The
military is working to develop a Star Wars-style "hoverbike" that uses a
motorcycle engine and small rotors to soar up to 9,000 feet high.
A
British startup firm and a U.S. defense contractor are working with the
Army Research Laboratory in Maryland to test a prototype aircraft that
could transform the way U.S. troops operate in difficult terrain. The
aircraft could be available for procurement within three to five years, a
company official said.
The aircraft is designed to carry a single
pilot and fly at a range and altitude similar to a traditional small
helicopter. But it's small size and potential maneuverability mean it
could operate in far tighter spaces than a larger rotor-wing aircraft.
(From AP)
The U.S. State Department will abandon decades of tradition this fall
at the annual U.N. General Assembly by setting up shop in a hotel other
than New York’s Waldorf-Astoria, which was purchased last year by a
Chinese company.
Officials said Wednesday the department would base its U.N.
operations at the New York Palace Hotel instead of the famed Waldorf.
The officials did not give a reason for the switch, which will affect
hundreds of American diplomats and support staff who travel to New York
for the General Assembly each September and usually stay and hold
meetings on two secured floors at the Waldorf.
French fashion house Givenchy is reliving childhood pastimes with its fall/winter 2015 advertising campaign.
In a 30-second video released online prior to any campaign stills,
models have taken over a mansion, playing arcade games and basketball in
tailored attire. This unconventional scene will likely make consumers
pause and create a sense of nostalgia for their own younger years. Playing games
Givenchy shared its campaign film on social media, directing consumers
to its Web site to view the full campaign, which will be revealed soon.
The campaign, directed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and styled by
fashion editor Carine Roitfeld, was conceived by brand creative director
Riccardo Tisci.
In the film, models are first seen in almost slow motion, each alone
in a part of an expansive, dimly lit house. They ride bikes across
carpets, bounce basketballs off wooden tables or jump rope next to plush
armchairs.
As the video develops, the editing cuts to the individual scenes more rapidly as the music picks up, building up energy.
The project will be the largest floating structure ever deployed in the ocean
If
the pilot project is a success, Slat plans to launch a bigger system to
tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (Photo: The Ocean Cleanup)
Boyan Slat is a visionary with a dream of cleaning up the plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
But unlike most 20-somethings who may lament the world's environmental
degradation, Slat has actually been hard at work on a solution for the
last three years. And next year, his vision will become a reality. The
Ocean Cleanup Project is slated to launch early next year. If it works,
it may alter the fate of our world's oceans and all of the plants and
animals that depend on it.