To fold an origami boat, you need only one piece of origami paper. Watch this instructional video to complete the task within minutes. While this paper boat may not be very seaworthy, it's a simple and fun project with satisfying results.
Google quickly learned over five years ago electric vehicles (EVs) were the powertrain of choice for its then fledging driverless car program and the industry has since followed its lead. Now, every major carmaker has an EV program of some kind, while all-electric powertrains ...more
Running diagnostics on your Android phone can be a very tedious process. More often than not, you need to key in dialer codes to see if your device's hardware is functioning properly, though you can also download apps — but these are often hard to understand for a layperson. W ...more
Video: . Project Overview Have any old school floppy drives lying around? Get hacking... and transform them into an electronic orchestra! This project uses a myRIO embedded controller and four floppy disk drives. The myRIO effectively plays the disk drives like musical instru ...more
Amateur Chinese inventor, Tao Xiangli, has built his own homemade submarine. Drawing inspiration from the James Bond and Terminator movies, Xiangli's tinkering is quite impressive, considering his education came to a halt at the fifth grade. In The Guardian's video piece on t ...more
I don't like paying for repairs, and I don't like purchasing extended warranties. When one of my gadgets break, I perform emergency surgery and try and fix it myself. It doesn't always go well, but I've managed to resuscitate a few iPhones, an HDTV, an Android tablet, multiple ...more
Thanks to its open-source platform and easy-to-use hardware and software, there's literally thousands of Arduino projects detailed online for anyone to make—a magic mirror, DIY polygraph machine, and hotel-hacking dry erase marker just being a few examples. Hell, you can even ...more
A Norwegian carrier's launch of a pilotless container ship next year could lead the way to a new era in sea transportation and shipping if successful. Norway-based Yara International ASA, a self-touted "Tesla of the seas," claims the eletric-powered vessel will be the world's ...more
The new Leaf with Nissan's ProPilot driverless feature could launch as soon as this year, following a teaser image and video the Japanese carmaker released of its flagship EV yesterday. A company source told Driverless that ProPilot could become available in the new Leaf befo ...more
An expert in the driverless market has earmarked Porsche as the company to watch in the automated car race. Grayson Brulte, the co-founder of Autonomous Tomorrow, told Driverless that the luxury car company were the underdogs in a highly competitive and specialized field. On ...more
Self-driving vehicles may be the apex of safe driving, taking human error out of the equation. Until then, augmented reality can help reduce accidents by improving driver awareness. This week, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation introduced its EMIRAI 4 concept car, which uses aug ...more
Sherif Marakby has returned to Ford as the VP of AVs & Electrification after a brief stint with Uber. Marakby's VP title will be effective June 12. The news of Uber departure was announced in April. He worked with Ford Motor Co. for 25 years before leaving to become Uber's Vi ...more
Bonafide How-It's-Done (not exactly a HowTo) on remote-controlling your car via iPhone and Power Wheels. Brought to you by some crazy Texans, over at Waterloo Labs. Says Hack A Day, "Brake and gas pedals are actuated using a wrench connected to a motor bolted to the floorboa ...more
It has happened to everyone at one time or another, but if you work in an environment with cars, it may happen much more often. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do is to call a customer to see if they have a spare key because I've locked the keys in the ca ...more
Those going on crazy off-road adventures, taking their inspiration from various SUV commercials, are likely to encounter many unexpected, all-terrain dangers. Automaker Mitsubishi is ready to put those dangers in the foreground with augmented reality warnings on a heads-up-di ...more
Nissan has confirmed reports that the Nissan Leaf's Propilot option will go on sale in the US in September, but when it does, don't expect it to compete against the Tesla Model 3's driverless features. Ahead of the Propilot's launch in the US, details revealed about Nissan's ...more
The Chinese government's tight restrictions on gathering data by foreign firms for 3D mapping, the lifeblood of machine-taught driverless systems, could at least slow down access to the market by Waymo, Tesla, General Motors (GM), Ford, and other players hoping to make inroads ...more
A Norwegian shipping company says it will launch an unmanned container ship within four years, as the shipping industry begins to apply driverless technology to commercial sea transportation. Norway-based Yara International ASA claims the vessel will be the world's first auto ...more
Disney is gearing up fully autonomous vehicles that will shuttle you and your family from the parking lot to the amusement park, stress-free. Well, as stress-free as you can get while introducing grandma to the concept of a car with no driver. No, grandma, Satan is not "steeri ...more
Everyone hates to feel like they've been taken advantage of, especially when buying a used vehicle. The thought comes across every car buyer's mind... "Did I just get taken by that smooth-talking salesman?" When it comes to cars, how do you know if you're really getting a good ...more
