Weekend Edition: An armored exoskeleton, a turbojet drone, and new takes on outboard boating

[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 our Weekend Edition. Darren Quick Editor-in-Chief Wearables [ExoM armored exoskeleton takes a load off – and stops bullets, too]( [The ExoM Up-Armoured Exoskeleton reportedly redistributes up to 70% of the overall load from the wearer's shoulders down to the ground, plus it can withstand hits from 7.62 × 39-mm rounds]( Soldiers and tactical unit police officers often have a lot of heavy gear to carry, including the ballistic body armor that they're wearing. That's where the ExoM Up-Armoured Exoskeleton is intended to come in, as it's load-reducing and bulletproof. [Read more]( Drones [Huntress hybrid drone packs a 300+ mph turbojet core]( [The Huntress II Turbojet hybrid drone promises insane speeds and all-weather operation]( Connecticut-based WaveAerospace has announced "the world's fastest multirotor UAS," a "new class of aircraft" that's effectively a quadcopter drone with a raging jet turbine in the middle, capable of insane speeds and all-weather operation. [Read more]( Marine [Biomimetic electric outboard ditches propeller for fin-driven thrust]( [Showing the FinS outboard doing its thing with H2O]( FinX has developed an outboard motor that allows boats to move through the water more naturally, like sea creatures. Its design cuts out the propeller and replaces it with a fin-like undulating membrane directly inspired dolphins and jellyfish. [Read more]( Marine [Portable, blade-like electric outboard simplifies clean, quiet boating]( [A compact, lightweight electric outboard designed for compact, lightweight boats]( At this year's Boat Düsseldorf show, ePropulsion presented its smallest electric outboard. The new all-in-one eLite weighs less than 15 lb, carries easily to the water, and delivers up to an hour and a half of quiet, zero-emissions power. [Read more]( Environment [How to decarbonize 85% of all industry using today's technology]( [Researchers say the tools already exist to decarbonize industry by 85%]( The industrial sector is responsible for about 25% of global CO2 emissions – or about 9.3 billion metric tonnes per year and growing. But a team at the University of Leeds says we don't need to wait for magical new tech to clean most of it up. [Read more]( Energy [Quantum dot solar cells break efficiency record, silicon in its sights]( [Solar cells made with quantum dots have achieved a new record efficiency, and been made more stable at the same time]( One of the most promising, emerging solar cell technologies has received a major efficiency boost. Engineers at UNIST in South Korea have created quantum dot solar cells with a world record efficiency of 18.1%. [Read more]( Science [Insects aren't attracted to lights at all – they just get vertigo]( [A swarm of moths flying around a light in the lab]( It’s a question we’ve all wondered at some point: why do insects spend their evenings swarming around artificial lights? Scientists have now come up with an answer using high-speed cameras and motion capture tech to map out their flight paths in 3D. [Read more]( Outdoors [Ineos Grenadier Raidbox camper kit kicks off new era of 4x4 micro-RVs]( [The bed stretches out over the folded rear seats, turning the Grenadier into a tiny camper]( French supplier Capvango has introduced one of the world's first camping systems for the Ineos Grenadier. The sleek kit packs the cooking and in-vehicle sleeper capabilities adventurous souls need for a few nights out in the Highlands or Outback. [Read more]( Marine [Stellar brings lightweight composite construction to modular kayaks]( [Both the solo S14 MOD and the tandem S19 MOD are made of separate composite sections which the user bolts together by hand]( Modular kayaks may be easy to store and transport, but most are made of plastic, which isn't everyone's favorite material. Two new boats from Stellar are different, in that they feature sleek, stiff, glossy, lightweight composite bodies. [Read more]( Architecture [Manhattan tower boosts floorspace with dramatically cantilevering form]( [The Xadia Hotel's unusual design will allow Marin Architects to increase the number of hotel rooms inside by 68 units]( Marin Architects has revealed plans for an eye-catching new tower in Manhattan, New York City, that will cleverly navigate local planning laws and boost its available floorspace with a dramatically cantilevering form that juts out 25 ft. [Read more]( Computers [Neuralink fits its first human patient with a brain interface]( [Neuralink's N1 implant: a brain-computer interface installed by a robot surgeon]( "The first human received an implant from Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well." Elon Musk has announced a milestone moment at his brain-machine interface company, after a surgical robot successfully installed its first human brain chip. [Read more]( Aircraft [World's first jet suit race is slated for February 28]( [Gravity has announced that the world's first jet suit race is slated for February 28, in Dubai]( Gentlemen, start your turbines – it's time to see how these spectacular next-gen personal flight devices look and perform in the fire of competition. Gravity Industries has announced the world's first jet suit race is happening in less than