Weekend Edition: A monster aircraft engine, befriending bumblebees and a vacuum that really sucks

[New Atlas logo]( Welcome to our weekly wrap of the best stories to grace the pages of New Atlas over the last seven days. Sit back, relax and enjoy the Weekend Edition. Darren Quick Editor-in-Chief Aircraft [World's largest and most efficient aircraft engine aces first tests]( [Rolls-Royce workers assembling the giant UltraFan technology demonstrator]( Rolls-Royce has completed the first ground tests on its massive UltraFan engine, claiming it's at least 10% more efficient than any other large aero engine in service today. This carbon/titanium beauty will roll out on airliners in the 2030s. [Read more]( Environment [Scientists name the top plants for bumblebee-friendly gardens]( [Buzzfeed: Your green thumb can bring all the bees to your yard]( Want to play a part in the survival of bumblebees? Cater for them! A new study has revealed which plants these VIPs (very important pollinators) make a beeline for, so you can grow their favorite flora and help these fuzzy fussy eaters thrive. [Read more]( Around The Home [Dyson decides to Dyson the hell out of robot vacuums]( [Step aside, peasants. Prepare to get Dysoned]( All was peaceful and gently sucky in the robot vacuum world – at least until this morning, when Dyson thundered in, Dysoning everything in its path, unleashing a fearsome 110,000 RPM Hyperdymium-driven beast that sucks six times harder than any other. [Read more]( Architecture [Bugatti's amazing tower will allow owners to drive up to their penthouses]( [Bugatti Residences will be defined by an extraordinary sculpted design]( Bugatti is the latest luxury automotive brand to dive head-first into architectural design, revealing plans for an amazing new tower in Dubai that will include car elevators, allowing penthouse owners to drive right up to their suites. [Read more]( Energy [Tiny holes key to making lightning-like energy from air, says study]( [The technique uses different charges on a film to create a current, much in the same way clouds give birth to bolts of lightning]( As anyone who's ever seen a bolt of lightning knows, the air around us can be filled with an astonishing amount of energy. A new study shows a way to harvest this power using a perforated nanofilm that can be made from a vast variety of materials. [Read more]( Robotics [High-tech renaissance man Brett Adcock on Figure's humanoid robots]( [Standing 5ft6 and weighing 132 lb, Figure's 01 humanoid robot laborer will carry up to 44 lb and work for up to five hours on a charge]( In 10 years, Brett Adcock has gone from founding an online talent marketplace, to selling it for nine figures, to founding the third-ranked eVTOL aircraft company, to going after one of tech's greatest challenges: general-purpose humanoid robots. [Read more]( Space [Evidence suggests theoretical 'missing link' black hole exists nearby]( [A Hubble image of Messier 4, a globular star cluster about 6,000 light-years away that's home to the best evidence so far of an intermediate-mass black hole]( Black holes come in two distinct types – small and supermassive. A group in the middle has long been hypothesized to exist, and now Hubble has found some strong evidence for one of these intermediate-mass black holes in a nearby star cluster. [Read more]( Automotive [Terrifying vehicles: Where does Engler's 1,100-hp quad bike rank?]( [Does the world need a 1,100-horsepower quad bike?]( Take one dynamically unstable, highly dangerous vehicle platform – the venerable quad bike – and juice it up with more than a thousand horsepower, and you've got an absolute widowmaker. But is it the ultimate widowmaker? Let's assess the competition. [Read more]( Bicycles [Rubber-bodied Bumper Pedals are made to spare cyclists' shins]( [The Bumper Pedals are presently on Indiegogo]( For many bicycle commuters, painful shin scrapes caused by pedal strikes are just an unavoidable part of cycling. They might not have to be, however, if the designers of the rubber-bodied Bumper Pedals have anything to say about it. [Read more]( Home Entertainment [LG throws 4K movie magic on wall or ceiling with latest CineBeam projector]( [The hinged cradle can move the 4K visuals from wall to ceiling, with the CineBeam PU700R automatically adjusting the image for ease of use]( Ahead of last year's CES expo, Samsung launched a "one-of-a-kind projector" called the Freestyle that ditched the familiar boxy housing for a stylish cylinder. Now LG has joined the