Monday, February 27, 2017
Sultan Han Caravanserai by CitizenFresh Sultan Han is a large...
Sultan Han Caravanserai by CitizenFresh
Sultan Han is a large Seljuk Caravanserai located in the town of Sultanhanı, Aksaray Province, Turkey. It is one of the three monumental caravanserais in the neighbourhood of Aksaray and is located about 40 km (25 mi) west of Aksaray on the road to Konya.This fortified structure was built in 1229 (dated by inscription), during the reign of the Seljuk sultan Kayqubad I, by the Syrian architect Muhammed Bin Havlan El Dimaski (Dimaski meaning from Damascus) along the trade route from Konya to Aksaray, leading to Persia (the Uzun Yolu). After it was partially destroyed by a fire, it was restored and extended in 1278 by the governor Seraceddin Ahmed Kerimeddin bin El Hasan during the reign of the sultan Kaykhusraw III. This monumental caravanserai then became the largest in Turkey. It is one of the best examples of Anatolian Seljuk architecture.
Reposted via F&O Forgotten Nobility
Heroes of the Storm Auriel Armor
Germia is an experienced cosplayer who kills it in the arena of crafting armor. She recently applied her skills to Auriel from Heroes of the Storm and Diablo; she chose to use the character’s dark yellow skin. As usual, she started the project by making patterns by hand (you can see a picture of her initial draft below). She’s made so many patterns that now she can apply the paper to herself and go from there because she can figure out the necessary curves. With this costume, she also had to figure out making a harness and base for the wings, as well as crafting a frame for the wings and incorporating LEDs to light them.
View this video to see the detail and different aspects of the costume:
See more photos in this Facebook album.
via Reddit, top photo by Milos Mlady Photography
Reposted via adafruit industries blog
Beoplay’s iMac inspired speaker!
Bang and Olufsen are known to make some quirky looking hi-end speakers, but the Beoplay M6 isn’t one of them. On the contrary, it was built to integrate into households rather than stand out. The cylindrical (Apple’s iMac, anyone?) speaker packs some punch and can be used as a single unit, or with the BeoLink Multiroom functionality to pair itself with other M6 speakers around the house.
What the M6 does differently in form, it makes up for by sticking to a premium color palette that’s familiar to B&O’s visual language. Usage of matte plastic and matte metal with a stylishly woven fabric gives the speaker a more hand-made rather than an industrial, machine-assembled touch. My personal favorite is the design detail on the top of the speakers. At the center sits the B&O logo, with a ripple design spreading outwards, not only creating wonderful reflections and a great tactile feel, it also depicts the outward flow of audio waves from a central Bang and Olufsen logo. Beautiful in its symbolism!
Designer: Yomoto Mirou
Reposted via Yanko Design
South Korea developed K2 Panther Tank from Abrams and other technology optimized for Korean Peninsula fighting
The South Korean K2 Black Panther tank development started in 1995 and cost $260 million. South Korea designed a tank that on paper appears to be at equal or better than the specifications of current NATO tanks.
Mass production commenced in 2013 and the first K2s were deployed with the armed forces in June 2014. The K2 costs over US$8.5 million per unit.
From Germany, South Korea developed its own version of the Rheinmetall 120-millimeter L55 gun, which is a full 1.3 meters longer than the 120-millimeter L44 caliber gun used on all Abrams tanks and older Leopard 2s. With a longer gun comes greater internal pressure, so the L55 gun has superior muzzle velocity.
It can fire up to 10 rounds a minute. The ammunition for the main gun is loaded in a 16-shell magazine. The tank has a total ammunition capacity of 40 rounds for its main armamment.
The K2 can also ford rivers up to 4.2 meters deep via a snorkel kit that doubles as a “conning” tower, something the Korean army learned from the 35 T-80Us it acquired from Russia back in the late ’90s.
Although the heart of a tank is its gun, the next most important component is its engine and transmission, collectively known as the “powerpack.” For this, South Korea again looked to Germany and its excellent MTU-890 V12 diesel 1,500 horsepower engine.
The most noticeable is the tank’s hydropneumatic suspension. Originally developed on the K1, an improved version allows the K2 to lower or raise its profile. Like a “low riding” street car it can kneel, sit or “lean” in any direction.
