X-Wing derby car looks like a dream to pilot

Do you drive or pilot an X-Wing? I guess with what you see above, it is a case of the former – as Instructables user The Papier Boy cobbled together this unique (and adorable) looking derby car which will also come with its very own R2-D2 droid unit at the back. It isn’t too eco-friendly though, since the spinning droid is made up of Styrofoam, but top points for the artwork.






An old NES controller was used to control the spinning of R2′s head, where a dismantled toy’s switch was rerouted through the NES controller, allowing the droid to spin for a good 15 seconds or so whenever the A or B buttons on the refurbished controller was pushed. Audio is provided from downloaded R2-D2 sound effects, where the Pinnacle movie studio software was used to ensure all of them are strung together into a 50-second MP3 file that is subsequently loaded onto an iPod and hooked up to a small portable speaker system.

Neat! This seems to look like a very interesting weekend project – are you up for it?

Morgan and Zytek work on high performance electric vehicle

 

Electric vehicles are great as they’re zero emissions vehicles, but then again there is the problem of how long the batteries are able to last, and not to mention the fact that charging points are few and far in between – even more so when you want to drive to the outskirts. Well, having said that, electric vehicles also aren’t known to be performance on the asphalt, but Morgan and Zytek intends to change that with a new high performance electric vehicle.

Tag Heuer chronograph concept costs a bomb

 

Some concepts remain just that – a concept that has not been fleshed out in the form of a prototype, but you can be sure with the latest Tag Heuer chronograph concept, things are different. After all, it is said to be so precise that a blink of the eye might cause you to miss out on its movement – considering it runs on the Mikrotimer Flying 1000′s watch movement that runs at 500Hz.

For comparison’s sake, other high-end chronos seemingly plod along at 5Hz, so you can tell just what kind of precision level that the Tag Heuer team has been working on. Hitting 3.6 million beats each hour, the concept watch that was originally meant to be a one-off device will now come in several units, but you will need to be a serious horologist if you want one – no thanks to the €65,000 ($88,580) price tag. If you want all ten, then be prepared to pay more than half a million Euros, as I suppose the price on the secondary market is going to be much, much higher.

Tron Bike, Electric Lightcycle from the Parker Brothers

Fans who fondly hold memories of the previously released TRON lightcycle motorcycles that were produced by the infamous Parker Brothers customising team, will rub their hands in absolute glee at the news that the tasty TRON range is back in town.

Strutting its stuff in a very green, eco-friendly manner, the brand new electrified TRON lightcycle is a must have for any self-respecting eco warrior. Its run by a nifty little 96 volt motor that’s electric in its origin and takes direct juice required from a cluster of lithium-ion battery packs.
Previous incarnations were all consuming oil and fuel monsters and so the electric release is sure to be an instant hit with many admirers of the TRON.

Speed doesn’t suffer either just because it draws its power from an electric base, hence speed-hungry freaks will be comforted to know that a top speed in excess of 100MPH can be achieved.
Bike use is good for around 100 miles which is covered by a single full battery charging that takes just over half an hour to do at the most, which is great if you’re pressed for time.

Space-age fashion is most definitely in too, as the Electric TRON Lightcycle will also come bursting with light around the frame and wheels which can simply be illuminated via an integrated switch mechanism.

The bike is still to be transformed into a mode of transport that can legally be used on the road and at the moment it’s only really intended for a lighter, occasional use.

Model Lamborghini Aventador, Auction Starting at 4.7 Million Dollars

 

People with lots of money to spend are known to splash hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury goods like islands, expensive homes, jewellery, fancy cars and gadgets. Economic growth in parts of the world is producing more and more millionaires. Not surprisingly, there are now newer ways to display your wealth.


A one-of-a-kind model Lamborghini Aventador created by Robert Gülpen is all set to become one such symbol. You’ve been collecting model cars since you were maybe eight years of age. So what’s the big deal, you ask.
Let’s just say that this model car will cost you a wee bit more than what you might imagine. Built painstakingly by Robert over 500 hours of effort, the price tag is $4.8 million. And yes, that’s US dollars and again, that’s million.

To put it in perspective, a real Lamborghini Aventador costs $754,600. That means that the model will cost at least six times the real thing. Now that you have caught your breath, let me explain the main reason for the price differential. The model car is encrusted with precious metals and stones, whose cost is estimated at over $2.7 million.

