Tag Archive for Swiss

New Zealand’s W2 presents Romotow – the fold-out Swiss Army Caravan

Photo: The Romotow, folded up and ready for transport. SOURCE GizMag

For all you Preppers out there. Here’s the answer for a sweet way to move from that crowded coastline city to your hideout in the mountains in style. . . EDITOR

from GizMag

By 

December 18, 2012

New Zealand architectural and interior design firm W2 has never designed a caravan before – and it shows. The Romotow fold-out luxury caravan is unlike anything we’ve come across before.

And that’s a deliberate distinction – W2 Director Stuart Winterbourn told Gizmag he’s never found caravans all that interesting: “To a lot of people, they’re not desirable … including us. Generally, you’re using it in summer, and it’s stinking hot, and you don’t really want to be inside a caravan. And if you don’t want to be inside, you’ve got maybe some sort of screen you can pull out, and a rickety chair and table … it’s not that nice. . . . Read Complete Report w/ slide show

 

Robotic Equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife: Reconfigurable Robot a Step Toward Something That Can Become Almost Anything,

Photo: A four-segment milli-motein chain with a one-centimeter module size. (Credit: MIT Center for Bits and Atoms) SOURCE Science Daily.

from Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2012) — The device doesn’t look like much: a caterpillar-sized assembly of metal rings and strips resembling something you might find buried in a home-workshop drawer. But the technology behind it, and the long-range possibilities it represents, are quite remarkable.

The little device is called a milli-motein — a name melding its millimeter-sized components and a motorized design inspired by proteins, which naturally fold themselves into incredibly complex shapes. This minuscule robot may be a harbinger of future devices that could fold themselves up into almost any shape imaginable. . . . Read Complete Report