This week on WDD’s HotSpot:
- Formerly Decapitated Hitchhiking Robot May Be Back Next Year
HitchBOT, the Canadian hitchhiking robot, might get a second chance at traveling across country. Recently, his journey only got him as far as Philadelphia, where he was found vandalized. Now, the bot’s designers are considering rebuilding and returning HitchBOT to Philadelphia in 2016 to pick up where it left off.
- Adjust Your Seat Using Hand Gestures
Scientists from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute have developed a car seat that moves using simple intuitive gestures.The technology will soon be integrated into mid and high-end cars and will be officially unveiled at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt next month.
- Hypersonic Jet Could Take You to London in One Hour
Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved an application for an “ultra-rapid air vehicle and related method of aerial locomotion,” aka a hypersonic jet that is expected to reach speeds as high as Mach 4.5, or four and a half times the speed of sound.
- BMW’s High-Tech Racing Wheelchair is Coming
BMW is developing a new racing wheelchair that will adapt BMW vehicle technologies for use in the 2016 Paralympic Games. BMW will rely on Designworks to create the new design and work directly with US track and field team athletes and coaches in identifying needs and solutions.
