We have already seen civilian and military, everyday and emergency applications of the Jet Capsule design, but its creators have envisioned a new array of uses, including a highly maneuverable water taxi able to fit in tight spaces, corner easily and go anywhere.

Much smaller than conventional boat taxis or luxury yachts, these sleek vehicles can take people through canals and other urban water ways in places like Venice or Amsterdam, where it is often faster (if not inevitable) to travel by water.

Prototype versions of the Jet Capsule have already been deployed in Italy to test interest as well as functionality. These are just the start, though – the modular nature of the design makes it possible for people, companies or countries to order highly-customized versions for all kinds of unique and site-specific applications.

From the creators: “the current capsule model has a built-in hydro-jet system that can be equipped with one or two engines, but the team are also working on the first electrically powered design to be presented in june 2014. all the jets come with an international sail certification and can navigate and operate in any country/region, and waves of up to 4 meters.”

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We all have our favorite movies, but it takes a special level of dedication to build a real-life replica of an object from one of those movies. Redditor scoodidabop built this crazy Ford Explorer straight out of Jurassic Park. It’s all decked out in the exact colors, configuration, and even contents of the park vehicles from the first movie – and it is truly awesome.

In-car monitors provide maps of the island the park is on, complete with the zones in which each type of dinosaur resides. The map won’t do you much good when the power goes out and the dinos escape, but maybe you’ll get a nice tour before that happens.

The car started out as a 1993 Ford Explorer and took over a year to complete. It was replicated in painstaking detail, though we can’t say whether the seats are hiding night vision goggles under them.

The Explorer’s dashboard even features two plastic drinking cups, presumably to act as an early warning sign when the T. Rex escapes and starts hunting every living being on the island. That probably won’t happen in this replica, but just to be careful we wouldn’t take it into any wildlife safari parks.

The post A Bumpy Ride: Perfectly Replicated Jurassic Park Tour Truck first appeared on Gajitz.

3D printing has gone from an expensive, industry-specific tool to a quick manufacturing method that we can now even use at home. The 3Doodler from WobbleWorks is the next step in the evolution of 3D printing. It’s a hand-held 3D printer that can draw three dimensional objects in mid-air.

The 3Doodler is a new kind of technology that rapidly heats and then cools strands of plastic. As you draw in the air with the pen-shaped device, the plastic cools so quickly that objects you “draw” instantly harden. You can add on layer upon layer, building objects in the air.

You can also create objects by drawing on a surface, such as a stencil printed on a piece of paper. When they’re cooled, you simply peel the objects off and they become fun, bendy 3D toys. The 3Doodler uses short lengths of ABS plastic, the same kind of plastic used by plenty of conventional 3D printers.

Unlike conventional 3D printers, the 3Doodler doesn’t require any special software, knowledge or training to use. It’s operated just like a pen, so most people should be able to use it upon picking it up for the first time. After a few hours of practice, just about anyone can build awesome 3D models, jewelry, art and whatever else they can dream up.

WobbleWorks started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for production of the 3Doodler, originally asking for $30,000. As of the time of this writing, they’ve raised over $1.5 million, ensuring that we’ll all soon be able to pick up this insanely cool dream machine to bring our imaginations to life.

The post World’s First 3D Printing Pen Lets You Draw Pictures in Mid-Air first appeared on Gajitz.

Have you always admired those kooky art cars, but you just can’t see committing yourself (or your car) to such a permanent art piece? Artist Scott Wade has come up with a perfect – and impermanent – way to cover your car in art. He creates masterpieces in dirt on the back of car windows using just his fingers, a few brushes and the ever-present Texas road dust that settles on his and his wife’s cars.

Scott Wade has the benefit of living on a mile and a half of dirt road comprised of caliche and gravel. When driving on this fine, white dust, it doesn’t take long for it to cover a car’s back window. Rather than getting annoyed with the constant covering of dust, Wade decided to do something fun with it. He recreates famous works of art and comes up with his own, rendering them in surprising detail by wiping patterns in the dirt.

When your car features such unique and interesting artwork, it’s hard to keep onlookers from staring. Wade says that people have gotten out of their own cars at red lights to look at his art or take pictures of it. When parked in a parking lot, the arted-up cars are often surrounded by a group of people admiring the fantastic “paintings.” Even more interesting is the fact that the paintings change over time. As more dust accumulates or precipitation streaks or partially washes away a piece, it takes on a whole new personality.

Obviously, the pieces are at the mercy of the weather and they do tend to wash away when it rains. That’s okay with their creator, though – he views it as his cue to get started on something new and wonderful all over again. This unique brand of art has earned Scott attention from all over the world: his car dust paintings have been featured on television and in print many times. He’s also been invited to create work for festivals, and he’s even dipping his toes into creating these muddy masterpieces for commercial clients.

The post Dirty Pictures: Dusty Car Windows Meet Fine Art first appeared on Gajitz.