Overclocked Orange by Mremulator

Foreword, by Antony Leather

David Penfold or Mremulator as he’s more widely known on various forums, was inspired by last year’s Custom PC Dream PC labs test winner - The Great White, entered by Scan.co.uk. While it used the same Silverstone TJ-07 case, David’s Overclocked Orange took on a very different form early on but also boasted a monster specification once he’d finished it.

After a considerable amount of deliberation on the name and components, Overclocked Orange takes its name from the book, A Clockwork Orange and the theme features heavily in the build. The attention to detail is staggering as is the whole PC. In fact he even had the BBC knocking on the door wanting to video it! You can see the video here but read on for an insight into how Overclocked Orange came in to being. Without further ado, it’s over to David.

Introduction and conception

I was reading Issue 61 of Custom PC magazine on holiday last summer, when I came across the annual Dream PC labs test. The winner was Scan’s Great White Dream PC and I knew then and there that I’d love to build a similar PC.

The SilverStone TJ07 case has always struck me as a beautiful thing to behold and the fact you can fit triple radiators in the top and bottom meant it was well suited to my needs. Given that it had also received glowing reviews, it seemed to be the logical choice. I’d seen other modders powder-coat cases in orange and black, and thought this colour combination was amazing for a PC case.

With both a case and colour scheme in mind, I needed to think of a name for the project. The inspiration for this came during a drive home from work. Names such as Orange Dream Machine, Tangerine Dream and Orange Extreme ran through my head, and eventually, I thought of the film ‘Clockwork Orange’, and finally decided on Overclocked Orange.

Neat and Tidy

Having built a few water-cooled PCs before, my first priority was to achieve a clean, uncluttered look. I decided to use PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT tubing, since you can bend it a lot without it kinking and therefore avoid killing the flow rate. To match the colour theme of the case, I decided on black hosing with UV orange anti-kink coil springs.

I also wanted to set up two separate water-cooling loops, each with its own triple 120mm radiator. I decided to use 1/2in internal diameter hose for the loop that cooled the CPU, and 3/8in internal diameter hose for the GPU loop to differentiate between the two loops.

I initially wanted to use completely new hardware for Overclocked Orange, but I already had three GeForce GTX 280s in my existing rig and various other components that I decided to put to good use combined with some new Aqua Computer full cover water blocks. I decided to order some Bitzpower 90 degree fittings from Sidewinder Computers in the US which would look great when all three graphics cards are connected together.

When I first started the project, I knew that the launch of Core i7 processors was imminent, so I waited for a while and bought an Asus Rampage II Extreme motherboard, Core i7-940 chip and 6GB of 1,600MHz Corsair DDR3 memory. I wanted to water-cool the motherboard too, even though the X58 chipset runs fairly cool due to the memory controller now being integrated into the CPU. I decided to wait for the water-cooling hardware manufacturer Bitspower to release its greatly anticipated chipset block which arrived recently. It was worth the wait!

I was a little disappointed with the finish on the main block so decided to modify it slightly. After a bit of polishing, it looked much better! When I bought the case, I had it modified to make the build easier. I asked WCUK to cut a hole in the motherboard tray so that I could remove the backplate from the CPU water block without also having to remove the motherboard.

Start your Dremels…

WCUK also enlarged one of the rectangular holes in the base of the main compartment to allow the hoses from the pumps to pass through it easily. The standard vent in the roof which accommodates two 120mm fans was then enlarged to accommodate a Black Ice Stealth 360 radiator and grille.

To control the fans, I used a Rheobus fan controller, which was powder-coated black. I replaced the red/blue LEDs in the controller (and those throughout the case) with orange LEDs.

The outside of the SilverStone TJ07 was powder-coated bright orange, with the inside and the drive bay covers a glossy black. You need to dismantle the entire case into different sections to do this.

Artwork

Part of what makes Overclocked Orange a little different from most water-cooled PCs is the artwork. Thanks go to Solphorinc from the Chilled PC forums who kindly helped me out with this. I learned that orange doesn’t print to clear vinyl particularly well.

Luckily a company called Fast Signs in Kingston came up with the idea of reverse profile cutting my window logo on coloured vinyl, as opposed to printing on clear vinyl. I also had a large copy of the droog’s face printed in black vinyl for the case’s other side panel.

The orange vinyl was then placed on the acrylic window followed by black vinyl then frosted vinyl. This way, the graphic was a perfect match to the bright orange paintwork.

I also had some smaller transparent text stickers made for the front of the case and for an external hard disk drive caddy. The caddy was also powder coated orange to match the PC case. In addition, I spray-painted the motherboard heat sink shrouds and the PCI brackets orange too.

To tidy up the inside I braided all the power cables and spent a fair bit of time cable tidying throughout to minimise clutter and to improve airflow. It’s something I really wanted to get right and I’m glad I took my time.

Finishing touches and Overclocking

There are four 12in UV cold cathodes lamps inside the case, which make the UV orange anti-kink coil springs glow very brightly. An orange triple laser LED unit illuminates the XSPC pump and reservoirs, and a white one illuminates the face on the side panel window.

