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Monday 25 April 2016

TASTY TECH EYE CANDY OF THE WEEK LXXXV



Tasty Tech Eye Candy of the Week (April 24)
By Tracy Staedter,
Discovery News, 24 April 2016.

A 3D-printed Iceman, a village made from plastic bottles and a purple tribute to Prince top off this week's gallery.

1. Snoped

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Award-winning designer Joey Ruiter has combined a snowmobile and moped to make the Snoped, a rectangular sled with a boxy LED grille. The vehicle has a 90 cc engine and a Chrysler Sno Runner track at the rear. You can watch a video of this unusual snow-masher here.

2. Crystal House

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The new facade on a boutique in Amsterdam is made of individually cast solid glass bricks. Although they may give the appearance of fragility, tests from Delft University of Technology show that the bricks can withstand a force up to 42,000 Newton, and are stronger than concrete.

3. Project M City Car

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Shell oil company is developing a tiny gas-powered car for city driving. The Project M, unveiled this week, is reported to get 89.1 mpg, while motoring at 45 mph.

4. LeSEE Self-Driving EV

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In China, people are moving off gas-powered cars and into the electric vehicle market. The LeSee, from Chinese smartphone company LeEco, is a self-driving EV taxi. During a press briefing, company CEO Jia Yueting hailed the car using his phone's voice recognition tech.

5. Continued Flight

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The solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse, is resuming its round-the-world flight after a lengthy delay. After several months of ground time in Hawaii, it took off yesterday, heading for Mountain View, California. This will be the ninth leg of its journey and require 62 hours of continuous flying.

6. Helmet Takes Your Pulse

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The new high-tech Lazer Z1 helmet from Lazer has a heart rate monitor and a built-in light for night-time activity. A clear foul-weather shell fits over the top to keep the electronics - and your head - dry.

7. Plastic Bottle Village

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In Panama on Isla Colón in Bocas Del Toro, 120 houses are being built from plastic bottles. The idea is keep plastic pollution out of landfills, reusing them in a beautiful way. The project was spearheaded by Canadian Robert Bezeau, who started a recycling program on the island in 2012.

8. Lunar Globe

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Everyone loves the Moon. In this new Kickstarter project, you can order the first topographically accurate lunar globe. The developers made use of the latest data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to craft the mold. The team has already surpassed their Kickstarter goal, but with 20 days left to go, you can still get in on the action.

9. L.A. City Hall Honours Prince

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In remembrance of the musician Prince, who died this week at the age of 57, the Los Angeles City Hall lit up its facade in purple. Other landmarks did as well, including the Zakim Bridge in Boston and Niagara Falls.

10. 3D-Printed Iceman

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For the first time, scientists used 3-D-printer technology to create an exact replica of Oetzi the Iceman. 

Top image: MOON, the first topographically accurate lunar globe. Credit: Kickstarter.

[Source: Discovery News. Edited. Some links added.]

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