The war on dehydration is a commercially burgeoning marketplace. An increasingly sophisticated consumer population hoping to conquer everything from 26-mile marathons to vodka shots is deconstructing every functional remedy in the fight to quell the effects of severe dehydrati ...more
Google's Tilt Brush has proven to be one of the most compelling VR experiences for the HTC Vive, letting you paint with crazy materials like electricity and duct tape. It is clearly an experiment in bringing the joy of imagination to life—or creating some form of virtual LSD—a ...more
"Ahoy-hoy." If telephone titan Alexander Graham Bell had his way, we'd all be answering phones like Mr. Burns. Thankfully, frienemy Thomas Edison had enough sense to realize we weren't always on the briny. He preferred "hello" as our standard telephone greeting, which he is c ...more
At one point in the '90s, about fifty percent of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo. About fifty percent of the CDs in my home still have that AOL promise of 500 free hours on them. Though they never got me to join their internet service, I did get a lifetime supply of ...more
Direct current (DC) by definition flows in one direction. Alternating current (AC), on the other hand, periodically changes direction, or reverses polarity. It is indeed possible for a portion of a circuit that is normally DC to periodically change direction, or reverse polari ...more
A group of industrious, like-minded friends built this amazing DIY metal motor home from scratch, converting an old semi into luxury-style living. The Japanese-style RV is equipped with a hydraulic lift system which converts the seemingly one-story truck into a Zen two-story ...more
General Motors Co. (GM) is set to expand their fleet of driverless cars in San Francisco, Detroit, and Scottsdale, according to documents filed by the company. IEEE Spectrum reports that the expansion process could commence as early as next month, as evidenced by the document ...more
In the past, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) commonly led to dementia as the virus made its way to the brain. Even in effectively treated people, HIV can hide out and replicate in places like the brain, where it's tough to detect. That's why it's very concern ...more
Ask anyone that works on the development of driverless vehicle technology and there is a very good chance that AutonomouStuff will have supplied something to their project. Ottomatika, Cruise Automation, and Otto are all companies that specialize in self-driving technology, a ...more
When the power goes out, having the ability to contact others becomes extremely important, and your cell phone can be one of the most important tools to have. But if the power is out for an extended period of time, battery life becomes a constant problem. Without the ability ...more
The recent release of the Looking Glass Portrait has gotten the public excited about personal displays that simulate 3D visuals, but in the public display marketing space, this is an area that has already received a lot of attention. In the latest example, we have Nissan UK, ...more
Your childhood "social networking" may have been to go outdoors to the neighbor's — and outdoors is a great place for kids to be. But these days, the terms educational, digital media, entertainment, and toddlers don't have to be mutually exclusive. Like most things in life, it ...more
Data for mapping and other applications is the lifeblood of machine-driven cars, and so far, Tesla has taken a definitive lead in information it has gathered ahead of other driverless players, including Waymo. But Tesla's position could be short-lived, if the world's largest ...more
In the music world, it's safe to say electric instruments are more versatile, but they lack the portability of their acoustic counterparts. However, with the aid of your smartphone plus an audio interface, you can play your electric instrument anywhere — with all the pedal eff ...more
Not only has there been difficulty finding consensus on a name for driverless, autonomous, self-driving, or automated vehicles, there is also the issue of what we actually mean when we say a vehicle is self-driving, automated, and so on. Do we mean that the vehicle can drive ...more
Salad isn't very exciting—and neither is salad dressing. You're either eating rabbit fodder drenched in a too-sour vinaigrette or too-heavy, leaf-wilting dressing like Thousand Island or French. Don't Miss: Make Soggy, Wilted Greens Edible Again However, thanks to the exper ...more
The balanced and refreshing taste of a cocktail should always entice you into another sip. You'll know you're drinking something of quality when no specific ingredient, including booze, dominates its taste. A great cocktail can even mirror a great meal by exhibiting flavors li ...more
Back in 2007, YouTube user HouseholdHacker posted a parody video on how to make a high-def speaker for under a buck. MythBusters took on the challenge and busted it. Although that particular method doesn't seem to work, that doesn't mean you can't make your own speaker for le ...more
Follow me To Get New Tutorials Everyday! Want a Built-In Power Line to your own Village or City? Well you came to the right place! Building a Power Line is a simple process. All you need is: Some blocks to build a power line A house for your lights A Lever for the light swit ...more
Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto's medium of choice is none other than your simple household table salt, fragile and completely ephemeral. Yamamoto creates beautiful installations with the medium, salt being a strong symbol in Japanese death culture (as well as several other cul ...more
