This presentation by UK car dealers Evans Halshaw takes us on a ride through the history of Bond cars. Classics include the open-top Sunbeam Alpine seen in Dr. No, the submersible Esprit Series 1 in The Spy Who Loved Me, and the comically unconventional Citroen 2CV. The quintessential Aston Martin makes no less than eight appearances, including a vintage silver-birch DB5 in the upcoming Bond film, Skyfall.
Have a look at some the wonderfully minimalist illustrations of the Bond vehicles after the jump.
Being an avid movie watcher, I use the term “movie” to includes both blockbusters and those busters that are somewhat less than blocky. I am constantly waiting on new reels of escapism. Unfortunately, with the film industry going gaga (not of the Lady variety) for 3D and apeshit for reboots and remakes, the offerings are few and far between.
Even though I’m a movie fan and not a film connoisseur, it’s very hard to look forward to anything that doesn’t fit into one of the aforementioned categories. So when prawn1 asked me to make a note of five—yes, Five!—movies that I have been looking forward to seeing this year, it was difficult to list to compile. Who does he think I am? Barry Ronge? However, I have done better than the five he originally asked, and I’ve found not seven, not nine, but a whole ten movies that I would (whether willingly or grudgingly) pay the ridiculous ticket fee to see. Find out what my fantastic choices are—in no particular order—after the jump.
It turns out that quadrocopters can do much more than fly about in unison, sounding like a bunch of angry bees. Under the right direction, they can be made to perform music. The capable boffins over the University of Pennsylvania’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Lab (or GRASP for short) have managed to program a group of quadrocopters to play different musical instruments to a familiar tune.
Here is the science-y stuff:
In this demonstration, the “stage” is in a room fitted with infrared lights and cameras. The nano quads all have reflectors on their struts, which allows the camera system to plot their exact position and relay that information wirelessly to each unit.
Lab members can then assign each unit a series of waypoints in three-dimensional space that must be reached at an exact time. In this case, those times and places translate into notes on a keyboard or a strum of a guitar. Figuring out how to get from waypoint to waypoint most efficiently and without disturbing their neighbors is up to the robots.
Watch the different rotorcraft as they play the keyboard, drums, cymbals, and a modified guitar to perform a robotic rendition of the signature 007 theme. Prepare to be amazed, Mr Bond.
Because of the slight lack of originality in this game, we’ve decided to inject some originality into the review. So this review will be in the form of an epic poem. The full, poetic review after the break.