Xigmatek 120mm LED fans on the radiators glow orange and white, and the exhaust fans on the rear of the case glow bright white. The motherboard and soundcard also have small white LEDs too. The lighting is something I’m particularly proud of and really makes the case stand out.

As well as having a fast CPU and three fast graphics cards, I decided I needed some speed in the storage department too to keep up with everything else. For this I chose three Intel X25-M 80GB SSD drives. I was a little sceptical at first, but the sheer performance boost of these three drives in RAID0 has simply blown me away!

StarTech.com from the States provided the backplane for the SSDs - it holds up to four 2.5in HDD’s in a single 5 1/4″ bay! It’s hot-swappable and lockable too. The quality, features and ease of installation make this a great addition to the case.

Thanks to Sponsors

I have been completely overwhelmed by the attention this build has received. I built the rig purely for fun and thought I’d share the progress with other Custom PC readers by creating a project blog on the Custom PC website.

Since then the BBC have filmed a feature for its technology feature on Overclocked Orange and PC Modding - it’s also won Readers Drives too. I’m chuffed to bits to be honest and I’m pleased people seem to like the project.

A very big thank you goes to Rob and Marcus at WCUK, Gary at Sidewinder Computers, Solphorinc, Fast Signs in Kingston, Custom PC Magazine, Scan Computers, and all of the community for your help and support.

Gallery

The New Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 is the fastest and most extreme version of Mitsubishi’s motorsport derived machine. With 403bhp and 387lb.ft of torque on offer from its advanced, lightweight aluminium 2.0-litre turbocharged MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control) petrol engine the FQ-400 is able to reach 62mph from standstill in an estimated 3.8 seconds before reaching an electronically limited 155mph - where permitted.

Traction and handling

Ensuring all the FQ-400’s power is put to good use is Mitsubishi’s sophisticated Super-All Wheel Control (S-AWC) four-wheel-drive system which appropriates power to the wheels that can best use it, giving the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 quite sensational cross-country performance.

The S-AWC system combines a number of electronic systems that both enhance the FQ-400’s performance and safety, with Active Stability Control and Active Centre Differential, Active Yaw Control and Sport ABS giving the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 incredible cornering ability, traction and grip. Depending on the conditions the driver can select the most suitable set-up for the S-AWC system, three choices - Tarmac, Gravel and Snow - being offered via the wheel-mounted button and displayed in the central instrument binnacle.

Increasing the FQ-400’s cornering ability even further over its FQ relatives is a wider track and lowered suspension featuring Eibach springs and Bilstein Shock Absorbers. Lightweight 18-inch, nine spoke alloy wheels fitted with Toyo Proxes R1R tyres enhance the FQ-400’s grip, giving it sharper cornering response on the road and more incisive steering. The enhanced agility and performance is backed by a revised braking system which uses aerospace grade aluminium alloys and floating sealed discs grabbed by high performance pads.

Extreme Power

To achieve the incredible 403bhp from just 2.0-litres Mitsubishi has had to significantly revise the FQ-400’s advanced powerplant. Motorsport specification high-flow fuel injectors are fitted to the aluminium cylinder head and a new hybrid turbocharger is also fitted. The higher specification turbocharger features low-friction bearings, a high temperature turbine and strengthened thrust bearing to increase response and reduce turbo lag. Feeding the turbocharger cooled air, improving its performance and efficiency, is an enhanced intercooler, while the exhaust’s gasses flow from the engine via a 3-inch diameter high flow stainless steel piping and catalytic convertor before exiting through a centrally positioned exhaust.

Mitsubishi has remapped the Engine Control Unit (ECU) extensively with over 500 hours of development time to allow its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine to not just produce its exceptional output but to do so with excellent driveability. The FQ-400’s acceleration is sensational, it pulling hard through the gears regardless of engine revs. With peak torque of 387lb.ft on offer from just 3,500rpm, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 is just as able to trickle through town traffic as it is taking a rally special stage.

A ‘nod’ to the Evo VI

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 looks every bit the rally refugee too, giving a strong ‘nod’ to the styling cues of the legendary Evolution VI, and builds on the already aggressive style of its Lancer Evolution X FQ relatives.

A heavily vented bonnet helps heat escape from the FQ-400’s turbocharged engine and a new lightweight composite front bumper incorporating Mitsubishi’s trademark ‘Jet Fighter’ grille features carbon-fibre elements on its leading edges. Additional lighting and High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights mark out the FQ-400’s nose, its added aggressiveness further enhanced by a 30mm drop in front ride height. Composite side skirts, a re-styled rear bumper with a carbon fibre diffuser, a rear wing incorporating a gurney strip and a roof-mounted ‘Vortex Generator’ all help manage airflow and cooling.

Behind the 18-inch lightweight, nine spoke alloy wheels it’s possible to see the Alcon brakes on the front, while the Toyo Proxes R1R tyres underline the FQ-400’s potency with their aggressive ‘cut slick’ tread pattern. Inside, the driver is held tightly against the FQ-400’s sensational accelerative, braking and cornering forces in Recaro bucket sports seats, the range-topping Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X also gaining an FQ-400 liveried handbrake handle and carbon fibre gearknob.

