The insane plan to convert dead airliners into hydrofoils [Recycle]

Instead of putting old airliners out to pasture to rot in some cockroach corner, Hydro Lance wants to substitute pontoons for wings, and blast those Boeing 727s across the high seas. The company says it'll cost about million to buy one of the decommissioned jets, and then once things get rolling, an additional million to convert it to one of these jet-propelled ferries that can go 161mph.

It all sounds so simple. The idea is to leave the three engines located near the tail section intact, and use the existing cargo areas and seating for passengers, and use the existing cockpit controls to steer this seafaring rocket full of passengers on a 'glass smooth' ride from here to there. How will these flightless jets skim across the waves? Why, they'll use the company's HARTH float pontoons, of course. Insert miracle here.

The company's not saying anything about how those jet engines would react to ingesting salt water. If they would've had a fleet of these ready last week, those poor souls marooned by the volcano would've had a great way to escape their predicament.

[DVICE via Hydro Lance via Jalopnik]

Artificial Foot Recycles Energy With Every Step [Bionic]

Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a prosthesis that makes walking much easier on amputees than current options. The trick: an artificial foot that recycles the kinetic energy generated by walking.

The device works by mimicking the natural push-off of a human ankle, using a microprocessor to control the device and capture the energy normally dissipated by the leg:

In tests on subjects walking with an artificially-impaired ankle, a conventional prosthesis reduced ankle push-off work and increased net metabolic energy expenditure by 23% compared to normal walking. Energy recycling restored ankle push-off to normal and reduced the net metabolic energy penalty to 14%.

That means less cumbersome dragging of an artificial limb and a more natural walking sensation. It also only requires a small battery to operate, running off of less than one watt of power.

It's just a prototype for now, but assuming the current round of testing goes well, there's no reason not to expect a commercial application in the not too distant future.
[Gizmodo via PLoS ONE via Inhabitat]

Toner-, ink- and paperless printer (video)

A Japanese company called Sanwa Newtec has developed a printer that works without toners, ink or (copy) paper. ThePrePeat RP-3100 is rather based on a line thermal head and special paper that’s made of PET plastic and can be reused over and over again.

In other words, if you have a sheet that you don’t need any longer you can insert it back into the printer (where it gets “cleaned”) and immediately print out a new document in one go. Each of those special sheets can be used 1,000 times, saving not only the costs for 1,000 sheets of copy paper but also 5.7kg of CO2 for the environment.

The printer prints in black and white only, but at least you need neither toners nor ink (look here for a detailed price comparison with conventional printers).

One sheet costs $3.35, while the PrePeat itself is priced at $5,600. It’s already available in Japan (people living outside Japan can make an inquiry here). Obviously, Sanwa Newtec is justifying this price with the low running costs and the eco-friendliness of the device.

This video shows the “green” printer in action:


[CrunchGear]