Black Mirror, Netflix's technology-horror anthology, never fails to provide thought-provoking entertainment centered around emerging and futuristic technologies, and the third season's second episode, "Playtest," delves deep into the worlds of mixed, augmented, and virtual rea ...more
Once upon a time in America, there was coffee and there was decaf. That's it. No capuccinos. No espressos. And certainly no Starbucks. Coffee was just coffee, something that you bought at a gas station or donut shop. If you made it at home, it was either in a metal pot or inst ...more
Say whatever you want, but Steampunk is primarily a maker culture. Consider that Steampunk has existed since the 1960s and yet more or less languished in obscurity until approximately 2005, which is when it made the leap to costuming. That costuming was what provided the leap ...more
Your best chance of getting to a destination on time during rush hour is to drive through relatively empty HOV lanes. Thankfully, if you're using Waze to navigate through traffic, you can easily locate HOV or HOT routes to optimize travel times by adding your toll passes in th ...more
In June at the eMerge Americas investors conference, Magic Leap founder (and NR50 member) Rony Abovitz proclaimed that the launch of their flagship product was "not far away." Nearly three months later, an eternity in the tech world, and we have not heard an official launch d ...more
Remember back in 2011–2012 when "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men was the bumping new single being played everywhere? Well, thanks to this robot created from a LEGO Mindstorm EV3 kit, and an acoustic guitar, you get to get the iconic "hey!" stuck in your head for the rest ...more
Sometimes, ceiling fans just don't cut it. They spin meekly, barely generating any air flow to cool down your sweltering room. Or, when turned up high, they can wobble wildly, shaking and vibrating as if the ceiling is about to come crashing down. If this sounds like your ceil ...more
First off, let me say this—using real steam power is dangerous, and heavy, and just generally not worth it when you have modern alternatives. Except, you know, if you're a Steampunk. Or this guy: Video: . The guy in the above video makes some awesome gadgets, which are unfortu ...more
With the microwave oven transformer (M.O.T.) salvaged in a previous project, a simple electrical circuit can be rigged to get high voltage arcs to fly outward and upward along a "V" shaped spark gap. You can look, but don't touch! These arcs of plasma are lethal enough to kil ...more
Control is important. Mankind inherently wants to control its environment, which is why we have things like indoor plumbing, electric lights, air conditioning, and more. Likewise, Minecraft has redstone, which is a way for users to control their environment and manipulate it t ...more
Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's ...more
The gig economy is thriving, and if you aren't already making money with your phone, you could be missing out on easy residual income. Some people just want extra cash, and some even manage to completely ditch the 9–5, enabling them to work at their own pace and set their own ...more
With Touch ID enabled, your iPhone needs to scan your fingerprint before you can access your home screen or last app used. Before it unlocks, your iPhone might request that you press the Home button, adding an unnecessary step between you and your data. However, you can turn t ...more
Video: . Being one of the most popular DIY/maker projects around, Musical Floppy Drives are nothing new. However, myFloppyDriveOrchestra includes a few unique features, which separate it from the crowd. FPGA - by implementing the drive control on an FPGA, I have effectively c ...more
Avocado is great in guacamole or as slices on a sandwich, but there's so much more you can do with this wonderful fruit (call it a vegetable, that's fine—but it's technically a fruit). While I could eat guac every single day, these are some of my favorite recipes to spice up a ...more
Every bObi robotic vacuum works best with a clean dustbin and brushes. Luckily all of bObi's parts are easy to remove and wash, so you can do so whenever you notice large amounts of debris collected. The following instructions lay out all the steps for regular maintenance of ...more
We've already shown you how to dunk a regular-sized Oreo cookie while keeping your fingers pristine, how to upgrade Oreos into different desserts, and even make them into lazy ice cream sandwiches. Now we're going to introduce you to a few other essential Oreo hacks that will ...more
The dryer’s idler pulley provides tension to the dryer’s drum belt so the belt won’t slip when the drum is turning. It can become faulty over time due to increased friction. If your dryer is making a squeaking or squealing nose then the idler is probably faulty. Replacing this ...more
One of the best things about Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is how realistic he makes the caped crusader feel. Unlike the Joel Schumacher or even the Tim Burton versions, Nolan's world seems grounded in some level of scientific fact. But just how close is science to actual ...more
There is something special about a secret knock. It gets you into secret super villain meetings and is a surefire way to test for rotating bookcase passages. Secret knocks usually work with an intimidating drug lord and for policeman listening at the door for the correct patte ...more