Is this really the most effective way to do this? [via Ace of Spades HQ]

As many IEDs, improvised explosive devices, are set off using a wireless signal, these drones will be able to survey areas for the electromagnetic emissions associated with receivers and provide an early warning to soldiers. No matter how silly the codename, this is one important project and I hope that it gets put into use as soon as possible. [Aviation Week via Pop Sci]

By using lasers and 3D cameras, the team built a vision engine that can very accurately define the helicopter's surrounding environment. That's only part of the trick to getting it to fly so well, the other half is some pretty sweet flight path correction. Think of it like a flying Big Dog. Check out what happens when the guy pokes it with a stick.

Hopefully no one sticks a spinning blade on this thing. Wouldn't want that flying through my window at night. [MIT Tech TV via Engadget]

According to the source, crops in Japan are tiny and scattered throughout residential areas. Dusting the crops by plane, therefore, is impossible. Farmers normally tend the crops with pump activated backpack sprayers, but where's the fun in that? Kudos to this guy for figuring out a way to both spray the field and fly an awesome toy around all morning.

If the farmer ever finds himself with any bigger pests to deal with, he should talk to this guy about how to add a little more firepower to the rig. [Japan Probe]

Beyond that, it appears to be a fairly standard 3-channel helicopter. The way I see it, a USB device should involve the computer in more ways than just a power source. It certainly wouldn't be the first RC device to do so. Still, if you are looking to do something other than work at work, Brando's helicopter isn't going to break the bank at $40. Then again, you could forgo the USB functionality and LEDs, saving yourself a few bucks in the process. [Brando]

We don't really know anything about the giant "toy" helicopter, except the model it's based on, but the video below shows that it really works, and that we really don't want it falling into the hands of any kids. [LiveLeak via Craziest Gadgets]

Lawnmowers, with their spinning, ground level blades, are most dangerous to small animals, young children, and feet. Recently, one Mowing Menace trapped a 4-year-old girl's foot under its blades of doom, causing enough damage to require amputation. In fact, she was one of 77,000 people who go to the hospital every year, victims of mowing-related violence.

Clearly, in the epic battle of Man vs. Machine, mowers don't intend to play fair.

A mower in Oregon flipped its rider down an embankment and into a ditch before rolling itself onto some blackberry bushes above the trapped man. The lawn mower's heat actually set the blackberry bushes on fire, and when they gave way, the mower itself tumbled 15-20 feet to rest on top of its owner, trapping him in the ditch. Though the victim wasn't severely burned, the crushing weight of his mower caused enough unspecified injuries to necessitate a helicopter airlift to a nearby hospital.

Another one, at a park in Indiana, was being peacefully driven around the perimeter of a lake when it snagged a wire, flipped and slowly dragged its helpless rider into the water like a conniving, hungry alligator. Though the tractor technically did not devour the 59-year-old John McComas, it did pin him in the shallows of the lake, rendering him unable to move. Thankfully, he managed to keep his head above water and shouted for help, and was rescued soon enough to escape with only mild injuries.

A lawnmower in Florida apparently took offense to its owner doing a little repair work on it, and so shot a spark onto the owner's nearby boat. The spark ignited gas fumes and the boat promptly burst into flames, sending up huge plumes of smoke and the risk of serious fire in the "tinderbox conditions" of that stretch of the Atlantic coastline. The town's fire commissioner, Fred Link, explained with laughable naivete, "It was accidentally started." Sure, Fred, that's what they want you to think.

Lawnmowers don't just act alone, though. They are capable of teaming up with other terrors to dish out even more devastation. In Texas, the mere sound of a lawn mower was enough to enrage a nearby swarm of killer Africanized bees. That's right, Africanized bees, the ones the hysterical news media alerted your attention to back in 1999. The killer bees, responding to the mower's calls, attacked nearby residents, stinging two bystanders and two firemen. None were seriously injured, and another fireman said he "barely managed to avoid being stung," a quote he probably wishes had not appeared in his local paper. The bees were exterminated, but the mower lived to fight another day.

But just like in Battlestar Galactica, some of these appliances have decided to side with humans—defending them instead of terrorizing them. In Croatia, an innocent man was mowing his lawn when suddenly, his mower detonated a live hand grenade, sacrificing its own self in the process. The man escaped uninjured, but still confused as to what a live grenade was doing in his garden.

As you might have guessed, the experience on board the Hotelicopter is far from your standard Motel 6. This gigantic flying Titanic machine features everything you would expect from a 5-star hotel—from private entertainment systems and room service to extras like spa treatments, yoga classes, gaming and a tea garden.

