Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Front Runner Hydrofoil Like Star Wars Podracer
The Front-Runner hydrofoil is a full-size watercraft pulled by two 215 horsepower jet-drive engines. This design is strikingly similar to that of the podracers in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The Front-Runner concept was unveiled by Joey Ruiter, design principal of JRuiter Studio, at the 62nd Annual Grand Rapids Boat Show.
(Front-Runner Hydrofoil)
The two motors are attached via an airplane-like steering system; it creates what has been described as an "off-roading" experience on the water. The two engines can be independently steered; heading, pitch and bank can be altered.
the use of twin forward-mounted motors combined with the suspension system enable the Front-Runner to pierce the water and carve in and out of turns. The rear hydrofoil lifts the boat body out of the water so the driver can control different aspects of the ride. This design changes the rider’s experience – having the motor in front of the bow produces more of a “pulling” sensation compared to the “pushing” feel of a traditional boat and the twin supercharged 215 horsepower motors provide ample power for a small craft.
The Front-Runner hydrofoil is about eighteen feet long and eight and a half feet wide; its dry weight is 1020 pounds, and up to four passengers can ride comfortably. (See a side-view of the Front-Runner hydrofoil.)
This watercraft design is remarkably similar to that of the podracers in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Anakin Skywalker's podracer is shown below.
(Podracer - built by Anakin Skywalker)
In the movie, Anakin's vehicle is smaller and lighter than the others, but follows the same design; a small cockpit pulled by two high-powered jet engines. Anakin is the only human able to drive this extremely fast, extremely dangerous craft; apparently, humans find the Front-Runner hydrofoil easier to operate.
Via Gizmag; thanks to Vik for another contribution.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/22/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Vehicle ")
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.' - Robert Heinlein, 1940.
Leader-Follower Autonomous Vehicle Technology
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...' - Gordon R. Dickson, 1954.
Inmotion Electric Unicycle In Combat
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...' - Robert Heinlein, 1940.
Congress Considers Automatic Emergency Braking, One Hundred Years Too Late
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.' - Bernhard Brown, 1934.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'
Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'
China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
