Sometimes you want to listen to something based on style or era, but for those who want their music to keep pace with their mood or activity, this tempo-gauging gadget lets you select for speed.

Designed by Gemma Roper, Radio Activity picks out tracks from Spotify based on beats-per-minute metrics, adjusting as you move the circular dial up and down a metronome-style pole.

“I wrote several iterations of code using a combination of programs that would allow me to access Spotify libraries, read song BPM and then translate vertical movement into data that would select correlating paced songs,” she said.

While the feat could be accomplished without using a physical device, having the object on hand makes things more intuitive and adds an element of interactivity for guests and visitors as well.

“The internal component composition is incredibly complicated, as the electrical current needed to be carried throughout the length of the rail on small brass tracks that are connected to tiny switches inside the dial all the way to an Arduino Micro in the marble base,” Roper explained.

The post Radio Activity: Device Selects Music By Desired Tempo first appeared on Gajitz.

While talk continues of building a hyperloop system in California, Europe is ahead of the game, slated to construct the first working system of its kind. Hyperloops, proposed by entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, use pressurized passenger pods capable of attaining speeds of over 700 miles per hour, far faster than even the fastest bullet train.

Now, HTT CEO Dirk Ahlborn announced that his company has reached an agreement with the Slovakian government. Their plan is to establish the Hyperloop transportation route from Vienna to Bratislava, Slovakia, and from Bratislava to Budapest, Hungary.

“Hyperloop in Europe would cut distances substantially and network cities in unprecedented ways. A transportation system of this kind would redefine the concept of commuting and boost cross-border cooperation in Europe,” said Vazil Hudak, Slovakia’s economic minister, said in a statement. “The expansion of Hyperloop will lead to an increased demand for the creation of new innovation hubs, in Slovakia and all over Europe.” Budgets still need to be made and feasibility studies conducted, but the creators hope to have an initial set of tracks deployed as soon as 2020.

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If you ever wanted to experience the pure effortless joy of a dolphin cruising through the ocean, the X2 Sport Underwater Jet Pack system will remake you into a sea-worthy mammal.

Six miles per hour may not sound like much, but it is twice the world record speed of an unenhanced human swimmer. The devices strap to your pack and arms, propelling you gracefully and without additional human power through the water.

Add scuba gear or other breathing accessories and you can dive deep and fast. A handheld mechanism lets you grip to go forward and speed up, aiming your arms where you want to travel, while your back carries the majority of the mechanism.

Hopefully some future iteration of this device will add foot-worn additions to the equation, potentially further bolstering speed and giving you more dynamic and omnidirectional control to boot. For now, the beta-tested version is being developed at a steep price tag of $1,400, so you may want to rent before you aim to own.

The post Swim Like a Sea Mammal: Underwater Jet Pack Thrusters first appeared on Gajitz.

A recently-patented, rocket-powered jet designed by Airbus is akin to the classic fast-paced Concorde, but this 2.0 version blows away the latter’s Mach 2 capacity with a top cruising speed of Mach 4.5 (or: 3000 MPH, more than four times the speed of sound) at an altitude of 100,000 feet.

The jet uses a series of three engines to create a sequential set of speed boosts, maximizing acceleration and deceleration at each stage to minimize time spent during take offs and landings. Twin turbojets beneath the body and a rocket motor in the rear also allow the machine to lift off and land vertically. Hydrogen ramjets – yes, the kind used to propel missiles – get the contraption to its cruising speed and altitude.

Approved by the US Patents and Trademarks Office, this fantastic flying machine could pick you up in New York City and drop you off in London just one hour later.  Of course, you’ll have to be seated in rotating hammocks on the new Concorde 2.0 to handle the forces involved. Apparently there is a plan to help the vehicle dissipate its sonic booms – the prior iteration could not reach supersonic speeds over land without having severely negative impacts for those on the ground below.

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Shifting from darts to balls, this new line of Rival shooters from Nerf are hitting (and flying off the shelves at) record speedings, firing projectiles at 70 Miles Per Hour and featuring quick-reload features to keep the fun going faster.

Announced months ago, made available for preorders in August and now openly for sale, the air-powered Apollo XV-700 and battery-powered flywheel rifle Zeus MXV-1200 both fire small round dimpled spheres. Like miniature golf balls, but softer, these depressions put spin on the balls, helping stabilize them for flight and making them far more accurate than even a tail-feathered Nerf dart.

“Learn more about the new Nerf Rival line as one of our engineers takes us behind the scenes to show how these blasters were made! These blasters have superior accuracy and fire high-impact rounds! Whether the competition is 1-on-1 or a group battle, Nerf Rival blasters always bring exciting action to the game!”

The Apollo model stores air in the stock of the gun and lets you reload by dropping the bottom of your handle/clip on top of expended ammunition. Overall, these definitely seem targeted, so to speak, at adults who are looking to get back into the game with a bit more firepower than traditional for-kids equivalents would allow.

If anything, these are more competition for laser tag or paintball than other Nerf products. They also each come in both red and blue, implying a design decision to help make team games easier as well.

The post Ball Blasters: New High-Speed Nerf Guns Shoot at 70 MPH first appeared on Gajitz.