One of my classes studies the design of industrial parts. My M.O. for this class is to select a text on a recent invention, and we simply read it aloud in class. We break down the sentence structure, go over vocabulary, and check for understanding. Then we usually have a short discussion at the end of what they think of this invention - whether it's practical, what the pros and cons are, etc. It's pretty straight forward. Here are the things we've discussed:
AirPod - A car even smaller than a Smart Car, this tiny vehicle is electric, and is operated by a joystick in place of a foot pedal. It can fit 3 adults and 1 child. Paris has apparently requested a bunch of these vehicles for its 3,000 car AutoLib fleet - Autolib is a program which I believe runs similarly to its city-wide bike rental program. Think environmentally friendly ZipCar.
Martin Jetpack - Yeah, it's a jetpack. It's hard to know what else to say, except that it runs on gasoline, can fly about 30 minutes on a full tank, reaches an altitude of 8,000 ft and a speed of 60 mph. It was developed in Australia, and apparently should be now available to consumers (even without a pilot's license) at a cost of about 100k.
eLEGS - Designed for paraplegics, this exoskeleton system allows those with mobility disorders to stand and even walk.
"This collaboration between UC Berkeley and Berkeley Bionics is a successful model of industry-university work to bring critical technologies to end users. Under medical supervision, eLEGS will initially be used in rehabilitation centers. Clinical trials will begin early 2011 with a limited release scheduled for mid-2011."
AirPod - A car even smaller than a Smart Car, this tiny vehicle is electric, and is operated by a joystick in place of a foot pedal. It can fit 3 adults and 1 child. Paris has apparently requested a bunch of these vehicles for its 3,000 car AutoLib fleet - Autolib is a program which I believe runs similarly to its city-wide bike rental program. Think environmentally friendly ZipCar.
Martin Jetpack - Yeah, it's a jetpack. It's hard to know what else to say, except that it runs on gasoline, can fly about 30 minutes on a full tank, reaches an altitude of 8,000 ft and a speed of 60 mph. It was developed in Australia, and apparently should be now available to consumers (even without a pilot's license) at a cost of about 100k.
eLEGS - Designed for paraplegics, this exoskeleton system allows those with mobility disorders to stand and even walk. "This collaboration between UC Berkeley and Berkeley Bionics is a successful model of industry-university work to bring critical technologies to end users. Under medical supervision, eLEGS will initially be used in rehabilitation centers. Clinical trials will begin early 2011 with a limited release scheduled for mid-2011."
I'd like to order both the jetpack and the exoskeleton, please !!! The car is cute also but with the exoskeleton, I don't think I'd fit into it.
ReplyDeleteSo-I had this thought. My class just skyped with a class in Phoenix because we are studying about the different states in the US. But-what if we went global? Could we Skype with you about what it's like to live in France? Is there anyway I could get hooked up with French 3rd graders, 4th or 5th graders who are learning English? It would be really enriching, but I don't know if it's possible!
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