No compromise

Despite its obvious focus the FQ-400’s suspension offers compliance thanks to the Eibach Springs and Bilstein Shock Absorbers, the FQ-400’s usefulness as a daily driver not compromised overly thanks to Mitsubishi’s chassis tuning. The stiff bodywork not only provides an exceptionally rigid platform for the suspension to work, but excellent crash-worthiness, the Lancer Evolution X attaining a five-star score in Euro NCAP’s independent crash tests. The FQ-400’s S-AWC and its incorporated stability, traction and braking systems helping avoid an accident in the first place. Even so there’s reassurance of seven airbags, seat belt pretensioners and ISO Fix child seating all included in its standard specification.

Fully loaded

Standard equipment for the range-topping Lancer Evolution X model is comprehensive, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 coming with Bluetooth hands-free telephone connection, a CD-tuner with 30 Gig hard drive, DVD satellite navigation and privacy glass. Convenience features like remote central locking, automatic headlamps and windscreen wipers increase the FQ-400’s ease of use, the huge performance it offers not coming at the expense of usefulness. Like its Lancer Evolution X relatives it features comfortable seating for five as well as a usefully sized boot, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 bringing all the convenience of the standard saloon car it’s based upon - but with explosive performance potential.

Setting the standard

Standard it’s not though, instead the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 is a standard setter, with performance that’s the measure of any rival and many exotic sports and supercars costing many multiples of its £49,999 list price. Available from June 2009, the FQ-400 is covered by a three year / 36,000 mile warranty.

25 May 2009

First, a question: what do the following games have in common? Two of the titles we’re thinking of were based on the biggest names in fantasy fiction; another was licensed from a legendary tabletop RPG; one was designed by the man behind Ultima, another by the brains behind EverQuest; one is an innovative adventure on the high seas; and finally, a post-apocalyptic hybrid of Doom and Diablo.

Answer: They’re all massively multiplayer online games, and they have all, at some point in the last two years, been hyped as games that would help redefine a genre and topple World of Warcraft. Today, however, they’re widely seen as failures, disasters or at best, underachievers.

It’s still a good time to be in the business of massive multiplayer online games – provided your company is Blizzard. World of Warcraft (WoW) has just under 12 million subscribers, and its two expansions have each sold more than four million copies. Compare that to Funcom’s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, which sold over one million copies at launch, yet now has fewer than 100,000 active subscribers and half of its original servers in use.

Warhammer: Age of Reckoning has sold more than 1.2 million copies, yet less than a third of these buyers continue to subscribe. The failures of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Hellgate: London also killed their developers, and the former, like Pirates of the Burning Seas, has only survived thanks to the patience of Sony Online Entertainment. Richard Garriot’s much-hyped Tabula Rasa was supposed to be a ‘clean slate’ for MMOs; instead, it was wiped less than 14 months after launch. Even Turbine’s critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings: Online has met with more modest success than many feel the game deserves.

So where did these games go wrong and what did WoW do right? Can these games fight back, or is there only room for one game in this business? That’s what we’re here to discover.

WoW might not be perfect, but it’s a game that was built with a vision: to make the world of the Warcraft RTS games comes to life in a vivid, fully 3D manner, and to create a game that the widest possible audience could enjoy. MMOs take a long time to build – you’re not making eight to ten hours’ worth of play, but a world that can be explored for months on end. If you don’t start a game with a strong vision, you might as well give up.

25 May 2009

Manufacturer: Lego Technic
UK Price (as reviewed): £89.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $119.99 (exc. Tax)

There can’t be many people out there that are into building PCs that don’t have a soft spot for Lego Technic and the Off-roader is a textbook example of what makes this range of supposed kids toys so awesome.

The 8297 truck is very intricately designed, a quality that culminates in a feature list longer than an issue of Custom PC magazine. The off-roader boasts working pistons, active suspension to alter ground clearance, rack and pinion steering, and even a limited slip differential.

As if that wasn’t enough to satisfy your appetite for precision-engineering goodness, this model also sports an electric winch on the front bumper, LED headlights that can cut through the gloom of the darkest toy chest, pneumatic doors and an opening boot that gives enough storage for any LEGO soccer mum.

Six AA batteries are needed to operate the electric parts, but be warned that they’re not included. In true Lego Technic style, everything works together with the harmony of a collective of well-practised orchestral geniuses. Watching the complex arrays of gears move seamlessly around one another and the smooth action of the pneumatic doors is half the fun. The other half is the pain of building it.

The spring-loaded active suspension can raise the ride-height from 70mm to 90mm allowing the Off-roader to handle any kind of terrain from the Lego adventurer range to the icy wastes of the kitchen floor, or wherever else you fancy testing the 8297 against. As is the case with most Lego kits, the Off-roader has a secondary build and you can disassemble the kit to make a dune-buggy style vehicle, or whatever else you can imagine.

There are three manuals, equating to around 200 pages of instructions, and it took us around eight hours to build – which was pretty exhausting. The instructions are easy to follow for the most part, but the similarity in the colour of some parts can be confusing at times. We also got confused on several occasions thanks to a symbol that resembles the repeat symbol in iTunes but which actually means to turn around the part you’re working on at the time and not to repeat the previous step.

