apr

We all know that being a successful professional photographer requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck. The advice I hear most often is don’t bother trying, do it as a hobby. But for some of us, taking photos is something we have to do because there’s nothing else we’d rather be doing. So we Continue Reading

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Posts Tagged ‘Heights’

Gyroscopic Public Transit Concept Hovers Above Traffic at Varying Heights

Taking Competition to New Heights: This Skyscraper Dangles from an Asteroid

Great heights: Tim Kemple’s aerial mountain photography