That still leaves Robert with close to $2 million to cover his labour and overheads. Not bad for a couple of months of work, is it?
If you’re interested, this model car is coming up for auction at Sotheby’s. The starting bid is €3.5 million (equivalent to about $4.8 million).

But remember it’s an auction. So your actual tab may be higher, given prevailing exchange rate volatility, and who else is interested.

Brain Power Game, the Mindflex Duel

Well, if you’re interested in setting up a brainy tournament or challenge with friends, colleagues and family, then the Mindflex Duel is surely going to excite the little grey cells in your quest for glory. Yes, in all its magnificence, this is Star Trek technology, here today.

The Mindflex enables its users to concentrate as hard as possible on an included ball, whilst the headset cleverly interprets brainwaves using EEG technologies to manoeuvre the ball. Sounds a bit geeky really and time will most definitely tell if the gadget ultimately lives up to its promises.

Don’t lose your mind playing this though, because you’re going to need as clear a train of thought as can possibly be mustered up when wearing the headband piece.

Focus hard and the amazing EEG on offer will enable participants to try and win the game by raising the sphere and attempting to move it to the other side of the field, into the opposition’s half.

Dropping your concentration will make the ball drop, so be sure to keep your brain entirely focused!

The kit of the Mindflex Duel comes available at a decent price of around $110, which provides two headsets pieces, four balls on offer as well as lots of other bits and pieces in the box.
Whilst the price might not break the bank your head is at risk of cracking up, so be warned!

Pit your wills against the enemy and see if you can mentally win through as battery power in the headsets and console helps you to control the ball movements.

World first GPS goggles with head mounted display

Zeal/Recon have unveiled the world's first goggles with GPS and head mounted display

A coming together of sports lens developer Zeal Optics and display innovator Recon Instruments has managed to successfully squeeze both GPS technology and head-mounted display into a set of ski goggles named Transcend. A tiny computer gathers information from a number of onboard sensors and provides location, speed, altitude and temperature information to the wearer via a micro-LCD display inside the goggles. The image from the display is then virtually projected so that it appears out in front of the user.

• 
• 
• 

In addition to being touted by Recon and Zeal as the world's first GPS-enabled skiing goggles, the Transcend eyewear also provides the wearer with live performance information and details of the surrounding environment. A head mounted micro-LCD display inside the goggles shows real-time speed, altitude, vertical odometer, distance, location and temperature as well as keeping track of the time and having a stopwatch and chronometer mode.

The optical system designed by Recon Instruments has been likened to the dashboard of a sports car and made to appear as though it hangs about six feet in front of the user. Your first thought might be that the last thing you need mid-boost are performance stats blocking out your landing, but the designers say that the "optics are completely non-obtrusive for front and peripheral vision."
Recon has produced a promo giving an overview of the kind of things on offer, which is worth a watch:
To the side of the Transcend goggles are a threesome of nice, big, glove-friendly buttons to control the kind of information shown. There's also a USB port to enable users to download trip stats to a computer or laptop and to charge the Li-ion battery, which is said to give seven hours between charges. The goggles weigh 257 grams (9 ounces) and come shipped with a protective hard case, lens cleaning bag and a charger with European and North American adapters.
Showing off an epic journey to friends is given a more impressive twist with the ability to overlay Google Maps onto stats and highlights courtesy of Recon HQ software. Any particularly impressive snippets can be uploaded to Recon's new online portal and shared with the world – or at the very least, family and friends.

There will be two Recon/Zeal Optics Transcend lens options available at limited release launch on October 10. The option with an SPPX polarized and photochromic lens – which auto adjusts to changing light conditions – carries a retail price of US$499. Said to reduce glare by 99 per cent, coming with built-in anti-fog technology and benefiting from a wide vision frame, the goggles featuring an SPX polarized lens are priced at US$399.

Mini Sushi Fridge Magnet Set

This is an interesting fridge magnet set themed by the traditional Japanese food: sushi. This set contains five mini sushi fridge magnets with different flavors like salmon sashimi, avocado and more. Each sushi magnet measures about 0.75-inch long, and is very good to show your favorite sushi and fix your notes on the fridge door.

