Admit it—at some point or another, you've wished that you had your own personal hovercraft. Don't worry, we've all been there. Well, a company called Aerofex wants to make a hovercraft that's way more than your standard leaf-blower-powered one, taking a queue from the swoop and speeder bikes from the Star Wars franchise, building their own sort of repulsorlift. This hover bike may not be quite as fast as the ones from Star Wars, but if the company has its way, it could be on sale by the end o...
A tachometer, or RPM counter, is a device that measures the speed of something that's rotating. In a car with a manual transmission, the tachometer can be helpful in determining when to release the clutch and how much gas to give when you're taking off. This DIY Arduino Tachometer by Chris on PyroElectro uses an infrared transmitter and receiver break-beam pair to measure the RPM of a computer fan. When the fan blade passes between the transmitter and receiver, the IR beam counts the interrup...
A spectrometer is a device that splits light into all of the different colors it's composed of that can't be seen with the naked eye. It does this by using a prism to refract or bend the light. Jeffrey Warren over at Public Labs created a tutorial showing how you can make your own video spectrometer and create spectra like the one pictured below. Any guesses as to what the subject is? Believe it or not, that's what whipped cream looks like when viewed through a spectrometer. You can do this w...
Dippin' Dots are a fun way to enjoy ice cream, but the price tag is not so fun. Plus, the company filed for bankruptcy last year, so they may not be around much longer. The good news is that you don't need them—you can make your own at home with some ice cream and liquid nitrogen. Redditor hypoid77 posted instructions on how to make your own DIY Dippin' Dots Maker out of a Styrofoam cooler, a couple two-liter bottles, a thumbtack, and some liquid nitrogen. Use the thumbtack to poke a 3-inch p...
It's been proven over and over that you can make batteries out of fruits and vegetables such as lemons, potatoes, and even apples. Turns out, passion fruit is also acidic enough to power a battery, but Maui Makers member Ryan K decided to take it a step further by adding a laser. Passion fruit, or Lilikoi as it's called in Hawaii, is usually over-abundant in Maui, so Ryan decided to put it to good use. Using anodized bolts, copper pipe, wire, switches, and some LEDs, he built a battery that c...
Hate answering the door, but don't trust your friends with a set of keys? This RFID front door lock made by Steve Pomeroy will solve all your party-hosting problems. It reads the RFID tags in his friends' public transit cards and decides who's allowed in based on "groups" that Steve defines. And I have to say, it's also rather stylish. It's controlled by an Arduino serial console and a custom Android app to add and remove cards. The reader can store 50 or 100 tags at a time and allows 7 diffe...
Motorola launched a new webpage on Friday that tells Android users how to unlock the bootloaders on a limited number of new Motorola smartphones and tablets. This new 'Unlock My Device' page helps demystify the process and make it easier for users to customize their phones.
If you use apps on your smartphone, chances are you have no idea what those apps are doing with your information. Just this year, there have been several scandals involving apps transmitting user data, like Path uploading users' entire address books onto its servers, HTC's Security Flaw, and Brewster exposing users' personal information (even Ashton Kutcher's). A new service called Mobilescope wants to make sure you always know where—and to whom—your data is going. Lots of apps copy your cont...
As if the world needed one more reason to be obsessed with Shark Week, Volkswagen has teamed up with Discovery Channel to create this awesome "underwater car" that's actually a mobile shark cage.
Do you listen to a lot of music on your smartphone or MP3 player? Ever wished the built-in speaker was louder? You're in luck, because this simple amplifier can increase your volume by 14 decibels and make your device look totally steampunk while you're at it. What You'll Need
Many Minecrafters think that Minecart Traveling with many rails is the fastest (most efficient) way of travel. They are wrong. There is one other way of traveling with carts on rails, Forward, Backward, and Upward. And it can take you places up to 6X Faster than the traditional Minecart Design, and, its just as simple to make.
Hello! This post will be about the special care your dwarf rabbit needs during hot weather. There are many ways to keep your pet happy. Step 1: Choose the Environment
Yes! soon I will be able to log in more as I untie the shackles this map has placed on me in the time leading up to its eventual release and log in once in a while!
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A man walks into a bicycle shop, hears about a canoe made of cardboard and is inspired to make an awesome, fully-functional cardboard bicycle. Sound far-fetched? Wait until you hear how his guy actually did it. Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Gafni says that the idea for his method came from Japanese origami. Folding the cardboard increases its strength by 2-3 times, making the material much more durable. Essentially, he made the basic shape for each part w...
You probably already know that your digital pictures have quite a bit of information embedded in them. What you might not know is just how much personal information is included in that metadata, including your camera information, and in some cases, even the precise GPS coordinates of where you took the picture.
While it's easy to make fun of water with "electrolytes," there's actually some science behind it. Despite the name, electrolyte-enhanced water isn't all that high-tech, it mostly means that it's been infused with vitamins and minerals such as potassium and sodium, which are very helpful in preventing dehydration. Unfortunately, electrolyte water isn't especially cheap, and compared to the tap, it's downright expensive. Luckily, there's a few recipes out there that can help you mix your own e...