a month. [Read more]( Science [First evidence of human-to-human transmission of Alzheimer’s disease]( [Some patients treated with a type of human growth hormone collected from deceased individuals were found to develop signs of Alzheimer's disease at unusually young ages]( A team has reported the first-ever evidence of human-to-human transmission of Alzheimer’s disease, demonstrating how a human growth hormone treatment transplanted toxic proteins into children and caused the development of early-onset Alzheimer’s. [Read more]( Automotive [High-drama expandable RV turns off-grid camping into five-star travel]( [AC Future looks to time-travel ahead to a more luxurious style of RVing]( Startup AC Future time-travels ahead to show how the evolution of glamping and luxury RVing will continue to unfold in the future. Its transformer RV is a powerful off-grid escape that harmonizes the worlds of physical and digital interconnectivity. [Read more]( Music [Featherweight flat-panel guitar speaker now has a monster amp built in]( [That's a whole 350-Watt guitar/FRFR amplifier and speaker cab combo right there]( Eminent Technology has announced the Model Twenty Two – the "world's first flat panel active guitar speaker." Super-lightweight and about the size of a chunky picture frame, this 120-decibel oddity can now be your guitar amp, cab and FRFR speaker. [Read more]( Materials [Graphene replaces sand to make lighter, stronger concrete]( [A new study swaps sand for graphene to make lighter, more environmentally friendly concrete]( Thanks to our high demand for concrete, the world may eventually run out of accessible sand. Scientists at Rice University have now shown that substituting graphene can not only save sand, but makes concrete lighter, stronger and tougher. [Read more]( Aircraft [Paddle wheel ground effect vehicle accelerates as it skims the surface]( [A ground effect vehicle skims the surface of the water, with paddle wheels to counteract a dangerous increase in drag]( Things can get ugly and inefficient when a ground effect vehicle accidentally skims the water, adding significant drag that can drastically slow it down, wrench it sideways or just cost energy. One inventor is solving this problem with paddle wheels. [Read more]( Outdoors [The Phantom 2.0: A beloved titanium utility knife gets an upgrade]( [The Phantom 2.0 titanium utility knife is an upgrade on its popular predecessor]( Improving on what users loved about its predecessor and then adding extra features, the Phantom 2.0 folding utility knife is claimed to now be even more perfectly suited to hiking, hunting, camping, wilderness survival, or regular everyday use around the home. [Read more]( Automotive [Sleek, rooftop tent-style camper pop-top doubles van capacity]( [When you grow from a couple to a family, the Cloud Cap lets your adventure camper grow with you]( Long known for its X1 pickup topper, Super Pacific is sidestepping into the camper van market. Its new Cloud Cap doubles camper van sleeping capacity and has the slim chassis of a hardshell rooftop tent and interior access of a pop-up roof. [Read more]( Music [Suzuki announces the return of the quirky Omnichord strum machine]( [Suzuki Music has launched a new version of the quirky Omnichord electronic instrument at NAMM 2024]( Way back in 1981, Suzuki Music released a rather bizarre electric instrument called the Omnichord – a kind of synth you could strum. Now the company has relaunched the an updated kidney-shaped oddity at NAMM 2024. [Read more]( 3D Printing [Rapid liquid-metal 3D-printing process produces large parts in minutes]( [Researchers have built a machine that melts aluminum, keeps the molten metal in a container and then feeds it through a nozzle for rapid 3D printing of components]( Researchers have come up with a 3D printing method using liquid metal that's claimed to produce structures at least 10 times faster than existing metal additive manufacturing processes, though it does so at the expense of fine detail. [Read more]( Architecture [World's tallest spokeless Ferris wheel to offer bird's eye view of Seoul]( [The Seoul Twin Eye is expected to be completed in 2028]( UNStudio has revealed plans to build the world's tallest spokeless Ferris wheel in Seoul, South Korea. The unusual structure will take the form of two intersecting rings, with pods revolving around them to offer superb views of the area. [Read more]( Marine [Piercing carbon speed yacht tops 110 mph without skimping on luxury]( [Like the tip of a spear ready to launch at a target ...]( Mayla looks to launch a new breed of boat that marries the performance of a speedboat with the luxury of a yacht. Its newly debuted GT cranks out over 3,000 hp for speeds topping 100 knots but also has a comfortable cabin, sundeck and beach club. [Read more]( Biology [Camera captures the world as animals see it, with up to 99% accuracy]( [Now you see it: Like most animals, owl vision has evolved for survival and they perceive the world around them very differently to how humans do]( It’s easy to forget that most animals don’t see the world the way humans do. In fact, many perceive colors that are invisible to us. But now, for the first time, scientists have found a way to capture footage as seen by animals, and it's mesmerizing. [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