If you were wondering just how big and powerful this flying hotel really is, check out the specs:

* Dimensions Length: 42 m (137 ft)
* Height: 14m (45 ft)
* Maximum Takeoff Weight: 105850 kg (232,870 lb)
* Maximum speed: 255 km/h (137 kt) (158 miles/h)
* Cruising speed: 237 km/h (127 kt) (147 miles/h)
* Original Mi Range: 515 km (320 mi)
* Our augmented Mi Range - 1,030 km (640 mi)

The inaugural flight is set to take place on June 26th for an undisclosed price. Obviously, only the affluent need apply—but anyone that is interested can head on over to the Hotelicopter website to get more info about setting up a reservation. [Hotelicopter Thanks Zlooop!]

UPDATE: Sadly, the Hotelicopter has been outed as a fake.

[Product Page via Nerd Approved]

The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me. (Laughter.) Of course, I've never had a helicopter before — (laughter) — maybe I've been deprived and I didn't know it. (Laughter.) But I think it is a — it is a — an example of the procurement process gone amuck. And we're going to have to fix it.

Of course, since the Pentagon already made the arrangements, Obama will still be riding in a helicopter that costs as much as Air Force One. [Actually, the 1.5+ billion is for 28 helicopters not only one, and according to Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon and the Secret Service, he needs them all: "They are stationed all around the country/world, just like a multiple-personality Air Force One aircraft." Also, the helicopter is American. The airframe is being built now by Agusta Westland Bell in the UK now, after being tested by Lockheed on the Merlin program. After the first few are built in Europe, the rest will be built by Bell in the USA, with Lockheed Martin adding the electronics in Owego, NY.-JD]

To me, the only fair solution would be to offer taxpayers the occasional opportunity to "bum a ride." [The White House and The Register via CrunchGear]

Here's an idea: get a dozen and control them all using the same channel. In a four star restaurant. 30 minutes of charge equals 5 minutes of sheer dining terror and a few months of painful health inspection investigations. If you're terrible and into that kind of thing. [Gizmine]

Seeking funding to support the work, the Boston, Massachusetts-based-AeroCopter's MTR vehicle has a single turbine driving a ducted fan pusher propeller and the electromagnetically driven 8.2m (27ft)-diameter ring that encircles the fuselage. Lift is generated by the rotor blades of the ring, which has counter-rotating upper and lower halves. A driveshaft linking the ring to the turbine uses permanent magnets to turn the ring, which has many more magnets located at short intervals around its circumference. Once at 1,000ft (305m) altitude the ring is tilted through 87° and locked in place.

AeroCopter has designed a 1,320kg (2,900lb) two-seat personal air vehicle with a cruise speed of at least 220kt (405km/h) and a range of 555km (300nm). There is also an unmanned air vehicle version.

[Aerocopter via FlightGlobal]

That's an Eurocopter EC135, which is being used by Bond Air Services to do windmill farm maintenance in the United Kingdom. I'm sure they stop the windmill before going up-unless the stop mechanism is the thing that is broken-but looking a the scale of that little man going down, it's quite scary anyway.

And here I was, thinking they had elevators or really long stairs inside.

Update: As you can see in the crazy video, the reason is that these wind turbines are in the middle of the sea. [Flight Global-video thanks to GitEmSteveDave]

The tourists, a skier and snowboarder, were lost in the mountains of Southeast Switzerland, with temperatures reaching -15 degrees Celsius. They attempted to phone for help, but their mobile phone ran out of juice just after making the connection. Luckily, the faint light of an iPod screen was enough to catch the eye of a helicopter rescue team, who recovered the two sports enthusiasts quickly enough to avoid any more serious consequences than very mild hypothermia.

Reuters reported this story, but didn't go into the kind of detail that techies like you and I really need. What kind of iPod was it? What generation? What brightness setting was the backlight set to? Is there a difference in helicopter visibility between, say, LCD and OLED? Without that kind of information, I don't know that I can ever go skiing in remote Swiss mountains again. [Reuters]

On its own, the Gasser EB is a mean, noisy machine. At 54 inches long, it's equipped with a 34.5-inch (800-millimeter) blade, and a gasoline engine powerful enough to resist the drag of a hefty handgun. Which is precisely what the owner of this beast, Jim Simmons, added to it: A Springfield 1911-A .45 caliber weapon.

Simmons also added a remote-controlled firing system. And if you think that's pretty stupid because the pilot on the ground won't be able to aim, think again: He also added a gun-sight digital camera. In other words: This is a fully-armed mini-UAV, which you can actually use to fly anywhere, aim, and fire at whatever target you want.

Yeah, this is exactly how documentaries about loads of dead people start. Or maybe not people, but polar bears and elks.

Dear Santa,

I didn't get the VP job, but can you please bring me this RC Helicopter with .45 caliber handgun?

Thank you and merry Xmas,

xxxooo
Sarah

[LiveLeak]