"100 Years Ago Today" - Car Wars News

[ammulder]

Augmented reality is coming:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57...ented-reality/

On the one hand, it would have a sort of cheesy cyberpunk feel if every Car Wars driver tooled around in AR glasses. But something has to be done beyond 1980's computers plus a "wristcomp."

[LokRobster]

Algae. It's Not Just Food - It's Fuel!

http://www.algaeliquor.com/home/index.php

With the company name, one would figure that 'algae shots' would come into play... but alas, no.

[ammulder]

Forget finicky rules... just combine the tire and wheel and forget about it. Bonus -- no air for tire spikes to puncture:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...to-flat-tires/

[philreed]

Originally Posted by ammulder

Forget finicky rules... just combine the tire and wheel and forget about it. Bonus -- no air for tire spikes to puncture:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...to-flat-tires/

BONUS: It looks awesome!

[ammulder]

Not sure how you'd handle a tire shot vs. a power plant hit, but...

An overview article of an in-wheel electric motor offering:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...electric-motor

And the manufacturer's page:

http://www.proteanelectric.com/en/

With some visuals:

http://www.proteanelectric.com/en/im...mg=715&gal=714

[ammulder]

Whole organ grown from scratch:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28887087

Granted it says it "won't be easy" to apply the technique to humans... But it didn't say "won't be possible". :)

[43Supporter]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...e-biofuel.html

I'm sorry -- *what* fuel shortage? :)

[ammulder]

So here's a piece of technology you wouldn't expect to totally disappear over the next 100 years: drones.

"It is the idea of being able to use a machine to kill other human beings from the comfort of a chair thousands of miles away, using a screen reminiscent of a video game..."

Not killer robots or AI:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22250664
Just drones used for surveillance, dropping bombs, and other targeted killings:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22320767
While operated from hundreds of miles away:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-22320275
Or maybe just used to spy on your neighbor:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22134898
Or protect wildlife from poachers:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-22075311

Now, I'm not suggesting that Car Wars would be a better game if you could sit at home in your simrig and drive the vehicle over yonder in the arena (yawn). But... Wouldn't every convoy deploy a drone a mile down the road to scout for ambushes?

Also not arguing it should be part of the core game, but it could be a sensible expansion. You've got to think with better battery/motor technology they'd only get *more* popular. Plus with cameras so small a pretty decent one fits in your 1/4" cell phone, I don't think a surveillance drone would even need any real payload capacity to be useful. Makes you wonder how small they could get. Probably small enough the cycle gang would never spot it. Hmm.

Edit: Rail network to fight graffiti with drones. Maybe good for patrolling oil pipelines in the distant future?

[sum1els]

Well, perhaps some ridiculously cheap technology makes drones nearly useless, like the laser towers that keep long-range nukes from being effective in OGRE. For example, a little box with sensors and a low-power laser that spots drones and blinds their cameras, or some ECM technology that prevents them from reliably relaying signals back to the operator?

Or maybe someone has perfected the art of training pigeons to take them out. =] (pigeon kamibombs?)

[sum1els]

More on current Drone tech: http://gizmodo.com/5979372/watch-the...mera-in-action