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Hitch Hiker balanced-motion tripod head boasts smooth, uniform rotations

15 Dec

A new Kickstarter project is seeking funding for Hitch Hiker, a tripod head said to offer smooth and precise uniform rotations thanks to its ‘balanced-motion’ design. Unlike conventional tripod heads, Hitch Hiker is said to be capable of simultaneous vertical and horizontal motions without the need for clamping or locking to hold a specific position.

Hitch Hiker is made from CNC-machined aircraft-grade metal with an anodized finish and preloaded roller bearings. Levers are used to ‘fine-tune’ the way movements on each axis feel, while motion is accomplished via a knurled-grip guide handle. The tripod head has an overall weight of 2.5lbs / 1.1kg and can handle cameras or other items (including a smartphone or GPS unit) weighing up to 7lbs / 3.2kg. The model attaches to a tripod via a 3/8-16 screw.

The team behind the Hitch Hiker is seeking funding for production on Kickstarter, where a single unit in a clear/black finish is promised in exchange for a $ 499 or greater pledge, and a model in all-black finish for pledges of $ 529 or more.

Via: Kickstarter

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Exocomet Express: How to Hitch Intersellar Rides on Comets

04 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

comet runner space concept

Gravitationally unbound to any star, resource-rich extrasolar comets could be the key to manned space flight beyond our solar system, providing a way for resourceful astronauts to hitch rides, mine supplies and ultimately travel far beyond the heliosphere.

exocomet material resource harvesting

Inspired by the Rosetta mission and drawing on images from the NASA, Caltech and the European Space Agency, this Comet Runner concept explores the idea of tethering expeditions to comets and using their materials to support long-distance journeys. The idea also dovetails with research by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory into the possibilities of leveraging comet momentum to propel or potentially slow down spacecrafts.

exocomet exploration mining architecture

Indeed, “many contain compounds such as water, methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide — which can be converted to things useful for a long distance space mission, such as fuel, oxygen, plastics, refrigerant and fertilizer.”

exocomet astronaut image

The proposed system from Clouds AO, a New York City architecture firm, involves a modular space station carrying with it the means to sort, process, store and build from raw materials mined from a given comet, 3D-printing from surface dust and inducing artificial gravity by augmenting the object’s natural axial rotation.

exocomet tethered architectural idea

Just like a reluctant space vehicle (or Sandworm from Dune), inertia could be fought and adjustments could be made to the trajectory, providing the means for directional control or at least minor course corrections.

exocomet modular space station

Comets would be screened for suitability in terms of composition and stability before being boarded, as it were. Billions of comets are hypothesized to exist in the Oort cloud surrounding our solar system are estimated to be miles in diameter, “some of which are nudged into long-period orbits through the inner solar system, while many others are ejected from our solar system through gravitational scattering caused by passing stars and the galactic tide.”

comet runner orbital paths

Of course, this is just a thought experiment and design concept for now, but the constituent elements are there: comets abound, rich in materials and tracing all kinds of paths through and beyond our solar system – the question is not whether but when we might be able to harness them to suit our ends, or perhaps whether we will find better means in the meantime.