Sure, there are a couple of tricky bits in the build process but in the end they only serve to make the achievement all the more satisfying, a feeling that’s closely matched by finishing a PC build. Although the novelty of the on-board gadgetry will wear off in time, the Off-roader will always be able to do what it does best which is sitting on your desk looking pro.

In fact, the only real shame is that that’s all it can do – sit on your desk and look pretty. The machine powers up and you can steer it around, but not remotely. The steering column raises up through the roof and there’s no radio control, so you’ll need a hand on the hood if you want to make it move. The lack of a remote control is the biggest flaw for the Off-roader, but it’s an understandable one when you consider that you can literally disassemble the entire truck and make something new out of it at a moments notice.

Verdict: When complete the 8297 Off-roader, or ‘Kill-truck Five Billion’ as we call it, is sturdy enough to take some knocks and fun enough to keep you entertained for a few days and when the novelty runs out then you can always rip it apart and build something new! The 8297 really proves that building with Lego is as fun now as it ever was.

Sorce from:Bit-Tech Net

21 May 2009

Diamond D-Jet

Diamond Aircraft Industries, based in Austria and Canada, has developed the D-Jet five-seat executive and owner-pilot jet. The aircraft was first revealed in 2002 and the first flight of the D-Jet took place on 18 April 2006 from the London International Airport, Ontario, home of Diamond’s North American operations. First flight of the aircraft with the Williams FJ33-5A engine, which replaces the FJ33-15 as the production powerplant, was in October 2008. The new engine will be used for the certification process. The D-Jet is expected to enter service in mid-2009. The D-Jet aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 583km/h (315ktas) and a maximum range of 2,500km (1,350nm). In May 2008, Smart Air, based in Luxembourg, ordered eight D-Jet aircraft plus options for the aircraft’s first European fractional ownership programme. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010. Other orders include six for YourJet of Louisville, Kentucky and ten for Chartright Air Group of Mississauga, Canada. D-Jet construction The D-Jet is of lightweight composite construction featuring low and swept-back wings with winglets and a T-tail. Flight deck The glass cockpit is fitted with an electrically driven vapour cycle air-conditioning system allowing the aircraft to be pre-cooled prior to boarding. The aircraft’s avionics system is based on the Garmin G1000 avionics suite and includes a three-panel Garmin G1000 glass cockpit with Garmin GDU 1240A 12in primary flight displays (PFDs), a centrally mounted Garmin GDU 1500 15in multi-function display (MFD), Garmin flight management system with a centre console-mounted keypad controller and Garmin GFC 700 3-axis automatic flight control system. The autopilot control unit for the GFC 700 automatic flight is placed for easy access just below the glarescreen. The communications and navigation suite comprises a dual Garmin GIA 63W VHF communications set, VHF navigator with an instrument landing system (ILS) localiser and glideslope, a wide-area augmentation system (FAA WAAS) certified global positioning system (GPS), dual Garmin GRS 77 solid-state attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), dual Garmin GDC 74 digital air data computers, Garmin GTX 33 mode-S transponder, dual pilot static system, active traffic advisory system (ATAS), a TAWS-B terrain awareness system, a satellite data link for weather and support for XM radio in-flight information and entertainment and a 406MHz emergency locator transmitter. Systems fitted as a customer option include: Garmin GWX 68 weather radar system with 12in antenna, Becker 3500 automatic direction finder (ADF), and Honeywell KN63 DME distance measuring equipment. Cabin The cabin provides five seats in a two-plus-three configuration. The rear-seat bench can comfortably accommodate three people or two executive-class passengers. Safety The D-Jet is fitted with de-icing systems and other active and passive safety systems. Redundant systems include the dual power supplies. The certified ceiling altitude is 25,000ft. “The D-Jet is fitted with de-icing systems and other active and passive safety systems.” The D-Jet’s dual electrical system is based on two independent buses. One electrical bus is powered by a 200A starter / generator; and the other is supplied by a 70A alternator. Each electrical system runs independently and the aircraft can operate on either system alone. Each system also has its own battery, so that in the unlikely event that one of the power-generating sources fails, the battery will continue to provide power to that system for a time. Engine The aircraft is powered by a single 8.45kN turbofan FJ33-5A (formerly designated FJ33-19) engine supplied by Williams International. It was decided in March 2008 to upgrade to the FJ33-5A rather than the FJ33-15, rated at 6.96kN, fitted on prototype aircraft. The engine air inlets are visible in the wingroots. The engine is fitted with full authority digital engine control. The fuel capacity is 1,100l in the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified version of the aircraft. In the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified version the fuel capacity is 790l. Landing gear In May 2008, Diamond Aircraft announced the selection of Mecaer America to provide nose and main landing gear systems for the D-Jet.	Diamond Aircraft Industries D-Jet five-seat executive very light jet.
	First flight of the D-Jet took place in April 2006 from London International Airport, Ontario.
	The D-Jet’s avionics system is based on the Garmin G1000 avionics suite with two 12in primary flight displays (PFDs) and one 15in multi-function display.
	The D-Jet has a maximum cruise speed of 583km/h (315ktas) and a maximum range of 2,500km (1,350nm).
	The cabin provides five seats in a two-plus-three configuration. The rear-seat bench can accommodate three people or two executive-class passengers.

