Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Oct. 20, 1990, edition 1 / Page 20
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Robots (Continued FiXMn Page 2) Fascinated with robots, Pittsburgh inventor K. G. Engelhardt is developing robotic kitchens and offices that will lighten work for elderly and disabled f>eople. ‘FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS’ SALUTES THE PRINCE OF ROCK — NBC’s "Friday Nigni im" will presest a special salute to Prince on Fri., Nov. 2 (1:30-2:30 a m.), hosted by singer . ft LaBelle and actor Kadcem Hardison (NBC’s "A Different World:'.)..Special appearances of.Pripce’s n.ew,movie, I’CrafTr!-; BridKe.” sc:iedu!ed-fi);r rejease on Nov. ! . T':%->• '-riaeirVt* it^'tlisoh and Koom the engines horizontally. A unique baffling system directs the thrust downward for takeoff and backward for flight. The flying car will fit in a garage, take off vertically and carry two passengers at 400 miles per hour. Mollcr believes so much in his invention that he makes his own lest flights. Moller admits that the idea of thousands of these cars flying into major cities like San Francisco is, at the very least, scary. But he says there’s plenty of airspace, and a new U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System already in use is capable of keeping track of his flying cars. Four orbiting satellites will pinpoint each car’s location, give or take 30 feet, and track its speed. On board computers will keep the airborne automobiles safely separated on "electronic highways" in the sky, Mollcr says. "Specialized users will be able to obtain a vehicle like this in the next two to three years," Moller says, and the price will come down very quickly as the numbers go up. In the mid- 1990s, the price would be around $100,000 a car, he estimates, and by the year 2000, comparatively priced to a quality automobile. "” don’t think that this technology has any choice but to become a part of everybody’s life. How can we possibly build greater and greater freeways when they cost $150 million a mile?" he asks. "It just can’t happen." Moller calls his creation a "flying computer," and he has infinite faith that flying cars will actually be on skyways above the nation within the next 10 years. There is no 10-year wait, however, to wimess test flights of another kind of craft: the homemade structure designed to cushion a fresh egg dropped 75 feet from a hot-air balloon. At the Aspen, Colo., International Design Conference, all kinds of would- be inventors recently tested their talents at the "egg- spcricnce." Contestants designed 6-inch packages to hold the eggs during free fall. Some invemed intricate suuctures with pyramid-shaped supports d^gned to keep weight evenly distributed. Some of the participating children cushioned their eggs in contraptions ics; scientific but every bit a creative as those of adults’ They opted to use socks, shaving cream, marshmallows protected his egg inside a raw roasting chicken! "The outcome of contests like this may not change the world, or even make it a safer place, •but they can fire the imagination," Koch says. "They have a way of renewing hope in the human spirit." Invention is about surprise, "a flash of lightning," says Roger Kennedy, director of the $mithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Kennedy, who will give on-camera tours of the museum’s collections during the scries, says, "We house many of the artifacts created by grcal inventors of the past, and we are eager to share our enthusiasm for creating and for learning about creating." NOTE: "Invention" airs Tuesdays, from 9:00-9:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and repeats Wednesdays from 11:30- midnight on The Discovery Channel TRIViliLITIES Tri for You 1. Mount )■ ..hmore is the back drop to the finale of what classic Hitchcock film? 2. What famous actor portrayed the life of Charles Lindbergh in “The Spirit of St. Louis”? 3. Who played Shirley Jones’ little brother in “The Music Man”? 4. Who co-starred in “The Great Gatsby”? 5. Mrs. Blake Edwards is better known as whom? 6. James Snyder went on to broadcasting fame with what stage name? 7. What sports commentator also is known as “The Golden Bear”? SDDjAias e!P9|fj eunqtji 'ogei SnBl>|D|M 'i 9MX,, Xuimif '9 !sM9Jpuv 'S ‘.MOJJBj puB pjojpa^ usqoy ■p IpjB.WOH ■£ tl.IBM91S -Uiif 'Z Aq qiiOM,, ‘ I saiinviAiHi oi saaAvsNV jiid \ou wall/. 111 here and say >
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Oct. 20, 1990, edition 1
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