Engineering Newswire: NASA's Next Gen Supersonic Jet

This Engineering Newswire looks at designing the next generation supersonic jet, printing photos that turn into videos and spotting sharks with a military-grade drone.

Next Gen Supersonic Passenger Jet

Those of you longing for the days of the Concorde may be in luck. NASA is moving ahead with its new ‘X-planes’ program, by awarding Lockheed Martin a $20 million contract for the preliminary design of a “low boom” flight demonstration aircraft. The Quiet Supersonic Technology project aims to make passenger flight faster and quieter.

Printer Turns Photos into Videos

What if you could not only share a photo through social media, but also share it as a physical print to friends all around the world, without physically mailing anything? That’s basically the idea behind LifePrint, a startup company that has developed a pocket-sized printer and some innovative augmented reality software. The $130 LifePrint uses an app that ties into social networks like Vine and Instagram, or to your phone’s camera.

$250K Shark-Spotting Drone

The Australian state of New South Wales had 14 shark attacks off its waters last year. So, to combat this deadly issue, the state is looking to drones for help. In fact, the state government’s new $16 million “shark strategy” specifically calls for small aircraft to monitor the waters around southeast Australia. The unmanned aerial vehicles assigned to the task are called “Little Rippers,” and they are worth about $250,000 (AUD) each.

More in Industry 4.0