Awesome Engineering

As long as we’re not carrying a heavy suitcase, we generally take the stairs when given a choice. But for those times when you feel like giving your legs a break, the escalator is quite the invention. Jared Owen provides an animated explanation of the inner workings of this engineering marvel that dates back to the mid-19th century.

If you’ve ever been a passenger on one of those drop tower rides, you know how the combination of speed and plummeting toward Earth can be quite the thrill. Art of Engineering talks us through the history of these rides, and the different techniques that have been used to bring a hurtling mass of steel and people to a safe stop.

Beyond the comfort issues, one of the reasons people don’t like wearing masks is that it covers their face. Engineers from EPFL’s EssentialTech Center and Empa have developed a mask that both acts as a filter and is transparent. The trick is the weave, made from incredibly thin nanofibers, woven together using electrospinning.

Engineer James Bruton is always building amazing things in his workshop. He recently got his hands on a LiDAR scanner unit which can enable 3D computer vision and capture navigational data. He used the device to guide a robot that looks for movement all around it, then turns to fire at what it detected. Demo starts at 17:54.

The main difference between all of those irons you carry around in your golf bag is the loft angle of its metal wedge. Stuff Made Here managed to engineer a single, mechanical golf club that could replace of a whole bag of irons. The club can also automatically adjust based on desired distance in the middle of the swing.

Metamaterials are materials that are defined by their structure, rather than their composition. In 2017, researchers from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences designed a modular framework which can reconfigure as if by magic, resulting in entirely new structures when directional forces are applied.

While we’re perplexed by Liberman’s musical selections, we are impressed with what he was able to construct on his workbench. Watch as he puts together a working model of a helicopter rotor from plywood, rulers, popsicle sticks, and off-the-shelf hardware. We love how it even can adjust the angle of its blades.

Did you know that the smartphone in your pocket has moving parts inside of it? Devices such as accelerometers use a hybrid of mechanical and electronic mechanisms known as MEMS. New Mind puts this fascinating and complex tech under the microscope to explain how they work, and how they’re made.

Electron Dust shows off a nifty machine that can bounce a ping pong ball, while keeping it balanced and centered on its moving platform. It uses combination of open-source image processing software and Arduino-controlled stepper motors to work its magic. More build details here.

Over the years, we’ve broken at least a couple of those oscillating fans, but could never figure out how to fix them. Jared Owen’s insightful 3D animation could have been a big help, as he shows us exactly how its mechanisms work to keep it moving from side to side.

Taking obvious inspiration from artist Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests and CARV’s earlier efforts, maker The Q fabricated himself a crazy bicycle which has no rear wheel, and instead can walk across the ground. This design appears much smoother than the one we previously saw, but by no means the fastest way to ride a bicycle.

Innfos‘ modular desktop robot is designed for scientists and hobbyists alike. Configurable with up to six axes, this robotic arm has extremely dexterous and smooth actuators can be used can be used to pick up objects up to 1kg (2.2lb), hold machining tools, or to perform other precision tasks.

This video from Quebec’s Laval University Robotics Laboratory shows off a really fascinating mechanism – unlike any we’ve seen before. By moving its jointed legs along two belt-driven lines, it’s able to maneuver its center gripper without any limitations on its rotation, as well as to change its height and overall position.

Sending cargo and ships into space is extremely expensive and resource-intensive. But there’s an idea that’s been bandied about that would use endlessly-moving tethers to catapult ships into space from Earth’s orbit. Kurzgesagt explains how this relatively simple concept could dramatically improve space travel.

Smart guys Mark Rober and James Bruton show us how to game the system with engineering know-how. They recently collaborated on a special bowling ball that can consistently bowl strikes by simply leaning in the direction you want it to go after you release it down the alley.

While you might think that origami was exclusively an art form, engineers are taking inspiration from the paper-folding craft to create innovative designs that can shape-shift to fit objects to into smaller spaces, and enable compact mechanisms, while decreasing the number of parts used. Veritasium explains.

If you’ve ever been on a boat in choppy seas, you know how stomach-churning it can be. Nauti-Craft has developed an active suspension system similar to the one used to smooth out cars and trucks on bumpy rides. While it can’t totally cancel out waves, it does dramatically mitigate them.

While most airports have designed their runways to take advantage of wind patterns, some have less than optimal layouts for efficiency and safety. Real Engineering takes out a clean sheet of paper to explain what he thinks the ideal runway setup might look like.

Inspired by the ProPILOT 2.0 driver assistance tech coming to some of its cars, Nissan engineered a golf ball that drives itself to the hole once on the putting green. The ball has an internal motor and works with an overhead camera and sensors to make its way to the cup regardless of how the player hits the ball.

YouTuber JD Rock’s picks for the strangest engines invented or currently in development. The list includes the hypersonic harbinger SABRE, the highly scalable and versatile camless engine, and the mind-boggling EmDrive.

Musician Jonathan Spangler and luthier Joe Glaser developed this innovative electric guitar that features a folding neck. Thanks to its ingenious mechanism, it can fit under an airplane seat, but still offers performance-quality play when unfolded. Register your interest in buying one on the Ciari website.

From the looks of things, musician, and instrument designer Wintergatan has nearly completed the build of his long-in-progress follow up to his original marble machine. After showing us the amazing marble elevator, he’s ready to play some percussion with the intricate contraption.

Ever wonder how the mechanism in those toy cars work so you simply pull them back, and then they zoom forward? Explainer of things Jared Owen’s animation shows us the inner workings of these spring-powered cars and how they store and release energy.