Hasta La Gadget!

Chris Roberts, the iconic game designer whose work you may have seen in Wing Commander and Privateer, is making a comeback after spending almost a decade out of the game industry to design a new space-themed MMO called Star Citizen. However, he needs $2 million in crowd funds in order to continue development of the game, but so far that doesn’t seem like a problem.

Roberts announced today that after just two days, over 4,000 backers have given almost $500,000 in pledges. The campaign still has a month to go, and the developing company has already reached a quarter of their goal after two days. It’s very impressive to say the least, and it shows how passionate the gaming community is for great games.

Roberts also mentioned that many buyers have given more than $250 in order to get a bunch of goodies, that includes a spaceship-shaped USB stick of game, CD of the game’s soundtrack, a fold-up glossy full color map of the game’s universe, a set of five ship blueprints, a 3-inch physical model of the in-game ship, and a hardback-bound 42-page book called ‘The Making of Star Citizen’.

Also, if you take a look at the different pledge categories, almost all of them say an estimated delivery date of November 2014, which is most likely the date that the full game will release to the public. The early alpha version of the game is said to arrive sometime next year, and will be available for free to the first 200,000 backers who pledge $30 or more.

[via Joystiq]

Star Citizen has already raised almost $500,000 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The space shuttle Endeavour began the final leg of its journey to the California Signs Center Museum yesterday. The shuttle was on the back of the giant trailer and is being towed through Los Angeles city streets. The trip will take two days even though the distance is only 12 miles.

The retired space shuttle is making its final parade lap through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles. People all around the area can travel to the shuttle’s route and watch as it’s towed down city streets to its end location. There will be some sort of choreographed dance tribute by the Fame actress Debbie Allen outside The Forum and the Endeavour will stop for the performance.

The custom-made NASA transporter will haul the space shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles, and that transporter is pulled by a quartet of computer-controlled vehicles. I mentioned previously that a Toyota Tundra pickup will pull the space shuttle on its final leg. Accommodations to allow the space shuttle to make it down the streets required some trees to be removed.

Some residents of Los Angeles complained that despite the fact that the removed trees would be replaced; it would take many years for the new growth to reach the same size as the old-growth trees that had to be removed. The California Science Center Foundation will be replanting up to four trees in place of each tree that had to be removed and providing two years of free tree maintenance. If you live in the area, and want to see exactly where the space shuttle will be at a given time of the day today and tomorrow a timeline is available at the source below.

[via MSNBC]

Space shuttle Endeavour on its way through Los Angeles is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NASA’s Robonaut 2 program has spawned an exoskeleton suit that could eventually help disabled people walk again as well as allow astronauts greater flexibility when roaming distant planets. Developed by NASA and the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton weighs 57-pounds and has ten joints, four of which are motorized. However, while like other exoskeletons we’ve seen, the X1 can work to augment the wearer’s movements, it can also be set to work against them.

That’s because the requirements for the Earth-bound and those out wandering through space are very different, and the X1 can cater to both. For those with limited or restricted movement, the X1 can be set to support and boost leg motions as an assistive walking device. IHMC is also looking at the potential outside of use by the disabled, such as for tackling varied terrain and extended use of stairs.

For astronauts, however, the X1 could actively work against them, providing Earth-like levels of resistance that normally wouldn’t be present in low- or zero-gravity environments. That, NASA believes, will help avoid muscle wastage, without taking up the space of traditional exercise equipment such as the International Space Station is currently equipped with.

On foreign planets, meanwhile, the exoskeleton could help astronauts clamber over arduous terrain, in addition to making it easier to walk in reduced gravity. Onboard sensors could feed back real-time telemetry of the body’s movements and the wearer’s physical condition.

Currently, only the hip and knee joints are motorized, with the remaining six being passive and allowing for side-stepping, turns, and pointing/flexing a foot to be carried out. However, future iterations of the X1 will include more active joints and thus increase the exoskeleton’s usefulness. NASA has already developed a Robo-Glove in partnership with GM, in a separate project based on Robonaut 2.

NASA warns that the X1 is still in the R&D phase, so we shouldn’t expect to see exoskeleton-clad walkers roaming the streets (or space) any time soon.

NASA X1 Exoskeleton keep astronauts fit and could help disabled walk is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s hard to deny the appeal of a space-bound robot like NASA’s Robonaut 2, fears of subversion notwithstanding. The space agency and Florida’s Institute for Human and Machine Cognition know it, and they want to put that technology into an exoskeleton with a nobler purpose than performing chores on space stations. The in-development X1 (not yet pictured) adapts the Robonaut’s skills to a body-hugging frame with 10 points of movement that might give humans an assist when they need it the most. In space, the X1 could automate and add challenge to exercise for astronauts in low gravity, or provide the extra muscle for that fabled day we return to manned surface exploration. NASA envisions its exoskeleton having more grounded uses as well, such as rehabilitation for leg injuries or walking for those who never had the chance. Although we’re not expecting a rapid turnaround knowing NASA’s lengthy schedules, we might see the X1 in use sooner than most such products in the wake of a purposefully quick development cycle — and, no doubt, a few interested customers here on Earth.

Continue reading NASA and IHMC building X1 exoskeleton to give us a lift, keep us fit in space and on Earth

Filed under: Robots, Wearables, Science

NASA and IHMC building X1 exoskeleton to give us a lift, keep us fit in space and on Earth originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

If you’re paying attention to daredevil Felix Baumgartner and his desire to jump out of a pressurized capsule 23 miles above the surface, you may have noticed that he didn’t make the didn’t make the jump earlier this week. Winds were too high early Monday morning when Baumgartner had planned to make his leap. The skydive has now been rescheduled for Sunday.

If you somehow missed all the talk about Baumgartner and his insane desire to jump from an altitude of 120,000 feet, I’ll run it down for you again. Baumgartner plans to take the world’s largest helium-filled balloon attached to pressurized capsule on a two-hour trip straight up. He will then depressurize the capsule, and open the door.

I can only assume there’ll be some significant sphincter puckering and shortly thereafter, he will jump. Plummeting through the thin atmosphere at the insanely high altitude, Baumgartner and his team expect that he’ll be able to break the sound barrier using his body only reaching a speed of roughly 690 mph. Luckily for us, Baumgartner will be wearing a specialized pressure suit that offers five cameras to track his progress.

[via MSNBC]