• Technology

    Invention Awards: Ripsaw Tank Delivers Death at 60MPH

    By Posted on 5.21.2009 21 Comments

    Today's featured Invention Award winner really requires no justification--it's an unmanned, armed tank faster than anything the US Army has. Behold, the Ripsaw. Cue up the Ripsaw’s greatest hits on YouTube, and you can watch the unmanned tank tear across muddy fields at 60 mph, jump 50 feet, and crush birch trees. But right now, as its remote driver inches it back and forth for a photo shoot, it’s like watching Babe Ruth forced to bunt with the bases loaded. The Ripsaw, lurching and belching black puffs of smoke, somehow seems restless.

    5.22.2009 at 11:55am - Comment by JamesReid

    I'd just like to point out that this is not intended to compare with the M1. It can't. It's intended for infantry support (james2). As such it doesn't need the punch of the M1, just the ability to get in and out quick. Plus it's cheaper than the other UGV. Although, it is scarily terminator-ish.

  • Technology

    Why Are Airplane Seats So Miserable, and What Can Be Done About It?

    By Eric Hagerman Posted on 4.27.2009 22 Comments

    I am not normal. Not even close, I am told. Apparently, my height, which at 6'4" has always seemed to me to be just this side of freakish, puts me in the 99th percentile of American adults. That is, statistically too tall to fly comfortably in coach.

    4.27.2009 at 12:12pm - Comment by JamesReid

    I'm also 6'4" and have found only 1 airline that actually took this into account when they assigned my seat. BMI (British Midland.) The woman at the check-in counter gave me a seat on the first row with about 4 feet of leg room. Every other airline has only ever had cramped spaces and barely enough room for me to stand.



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December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

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