The cute mini fridge magnet set is priced at $6 USD. If you’re interested, jump to fred flare for more details.

Game Boy Styled Zippered Pouch

Apparently not everyone needs a Game Boy styled iPad 2 smart cover, so if you like classic Game Boy, and want the design to apply on other products, the Game Boy styled zippered pouch may be more suitable for you.

This is a handmade zippered pouch that measures 6 x 4 inches, so the pouch is compatible with your various gadgets such as iPhone 4, iPod touch, Android phones, compact digital cameras, MP3 players and more. As we can see from the images, the surface of the zippered pouch features a Game Boy design, which can show your love to the classic handheld game console. The zippered pouch is constructed of natural cotton canvas, and lined with scratch free, eco-friendly gray felt for protection of your gadgets, and the nylon zipper keeps them in place, while the key ring with nylon loop allows you to attach the pouch to your backpack for quick access.

The Game Boy styled zippered pouch is priced at $27 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Etsy for more details.

Sony Reader Wi-Fi Now Available for Preorder

Sony recently released its latest eBook reader: Reader Wi-Fi. If you’re looking for a suitable eReader, let’s go on checking the latest option with WiFi connection.

Sony Reader Wi-Fi measures 6-7/8 x 4-3/8 x 3/8 inches and weights 5.9 oz. The new eReader features an ultra slim design, and comes with a 6-inch E Ink Pearl display with Clear Touch Infrared and 600 x 800 pixels resolution, so you can easily touch the clear enhanced touch screen to call up your books, swipe your finger to turn pages or zoom in and out by pinching your fingers together or apart, while the integration of Wi-Fi allows you wirelessly access to Reader Store and Google Books or browse websites such as Wikipedia and Google search. In addition, the ebook reader also comes with 1.3GB usable internal storage and a microSD card slot supporting up to 32GB storage capacity, and the built-in rechargeable battery can provide you over a month of use time or up to 14,000 continuous page turns. Apart from that, Reader Wi-Fi supports various media formats, including ePub, PDF, TXT, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3 and AAC.

Sony Reader Wi-Fi is available in three colors, including black, red and white, each one is priced at $149 USD. At present, Sony has started accepting the pre-orders of the eReader. If you’re interested, jump to Sony official site for more details.

Elecom Portable Battery Charger for iPhone

Recently we featured several nice backup battery packs for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, but if you still worry the battery pack is out of juice on the go, maybe the Elecom portable battery charger is more suitable for you.

Elecom DE-A01D-1908 is a portable battery charger that measures 81 x 35 x 36m and weights 42g. The portable charger is dedicatedly designed for iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G, so you can’t use it to charge your rechargeable batteries, but the versatile battery charger can draw the power of AA batteries and use it to charge your iPhone from 0% to 100%, so if you need to stay in the wild for several days, the portable battery charger may be more practical than a small-size backup battery. Apart from that, the battery charger also comes with on/off switch, while the LED indicator lets you know the charging status.

The Elecom portable battery charger is available in 4 colors, including black, pink, green and white, each one is priced at $49.99 USD. If you’re interested, jump to AudioCubes for more details.

Dyson Easy On External Hard Drive Designed for Laptop

In order to reduce the weight of laptop, we have to use all kinds of external hardware, also including external hard drive. But if you feel it doesn’t work great on the go, Dyson’s Easy On external hard drive may be a perfect solution.

Dyson Easy On external hard drive is a winner of 2011 James Dyson Award, and designed by designer Diacre Nicolas. As we can see from the images, the external hard drive features portable, lightweight and streamlined design. Most importantly, Easy On comes with an easy-to-use hanging system that allows you to securely attach the portable hard drive to the cover of your laptop, while the integration of WiFi means that you can easily access the data on the hard drive without any USB cable. Unfortunately, Easy On is still a design concept. We have no idea when the innovative external hard drive will become reality. After the break, check out the demo
video and rest images.

iHome iA17 App-Enhanced Color Changing Dock Speaker with Alarm Clock and FM Radio

Apparently not everyone is satisfied with a dock speaker, so if you need also alarm clock and FM radio, iHome iA17 app-enhanced color changing dock speaker may be more suitable for you.