This allows the tank to conceal itself using the ultimate “hull down” positions, the holy grail of defensive tank tactics, where the tank’s turret and cannon peeks out from behind elevated terrain — which hides most of the tank from any enemies advancing against it.
Next is the use of a millimeter band radar in conjunction with the K2’s fire control system. Although South Korea didn’t invent millimeter band radar, its integration and application of it is unique.
Since mountainous terrain is uneven terrain, there is a danger of sudden bumps knocking out the aim of even a stabilized gun while the tank is on the move.
Details of the composite armor of the Black Panther are classified. The frontal armor has been proven to be effective at defeating the 120 mm APFSDS round fired from the L55 gun. Explosive Reactive Armor blocks are also present, with the addition of Non-Explosive Reactive Armor planned for the K2 PIP version.
Defense against incoming missiles is provided by a soft-kill anti-missile system. The K2 PIP will likely deploy a hard-kill anti-missile defense system when it is released within the next few years.
The millimeter band radar system mounted on the turret is capable of operating as a Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS). The vehicle's computer in turn can triangulate incoming projectiles, immediately warn the vehicle crew and fire off Visual and Infrared Screening Smoke (VIRSS) grenades, which can effectively block optical, infrared and radar signatures. Once the hard-kill AMS is installed, the radar system will also be responsible for tracking and targeting the incoming missiles for the AMS.
The K2 also has a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) and radar jammer. Four all-bearing Laser warning receivers (LWR) are also present to alert the crew should the vehicle become "painted", and the computer can also deploy VIRSS grenades towards the direction of the beam.
An automatic fire suppression system is programmed to detect and put out any internal fires that may occur, and atmospheric sensors alert the crew if the tank enters a hazardous environment
K2 PIP upgrade
The K2 PIP is an improved version of the initial production model of the K2 that will be released within the next few years. Improvements will include:
* Upgrading the Semi-Active In-arm Suspension Unit to an Active In-arm Suspension Unit
* Integration of a high-resolution terrain-scanning system to the vehicle's suspension system. This is purported to allow the vehicle to "plan ahead" by scanning nearby terrain up to 50 meters away in all directions and calculate the optimal position of the bogies in order to improve vehicle handling over uneven terrain.
* Integration of a hard-kill anti-missile system.
* Addition of Non-Explosive Reactive Armor (NxRA).
* Potentially replacing the 120 mm / L55 gun with an electrothermal-chemical gun, which will significantly increase the vehicle's firepower and potential payload.
Read more »
Reposted via Next Big Future
coolerthanbefore: Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Bioprinter makes fully functional human skin
Scientists from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), CIEMAT (Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research), Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, in collaboration with the firm BioDan Group, have presented a prototype for a 3D bioprinter that can create totally functional human skin. This skin is adequate for transplanting to patients or for use in research or the testing of cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical products.
This research has recently been published in the electronic version of the scientific journal Biofabrication. In this article, the team of researchers has demonstrated, for the first time, that, using the new 3D printing technology, it is possible to produce proper human skin. One of the authors, José Luis Jorcano, professor in UC3M’s department of Bioengineering and Aerospace Engineering and head of the Mixed Unit CIEMAT/UC3M in Biomedical Engineering, points out that this skin “can be transplanted to patients or used in business settings to test chemical products, cosmetics or pharmaceutical products in quantities and with timetables and prices that are compatible with these uses.”
This new human skin is one of the first living human organs created using bioprinting to be introduced to the marketplace. It replicates the natural structure of the skin, with a first external layer, the epidermis with its stratum corneum, which acts as protection against the external environment, together with another thicker, deeper layer, the dermis. This last layer consists of fibroblasts that produce collagen, the protein that gives elasticity and mechanical strength to the skin.
Bioinks are key to 3D bioprinting, according to the experts. When creating skin, instead of cartridges and colored inks, injectors with biological components are used. In the words of Juan Francisco del Cañizo, of the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón and Universidad Complutense de Madrid researcher. “Knowing how to mix the biological components, in what conditions to work with them so that the cells don’t deteriorate, and how to correctly deposit the product is critical to the system.” The act of depositing these bioinks, which are patented by CIEMAT and licensed by the BioDan Group, is controlled by a computer, which deposits them on a print bed in an orderly manner to then produce the skin.
Biofabrication - 3D bioprinting of functional human skin: production and in vivo analysis
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Reposted via Next Big Future