party with a new CineBeam that goes 4K instead of 1080p. [Read more]( Marine [Valo Hyperfoil quietly walks back speed claims as prototype launches]( [The Valo Hyperfoil has been shown flying in alpha prototype form]( Once billed as the world's fastest production electric boat and the world's fastest production hydrofoiling craft, the Valo Hyperfoil has now hit the water as a working alpha prototype – but curiously, its claimed top speed has dropped considerably. [Read more]( Outdoors [Ultralight TC Truck Camper lets you teardrop camp in your pickup bed]( [The Truck Camper has a distinctive vertical-back teardrop-style shape to it]( The all-new TC Truck Camper was one of the eye-grabbing exhibits at this year's Overland Expo. It looks like a wheel-less teardrop trailer hoisted up into a pickup bed but is actually one of the lightest, most affordable truck campers available. [Read more]( Remarkable People [SR-71 pilot, photographer and storyteller Brian Shul dies at 75]( [Legendary SR-71 Blackbird pilot, photographer and storyteller Brian Shul has reportedly passed away, aged 75]( The aviation world has lost one of its brightest luminaries. Major Brian Shul was an incredible survivor and a top gun pilot – but also a gifted photographer and storyteller, whose stories about the extraordinary SR-71 Blackbird will live forever. [Read more]( Science [Sunlight-activated powder disinfects water in just 60 seconds]( [Among other potential applications, the powder could be used by backpackers collecting drinking water on the go]( If you leave a clear bottle of water in the sunlight, the UV rays will kill any microbes in that water, making it drinkable … but it has to sit in the sun for at least six hours. A new sunlight-activated powder, however, does the job in one minute. [Read more]( Laptops [Spacetop AR laptop puts the screen on your face]( [Man working in coffee shop with transparent computer screen in front of him]( Seeking to free laptop users from small displays that limit functionality, Sightful has unveiled a laptop with no screen. Instead, AR glasses project a 100-inch virtual screen anywhere, transforming any space into a screen-filled portable office. [Read more]( Tiny Houses [No AC required: How this tiny house leverages nature for optimal cooling]( [Casa Caoba consists of five parallel walls that extend outwards, forming the four residential units of the dwelling]( The open-air Casa Caoba tiny home in Colombia utilizes passive cooling and natural materials. With five walls framing jungle views and indoor-outdoor living, it's a natural refuge boasting the use of unconventional eco-design. [Read more]( Science [World's oldest known blueprints detail to-scale desert megastructures]( [An ancient megastructure called a "desert kite" in Saudi Arabia, which is believed to have been used for hunting, is the subject of one of the oldest known blueprints in the world]( It’s hard to construct a building without a plan, but when did humans first start doing that? Archeologists have discovered the oldest known blueprints, with a 9,000-year-old rock carving in Jordan depicting a to-scale plan for a nearby megastructure. [Read more]( Military [Airbus' autonomous rotor drone aces flight trials in gale conditions]( [The Airbus Helicopters VSR700]( The Airbus'VSR700 robotic helicopter has successfully completed sea tests under operational conditions, including fully autonomous take-offs and landings in strong gale force wind conditions, from a civilian ship's helicopter deck. [Read more]( Music [Smart learning device sticks a personal teacher to your guitar]( [The mu6label puts personal guitar tuition within reach]( Learning to play guitar is tough, and though there's no replacement for hard work and practice, technology can lend a helping hand. The mu6label is the latest gadget in the space, an AI-powered learning multitool that attaches to a guitar's upper edge . [Read more]( Marine [BMW's panoramic electric hydrofoil soars above the waters of Cannes]( [BMW Designworks outdoes itself with the new Icon electric hydrofoil]( The Icon electric hydrofoil looks far more like a design project than a BMW, but in fact, it's both. The dramatic vessel debuts in Cannes with BMW i battery power, a trio of hydrofoils and enough windows for paparazzi-grade celebrity gawking. [Read more]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at [newatlas.com]( (or [gizmag.com]( before August 2016). [Update profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( Copyright New Atlas © 2022