iHome iA17 is a portable dock speaker designed for iPhone and iPod. The entire dock speaker measures 8 x 5.95 x 7.64 inches, weights 1.92 lbs, and features Reson8 speaker chamber technology with passive subwoofer in order to provide you big, bold stereo sound. In addition, the versatile dock speaker also comes with alarm clock and FM radio functions. With the help of free iHome+Sleep app, you can also customize the alarm clock, while the built-in FM radio also features 6 FM radio station memory presets. The color changing LED’s can add color and mood to your favorite songs. Apart from that, as a docking station, iA17 also allows you to charge your iPhone or iPod, and the audio input lets you connect other music players with the dock speaker.

iHome iA17 app-enhanced color changing dock speaker with alarm clock and FM radio is priced at $95.64 USD. If you’re interested, jump to iHome official site or Amazon for more details.

Action iPhone 4 Case

Like all kinds of sports such as cycling, snowboarding, skateboarding, running and etc? Then you might like to turn your iPhone 4 into an action camera with Action iPhone 4 case.

Action Case is a versatile protective case designed by Matt, a full time designer living in Costa Mesa. As we can see from the images, this is a clear hardshell case to protect the iPhone 4 from bumps and scratches. Most importantly, Active Case offers you an easy way to turn your iPhone 4 into an action camera using any GoPro mount, so you can mount your iPhone 4 to your head, helmet, bike, motorcycle, car or anything else that moves for your handsfree video recording.

At present, the designer of Action Case is raising fund on Kickstarter. Pledge $49 will let you own an iPhone 4 Action Case

JBL On Tour iTB Portable Bluetooth Speaker System

Need a wireless speaker to stream your favorite music from iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? Check out JBL On Tour iTB portable Bluetooth speaker system, maybe the circular sound station can meet your requirements.

JBL On Tour iTB is a portable, high-quality bluetooth wireless speaker system that measures 6-1/2 x 1-5/8 inches and weights 0.6kg. The portable audio system features 4 JBL Odyssey full-range neodymium transducers, plus computer-optimized equalization and optimized compression topology, in order to deliver you outstanding sound with with minimal distortion. And the speaker system also supports advanced A2DP and AVRCP bluetooth profiles.

On Tour iTB also comes with 30-pin connector and adjustable stand to hold your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, so it doubles as a versatile docking station that allows you to charge your iDevice, answer calls handsfree, make FaceTime video calling and more, while the integrated 3.5mm audio input also allows you to connect the dock speaker with other music players with 3.5mm audio jack. Apart from that, the dock speaker system is powered by 4 AA batteries or via accompanying AC adapter.

JBL On Tour iTB portable Bluetooth speaker system is priced at $149.95 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Harman Online Store

8-in-1 Multi-Tool

We have featured several nice multi-tools, but if you need a pair of pliers, the 8-in-1 multi-tool may be more suitable for you.

This is a pocket-size portable multi-tool that measures 51 x 32 x 7mm and weights 40g. The multi-tool contains 8 practical tools in total, including pliers, wire cutter, wire stripper, wire crimper, bottle opener, metal rasp, flat screwdriver and Phillips screwdriver. And all the tools are folded for portability, while the key ring allows you to attach the portable tool kit to your keychain in order that you can use it any time. Apart from that, the multi-tool comes with a nylon case.

The 8-in-1 multi-tool is priced at $6.99 USD. If you’re interested, jump to USBGeek for more details.

Quirky Cordlets Cable Organizer

The little creative product is designed by Stephen Stewart. As we can see from the images, Cordlet features a unique figure. On the top, there are two crossed slots that can hold your USB cable or other cords with the similar size, while the upper base slot allows you to warp the redundant cord onto it. Apart from that, the adhesive base lets you locate the cable manager at any position, even the back of the display.

Quirky Cordlets come in two colors, including white and charcoal. Each pack contains four Cordlets, and costs $9.99 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Quirky for full details.

World’s Only Turbine Powered Batmobile

Do you know how fast Batman‘s Batmobile goes? Check out world’s only turbine powered Batmobile, maybe you can find out the answer.

Casey Putsch, the founder of Putsch Racing spent five months on constructing the incredible Batmobile, which features the look of the original Batmobile in Batman 1989 film. And unlike other Batmobile replicas, the monster is powered by a Boeing turbine engine from a decommissioned military helicopter, therefore, no doubt, it’s the best Batmobile in real world