21 May 2009

Korea Puts $750M in Robotics, Aims to Lead Market by 2018

Enormous investment designed to grow robotics industry, raise Korea’s place in it.

Among Korea’s other robot ambitions: the world’s first robot-themed amusement park, scheduled for completion in 2014.

05.21.2009 — The government of South Korea has promised to invest 1 trillion Won (about $750 million U.S. dollars) in the country’s robotics industry in an attempt to accelerate its growth.

The goal is to help the global robotics market grow to more than $30 billion by 2013 and to help Korean companies take as much as 10 percent of that market, according to Huh Kyung, Director General for Emerging Industry in the government’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which is responsible for regulating and overseeing high-tech industries in South Korea.

Robotics is one of the fastest-growing of Korea’s highly successful electronics and high-tech manufacturing sectors and will be one of the drivers of the country’s growth during the next five years, Korean officials said during the announcement.
The First Basic Plan for Intelligent Robots calls for Korea to be one of the top three producers of robotic products by 2013 and the leading producer by 2018. That would total more than $1 billion U.S. for export and $3 billion for internal consumption.

The Republic of Korea has treated its IT infrastructure and industries as key drivers of economic growth since the mid-1990s, and committed itself to promoting the service robotics industry in 2004, according to Dan Kara, president and editor of Robotics Business Review.

At that time the Korean economic ministry put in place a strategy called IT839, whose goal was to build a robust internal IT networking infrastructure, and promote specific high-tech industries, including service robotics. It invested $264 million over five years in 16 projects designed to boost the domestic intelligent robotics industry, Kara said.

The effort, and Korea’s robotics manufacturers, have been remarkably successful, according to Kara.

“I’m not surprised the [Korean] government sees robotics as a driver for the economy,” agreed Barbara Coffey, analyst at financial services firm Kaufman Brothers. “The South Korean market has been a huge winner in cell phones and other electronics. They’ve been a leader in digital broadcasts and in uses for small devices, so they’re probably in a good position for robotics as well, as far as manufacturing and research [capabilities].”

One reason the market is open to Korea is the relatively slow pace with which U.S. manufacturers have developed robots for non-traditional, non-industrial manufacturing, she said.

Globally, the bulk of spending on robotics products is on the kind of industrial robots that weld a car-door seam or place a microchip and do spot-soldering on computer motherboards, according to Daniela Rus, professor of computer science and engineering at MIT ad associate director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Speaking at last week’s RoboBusiness conference in Boston, Rus predicted that the market for service robots alone would grow from about $600 million in 2002 to more than $52 billion by 2025, largely driven by the need to care for increasingly elderly populations in both the U.S. and in Asian countries, including Korea and Japan.

Japan is by far the most aggressive adopter and producer of robotic technology, Rus said, though Korea is among the leaders as well. By comparison, both adoption and production of robots in the U.S. is “dismal,” Rus said.
Despite its advantages in electronics manufacturing in general and robotics in particular, however, Korea won’t have the market all to itself in the next half decade, according to both Rus and Lindsay Voss, analyst for Frost & Sullivan in San Antonio, Tex.

U.S. spending on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and other robotic military systems outstrips other market sectors, Voss said.

“During the next few years, though, as we draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be much less of a need to procure UAVs,” Voss said. “Unless we get involved in a conflict with someone else, there will be some pretty big players – General Atomics, AAI, Northrup Grumman – making a big push to sell UAVs for civilian applications. That will probably change the market quite a lot.”

Civilian applications include things like land surveying, agricultural applications such as crop dusting, monitoring of a crop’s progress, and keeping an eye on extensive real-estate holdings – few of which would require much change from the military versions of existing UAVs, Voss said.

“There are corporations going out to buy a lot of farmland, and they have a need a cheap way to see what’s going on with it or crop dust, or whatever. UAVs make a huge amount of sense for that,” Voss said.

Korea’s plan focuses more heavily on the service sector, breaking down its view of the robotics market into three major sectors, according to the level of sophistication and type of function for which the robots are designed. The first is manufacturing, education and cleaning.

The second is for more sophisticated robots designed for entertainment, firefighting, elder care, transportation and other complex tasks that require a high degree of capability and autonomy.
The third covers unmanned air or water vehicles, human-body analogs and wearable robotic prosthetics to aid amputees or those with problems walking.

The government will increase spending on research and development into robotics by 10 percent next year, to push the total it spends on R&D over $10 billion U.S., according to the South Asian Arirang News.

It will also introduce competitions for students and professional designers, and promote robotic-themed amusement parks. The government expects the investment to create more than 14,000 jobs.

21 May 2009

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the most potent production sports car in the marque’s 95-year history, made its debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the hugely successful Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the V12 Vantage will feature a 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque with a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h) and 0-62 mph (0-100 kp/h) time of 4.2 seconds.

The latest incarnation of the Vantage family has been designed to provide a unique character, appealing to different driver tastes and complementing the other models in the current Aston Martin line-up.

