Technabob » complex

Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid Racecar: Most Complex Steering Wheel Ever?

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:55:00 +0000

If you are a fan of sports cars and the Porsche brand you might recall that awesome 911 GT3 hybrid racing car that I talked about a while back the car looks fantastic on the outside, and if you thought all the racing tech inside the vehicle sounded complex, take a peak at the beast’s steering wheel. That has more buttons on it than the Logitech racing wheel I use for Gran Turismo 5.

It appears that the wheel is covered in Alcantra, which is a fantastic material for grip. It has a carbon fiber housing in the center that has a ton of buttons and other stuff on it. The LEDs you see above and below that, display would probably be the shift light. The LCD has all sorts of things on it, including a big indicator for the gear the car is in.

The wheel is festooned with all sorts of buttons and knobs. I see buttons for radio, headlights, alarm, and wipers. Those knobs I presume are for changing things like engine programming and perhaps brakes. The coolest button though is the boost button that shoots the car forward on hybrid boost when the driver needs to pass. I would hit those buttons all the time by accident.

[via Wired]

Conjoined Rubik’s Cubes Make My Head Spin

Technabob — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:07:24 +0000

Puzzlemasters – if you’ve already figured out how to solve Rubik’s cube in under 9 seconds flat, you’re probably in need of a new challenge. Well here something that should keep you busy for at least 30 seconds. These insane Rubik’s cube derivations combine the power of multiple cubes to provide a really dastardly puzzle challenge.

Shown above is the mother of all puzzles, a conjoined sextuplet of cubes to keep you on your toes. But if you’re more of a puzzle amateur like me, I think the triple should provide ample challenge.

After you finish that, you can graduate on to the quadruplet version.

And then the quintuplet. It’s all a bit like Mr. and Mrs. Rubik took too many fertility drugs.

If you’re ready to have your mind bent, you can find all four versions of these conjoined Rubik’s cubes over at DealExtreme.

[via Gear Diary]

Cosmically Cool Lamp Built With 3d Laser Printing

The Scholar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:38:52 +0000

Look at this beautiful Quin lamp from California artist Bathsheba Grossman. Notice anything special about it, D & D fans? It’s Bathsheba’s exploration on the dodecahedron. It’s so much more than a twelve-sided die though.

The intricate perforations and curvy undulations are not only are a shining example of the seamless blending of technology and art, but also serve to create quite a spectacular display of light. Bathsheba is intrigued by the space between art and mathematics, and finds naturally recurring beauty in geometry as well as the new shapes that she creates.

Bathsheba enjoys working with technology and in this case has collaborated with Materialise’s MGX to create this design using their Selective Layer Sintering (SLS) rapid prototyping technology. She frequently works in 3D printing and has also mastered a technique called subsurface laser damage in the creation of her intricate etched crystal sculptures.

Find the Quin lamp at Generate, and explore more sculpture with a highly scientific point of view on Bathsheba’s website.