Many people start their day with a fresh, hot cup of coffee. They purchase their coffee with care and enjoy it greatly. But what do you do with those grounds once you’ve drunk your coffee? Here are some uses for those used coffee grounds! Note: It's always easiest to handle coffee grounds when they're cool, so wait a couple of hours after you've switched off the coffee pot to try any of these!
Remember summer camp? Remember the smell of the log cabins? The feel of the treated wood? Well, you can create something for your home that's perfect for a nostalgic summer camp aesthetic. Meg Allen Cole (recently of Threadbanger) was inspired to make this mid-century modern wall hanging piece made from a small wooden log (or branch) when she was at a relaxing, wooded vacation spot in Maine. And she shows you how to make one, too!
If you're not an everyday woodworker, then building a deck may be a challenge for you. But it's not as hard as it might seem. If you follow all of the required steps for deck building, you'll have one of the best ones on the block, and be pretty darn proud of it, too!
It's nice to have the family together for Thanksgiving dinner, but having so many people together can make it tricky to figure out what you can do after dinner. Here are a few good ideas you can use for family friendly activities.
Hurdlers are some of the least appreciated, most athletic people in the world. Hurdling does amazing things to the human body. If you're new to track and have been thinking of trying hurdles, watch this video for a general idea of how to run and jump the hurdles and ways you can practice.
Have you zoomed way in to read a poorly-made webpage in the browser on your Mac and left yourself with no idea how to return the page to normal size? This video will tell you that all you need to do is hit Apple-0 and you're set.
Redecorating your home can seem like an overwhelming task but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need a professional as long as take into consideration the key elements such as your budget, the style you want and a color pattern.
Pav shows you how he composed a Chinese hip hop beat in FL Studio 7. You will need to know how to use Fruity Loops since this tutorial just breaks down how the beat was created, and not the actual steps by step procedure. But, if you want ideas on how to compose a Chinese hip hop beat in FL Studio, this tutorial will help you.
This scroll saw pattern tutorial shows you how to work with Corel Draw vector graphics drawing software to create your woodworking patterns. If you love cutting, but haven't tried designing, this video will give you some ideas on how to get started creating your own scroll saw patterns using Corel Draw.
In this part of the tutorial, I show how to apply some basic cast rock structures to the diorama and give you a basic idea of how to apply the base coat of colored paints.
Sean Astin hosts AFI's filmmaking tutorial series, LIGHTS, CAMERA, EDUCATION! Here, we explore "The Pitch" or presenting your ideas for your film script.
The idea of this swimming drill is to hold the stick in front of you at the end of each arm extension, to exaggerate the catch up sensation.
Does your video camera not have a headphone jack? This cool idea enables you to use a pair of headphones to monitor what your video camera is hearing in real time.
This tutorial shows you how to create a vignette (oval border) around an image in Photoshop. Text is blurry but you should get the idea from the verbal instruction.
If you have an Etsy store, or a small business, this video is full of great ideas. Learn how to make your own creative tags for your items.
In this video Drum Lesson, you will learn to count sixteenth note triplets. If you've already watched the video lesson on eighth note triplets - the basic "triplet" idea will already make sense to you.
A quick and easy way to fold a plastic bag. This is a good idea for any of you who have cabinets overflowing with grocery bags.
Walter Lantz describes how to direct a cartoon like Woody Woodpecker. To start with, the director must help develop the story idea. Also, he makes a guide for the animators to follow when a new character is created.
Every mom struggles with trying to ensure her kids get enough to eat and that they eat the right foods. We hear and read so much today about childhood obesity but in our house it is sometimes a struggle just to get the kids to eat. If you have a picky eater you know what I am talking about. I want to share a few ideas I have been using to deal with the picky eater in our house.
These videos show you how to use baking strips to make a better cake. Use caution when using baking strips, and watch your oven carefully.
It can be intimidating to sculpt fantasy miniatures, even if you have some artistic experience. Working at that scale, every little mistake could be a disaster! But in this 15-part video tutorial, you'll learn how to make your mini figures turn out looking great, every time.
The idea of squeezing your phone might have sounded a bit out there when it was new, but it's now a hallmark feature on Pixel devices. As useful as it is for summoning the Google Assistant, however, it certainly would be nice to be able pick and choose what action is triggered by squeezing the phone. Well, now you can.
When I first found out about Nreal, back in the spring of 2018, the most interesting thing about the company's story was the founder's background. Chi Xu, the CEO and founder of Nreal, previously worked at Magic Leap as a software engineer.
In recent years, many software publishers have tried to sell the business community on remote meetings via VR, but if social media chatter is any indication, it hasn't taken off in a big way just yet. However, for some, the notion of holding remote meetings using augmented reality, a medium in which you're still directly tied to the real world and not closed off in a blindfold-style VR headset, might be the better solution.