The original Aston Martin V12 Vantage concept was unveiled to guests at the opening of the Aston Martin Design Studio in December 2007. Continuing the marque’s impressive record of bringing concepts through to production, Aston Martin engineers have brought the Aston Martin V12 Vantage to market in an incredible 12 months.

Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “This is the ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range, combining our most agile model with our most powerful engine. It represents the definitive driving package; providing spectacular performance to ensure a dynamically thrilling and everyday useable driving experience.

“The Aston Martin V12 Vantage has a unique character, one unlike our other cars. This will appeal to different people with different tastes, allowing more people to enjoy the Aston Martin experience.

“This also illustrates one of Aston Martin’s key strengths - the ability to act quickly and turn concepts and ideas into reality.”

Designed for the focused driver, every component of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage has been honed with pure driving enjoyment in mind. Benefitting from race-developed materials and components, and featuring lightweight carbon fibre; performance and agility have been tuned to perfection.

Visually enticing, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage expresses its performance potential through its purposeful stance created by enhanced aerodynamic and cooling aids optically widening the car, while retaining traditional understated Aston Martin design. Equally inviting, the cosseting interior permits the driver to extract maximum performance ability from the car while also enjoying customary levels of Aston Martin comfort on longer journeys. High levels of power and torque are available at all engine speeds making the Aston Martin V12 Vantage responsive and tractable in any driving situation.

The V12 Vantage will be built at Aston Martin’s global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire joining the DBS, DB9 and V8 Vantage model lines which are built in the state-of-the-art production facility combining hi-tech manufacturing processes with traditional hand-craftsmanship. Production will be limited up to 1,000 examples over the life span of the car, making the Aston Martin V12 Vantage a truly exclusive driver’s car.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage: Performance

Agility and outright performance formed the basis of design for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage to produce the most exciting incarnation of the Vantage model line-up to date. Aston Martin’s most powerful engine is fused with its most agile model to produce a truly exhilarating sports car.

The V12 power plant has been intelligently packaged into the Vantage’s compact form preserving its perfect proportions. While the external dimensions of the V8 Vantage remain unchanged, the internal front structure has been extensively revised forward of the suspension towers to house the larger engine, brake cooling system, and twin air intake system.

The engine was designed at Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and is hand-built at the company’s dedicated engine facility in Cologne, Germany. To achieve the power output, the engine features a number of enhancements over the standard 6.0-litre V12 found in the DB9. These include a ‘by-pass’ engine air intake port that opens up at 5500 rpm, a revised induction system and re-profiled air inlet ports that further improve airflow into the combustion chamber to improve performance.

The naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 hand-built engine produces 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS) at 6500 rpm and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque giving the driver access to high levels of power and torque at all engine speeds. Unique to the Aston Martin V12 Vantage is a ‘Sport’ button which allows the driver to choose between two powertrain modes.

The default ‘normal’ provides a more progressive, throttle response, suited to more everyday situations, such as driving in urban areas, heavy traffic, or in challenging weather conditions. Selecting ‘Sport’ mode delivers a sharper throttle response together with a sportier exhaust note. This mode is designed for use in more dynamic driving situations where sharper responses are required, extracting the maximum performance from the car.

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage benefits from Aston Martin’s class leading all-alloy VH (Vertical Horizontal) architecture: a lightweight bonded platform that provides outstanding strength, rigidity and weight benefits.

Although the V12 engine weighs 100 kg more than the standard car’s engine, intelligent use of lightweight materials and components including carbon ceramic brakes, lighter forged aluminium wheels, lightweight inner rear quarter panels and optional lightweight seats have resulted in the overall kerb weight being only 50 kg heavier than its V8 sibling. The ensuing weight distribution provides for balance that is near perfect (51:49).

Exclusively available with a six-speed manual transmission, the gearbox uses a transaxle configuration to aid weight distribution. The Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s final drive ratio has also been modified from 3.909:1 to 3.71:1. This allows the Vantage to take full benefit of the high torque levels delivered by the engine to provide both flexibility at lower engine speeds as well as a high top speed of 190 mph.

For a car possessing such racing pedigree, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage surprises with its day to day usability. Featuring a luggage capacity of 300 litres and a traditional tailgate, coupled with ample stowage space to the rear of the seats, touring and trips away are made easy. Gear changes are light and precise requiring minimum effort from the driver and a longer final drive ratio extracts the most from the power and torque available to improve driveability. The communicative chassis provides comfort on long journeys and thrilling feedback with energetic driving.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage: Control

Aston Martin is the only sports car manufacturer to offer a race car for every GT category. The DBR9 has enjoyed year-on-year success all over the world in the GT1 category including class wins at Le Mans two consecutive years running. Customer teams are consistently achieving podium finishes with the DBRS9 in GT3 while 2008 was a test and development year for the newly-launched Vantage GT2. The Vantage N24 achieved GT4 class wins all over Europe since its launch in 2006. Common to both road and race cars is the VH architecture platform upon which the Aston Martin V12 Vantage is based. Consisting of extruded, pressed and cast aluminium alloy, bonded together with aerospace-grade adhesive, the backbone of the car works collaboratively with the powertrain and suspension to create an exceptionally responsive driving experience.

