Single-propeller 'drone' flies when you throw it like a frisbee

A drone, or quadcopter as it's technically called, typically has four propellers to generate enough thrust to let it hover in the air. The propellers are arranged in such a way to counterbalance the weight of the drone itself.

Researchers at the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zurich have created a new kind of flying machine (technically, not a drone) that only needs one blade to fly.

The flying machine is called the Mono spinner and is billed as the "simplest, controllable, flying machine in existence" since it lacks actuators and aerodynamic surfaces. It only has one moving part: the rotating propeller.

The three-person research team (Weixuan Zhang, Mark Mueller and Raffaello D'Andrea) said the Monospinner was born after they asked "what is the minimum number of moving parts necessary for controlled flight?"

IMAGE: ETC ZURICH

The researchers have provided an in-depth look at the math and science that went into getting its flying machine into the air here. The gist: "An unconventional equilibrium is found by analyzing the vehicle’s dynamics. For a certain constant angular speed and propeller force, the Monospinner is able to remain substantially in one position. Feedback control keeps the vehicle near this equilibrium."

To fly it, just throw it into the air like a frisbee:

IMAGE: ETC ZURICH

Needless to say, you probably want to stay away from one of these guys. Just look at how it's spinning at an angle. It could easily take your eye out.

IMAGE: ETC ZURICH

Controlling the Monospinner.

IMAGE: ETC ZURICH

Sci-fi tech arrives with this flexible phone with 3D holographic screen

The future of gadgets is filled with flexible and holographic technology. At least that's what sci-fi movies and the super-smart geeks in science labs developing the future keep telling us.

Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab have created what they call the world's first flexible holographic smartphone. The Android-based smartphone prototype is called the HoloFlex.

When the HoloFlex is bent, the full HD (1,920 x 1,080) touchscreen is capable of displaying a glasses-free 3D image. A bend sensor inside lets users manipulate objects on the z-axis, adding three-dimensional depth input.

"HoloFlex offers a completely new way of interacting with your smartphone," writes Dr. Vertegaal, one of the researchers involved with the project. "It allows for glasses-free interactions with 3D video and images in a way that does not encumber the user."

There are several useful use cases for bendable holographic technology. In the video above, a user is able to manipulate a handle and re-orient it on a 3D model of a teapot. Other uses include bending the screen to control Angry Birds and using the phone's depth camera to initiate a holographic video conference.

"When bending the display users literally pop out of the screen and can even look around each other, with their faces rendered correctly from any angle to any onlooker," says Dr. Vertegaal.

A holographic video conference working on the HoloFlex.

IMAGE: QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY

The phone has respectable specs, including a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 2GB of RAM.

The HoloFlex is still a prototype, but even so, it's already showing promise. Maybe a Star Wars-like reality filled with paper-thin, hologram-projecting devices is what the future of smartphones will look like after all.

Microsoft HoloLens will turn the world into a hallucinatory vision.

Ever since Microsoft showed off a prototype of its augmented reality HoloLens glasses earlier this year, the tech world has been abuzz. The glasses use holographic technology and Microsoft's Windows 10 software to overlay digital images onto the wearer's view of the real world. A user can stare at their living room wall and see digital objects, from video games to video conferencing. More importantly, the user can interact with the digital objects. An early version of HoloLens will be available to developers in 2016 for $3,000. Consumers may have to wait until 2017.