Near-perfect weight distribution is achieved with a transaxle-mounted gearbox which sees 85% of the car’s weight lying between the front and rear axles. Aston Martin engineers have positioned the engine as far back and as low as possible in the car to contribute to the 51:49 weight distribution. Containing the weight within the Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s wheelbase results in a low polar moment of inertia, creating a car which has a natural agility.

Superb handling characteristics are at the heart of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage; the rear suspension has been modified, with a more compact dual-rate spring design, in order to accommodate a wider wheel and tyre combination, improving grip and traction. The ride height of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage has also been lowered by 15 mm, while the spring rates have been stiffened by 45% and the anti-roll bars are 15% (front) and 75% (rear) stiffer than the standard car. These measures serve to lower the car’s centre of gravity and reduce the amount of roll experienced during cornering, further increasing the Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s dynamic capabilities.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s diamond-turned 19″ alloy wheels are manufactured using a forging process, saving a total of 5 kg, which reduces the overall weight of the car, as well as enhancing both ride and handling characteristics.

The new 10 spoke wheels are clad with wider Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres which have been specifically designed for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage enabling it to generate the highest cornering forces of any Aston Martin; up to a peak of 1.3g is possible.

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage comes as standard with Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) brakes, providing immense stopping power. Benefitting from carbon fibre’s inherent properties, CCM brakes are not only tougher than conventional cast iron discs but also dissipate heat more rapidly resulting in less fade during sustained dynamic driving.

Air ducts positioned within the lower front grille feed air directly onto the discs to aid cooling and optimise braking performance.

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s CCM discs are 398 mm in diameter at the front and 360 mm at the rear while the brake callipers feature six pistons at the front, four at the rear and have a larger brake pad area compared to the V8 Vantage. The CCM brakes are some 12.5 kg lighter than conventional brakes reducing not only the overall weight of the car but also the unsprung mass specifically. This benefits ride and handling and lower rotational mass helps improve acceleration.

In line with the character of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, a revised Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system permits the driver, through three modes of operation, to manage how the system intervenes during more challenging driving situations.

In default operation, the DSC is automatically switched on. Depressing the DSC button for two seconds selects ‘track mode’ which raises the manner and threshold at which the system intervenes allowing the driver to explore the limits of the car’s considerable handling capabilities. Depressing the button for four seconds will switch off DSC completely.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage: Design

Based on the stunning V8 Vantage originally launched in 2005, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage subtly hints at its sporting intent with its controlled aggression and lower, purposeful stance. It is manufactured at Aston Martin’s global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire where all Aston Martins benefit from class leading levels of craftsmanship fused with cutting-edge technology.

Avoiding purely cosmetic changes, each modified panel on the Aston Martin V12 Vantage has been altered to enhance the vehicle’s dynamics. Knowledge gained from the N24 race car programme has led to body revisions designed to improve downforce while not increasing the drag coefficient of the car. Each form follows its functional requirements, while also contributing to stunning design - a revised front splitter channels cooling air to the brakes and to the radiator while also producing increased down force. Bonnet louvres remove heat from the engine bay and help increase front-end down force by limiting the built up air pressure under the bonnet. New side sills derived from the N24 race car channel air towards the rear of the car rather than under it, reducing rear-end lift. A more pronounced boot ‘flip’ and the new rear carbon fibre diffuser work in harmony with a redesigned rear under floor to channel air through the new high-capacity oil cooler and maintain an area of low pressure under the rear of the car producing increased down force and aiding grip.

Complementing the taught exterior, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s interior hints at the car’s dynamic capabilities. The optional carbon fibre and Kevlar® composite seats cosset the driver providing support during spirited driving while remaining comfortable on long journeys. Saving 17 kg per car, the seats which are manufactured by a supplier to the motorsport and aviation industries are hand-trimmed by craftsmen at the Gaydon production facility.

The interior of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage provides the ideal environment for the focused driver to extract the very best from every element of the car. The extensive use of high quality materials with exceptional attention to detail placed throughout the cabin results in an unparalleled level of finish. The instrument cluster has been revised with even clearer dials to allow the driver to completely focus on the information being relayed from the car. The door pulls are made from beautifully-prepared carbon fibre where even the carbon weave has been meticulously aligned - a sign of exceptional craftsmanship. Additional light weight materials in the form of Alcantara are used to save valuable weight throughout the cabin. The unique ambience of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage interior beautifully marries the functional requirements of a driver-focussed sports car with the comfort of an everyday practical car.

Bionic Commando New PS3,Xbox 360 and PC Games

Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
UK Price (as reviewed): £29.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $56.99 (ex. Tax)

Let’s be clear from the very start; Bionic Commando is a truly moronic game and it really shouldn’t be taken at all seriously. In fact, as we’ll get into in a little bit you really shouldn’t be looking to play it much at all, but if you do then you should at least do it fully armed with the fact that the game is stupid.

Set in some poorly-explained and rather boring sci-fi future, the game follows one Nathan Spencer – a bionic commando who is about to face the death penalty after the government turned on all bionically enhanced soldiers a few years ago. Despite being a good solider, Spencer was betrayed several times and now whiles away his remaining days in a cell, minus his bionic arm.

Until a pro-bionic terrorist group (and why there is literally an army of well-supplied and excellently financed bionic supporters isn’t ever satisfactorily explained) blows up a capital city anyway.

Lead boots make Spencer immune to falling damage, somehow

When the BioTech group drops a weapon of mass destruction on Ascension City the situation changes. The military claims that thousands are possibly dead (though you never see any dead bodies in the city), the ruins are blanketed with radiation and the terrorists have seized control of the area. The staunchly anti-bionic government suddenly changes its tune and decides the only person who can fight these pro-bionics is…a bionic. It’s by far not the most stupid decision they make in the game.

Thus, Spencer is drafted back into action and given his bionic arm back. He makes a token show of resistance to the idea of working for the army again, but shuts up when they say they’ll give him information on a girl called Emily, who he seems to care about. We could tell you more about Emily, but she isn’t mentioned again for literally half the game, so it’s a bit spoileriffic. It’s also disappointing, clichéd and annoying.

The sheer lunacy of the story is completely OK though. Not all games have to be serious, well-plotted masterpieces and that’s definitely true for any game where your character has a robot arm that lets him swing from buildings. Bionic Commando is silliness, but we’re big fans of silliness, so it’s kind of OK.

Or, at least, it would be if it weren’t for the fact that the game is obviously trying very hard to take itself seriously. What could have been enjoyable in the same way as a Schwarzenegger action film actually tries to elevate itself above that by lightly littering the world with abbreviation-laden memos and feeble backstories between characters like Super Joe and Spencer.

Further proof that every man in the world wants to be Spiderman at heart

To be frank, stuff like that doesn’t sit very well with a game that sees you standing on top of moving planes or being fenced in by clouds of Floating Blue Radiation – especially when it’s so poorly told and done by such god-awful characters. There isn’t a single, likeable personality in the entire cast and every single character seems intent only on going around trying to prove how much of a hardcase they are. Every single one is shallow, unconvincing and boring to the point that reaching for the mute button becomes increasingly tempting the longer you play.

That goes double for Spencer too; the most bland character of them all and he’s voiced by Mike Patton of Faith No More. Patton has done some good voice work on other games, notably The Darkness, but listening to him here is about as much fun as washing your face with a cheese-grater. His script is terrible and little of what he says is consistent with his supposed motives or makes any sense. One example of this we saw often was punching snipers over the horizon and hearing Spencer yell that “[i]you’ll thank me for that one day!”[i]

Honestly, is that supposed to make Spencer a likeable character? All it really achieves is further proof that his design is a mish-mashed checklist of supposedly ‘hardcore/manly’ traits. Dreadlocks? Check. Vest and big muscles instead of body armour? Check. Faulty one liners and a monotonous disdain for authority? Check. Ugh, no wonder he ended up getting the death penalty.

21 May 2009

There was a time when wood was an extremely popular material to make things out of. Boats, planes and buildings for example all used to be made nearly entirely of wood and some still have elements of it in their construction today.

Unfortunately PCs missed that bandwagon by a century or so, but that hasn’t stopped Chris Cook, aka cc3d, from designing his own cube PC case made almost entirely from wood.

In fact, Chris used several types of wood in this project using the experience he gained from his FiveWood project we featured last summer, Chris set about designing his case which would house an Intel Atom 330 based Intel mini-ITX motherboard.

Why AtomWood?

Atom

I decided on using an Intel D945GCLF2 motherboard with an integrated dual core Intel Atom 330 processor for my Atomwood project. This motherboard measures just 6.75″ x 6.75″ and has integrated video, audio and Gigabit LAN.

I decided on 2GB of RAM, mainly because the motherboard only has one slot so it made sense to put 2GB in straight away, as this is generally regarded as the minimum for smooth operation these days. We’re using this motherboard at work for special projects so I’m quite familiar with it, for example, at the moment we’re currently building a system there with 4 motherboards integrated into it. From this I quickly decided I needed to have one.

I also plan to give the cute little machine to my wife for her kitchen desk. She has a PC there now, but a few years old and in its Shuttle XPC case which, while it’s small, is still four times bigger than the AtomWood. She mainly uses it for e-mail and web surfing so nothing too demanding.

Wood

No surprises for guessing what I’m making the case out of. In fact this will be wooden case number two, although it’s certainly not on the scale of FiveWood in any way. I first posted about AtomWood in January and it took around a month of hard work to complete. I did consider making it a Valentines day present but I thought twice about that! Despite the effort, ladies want something more than a computer!

I used a technique that I have perfected making other wooden boxes. Basically the entire box is built with lid and bottom all closed up, then the top of the box is cut off to make the lid of perfect fit. Here, however, I will cut it twice to get two lids. Previously these have been smaller than this project and I tried a few things I didn’t do before as well. Below is an example which measures 6″ x 3.5″ x 4.5″ whereas the AtomWood case will be a cube measuring 8.5″ x 8.5″ x 8.5″. Below is also a concept image of what I hope to be the finished article.