I just picked up my new car and can’t believe how advanced it is. Even with just the standard options, it tells me if I drift out of a lane, keeps my hands warm, has a camera for backing up, I can even download a meatloaf recipe onto my cell phone with voice commands.
The main reason I am writing is my concern over your research and development department for windshield wipers. I’m guessing it’s hidden somewhere in the basement of your highly advanced facility. If you manage to locate it, amongst the dust and spider webs you will find the 50-year-old skeletons of guys who developed the intermittent wiper. Please send my condolences to their surviving grandchildren, I hope the discovery of their bodies brings them closure.
Since no one has worked on improvements for the windshield wiper system for the past 50 years I would like to help out and offer some suggestions for future models.
In winter driving, the wipers build up so much snow and ice it’s like having two glaciers moving around the windshield. I sometimes find it easier to see if I drive in reverse using the backup camera, but I get strange looks from other people when I’m on the highway and for some reason, a police officer told me I couldn’t do it anymore. A simple design that would apply heat to the wiper blades and keep the snow and ice from building up would make driving forward again much easier. Feel free to overcomplicate the design as you see fit. I know this feature is already available on some luxury cars but I think being able to see where you are going shouldn’t be a luxury just for the rich.
If I may, I would also like to suggest a couple of improvements when it comes to windshield wiper fluid. The first is to increase the capacity of the holding tank from the size of a pregnant women’s bladder (no offense to pregnant women’s bladders) to 8 liters or just over the capacity of 2 store-bought 3.78-liter containers. I have looked under the hood and there are still a couple of places an 8-liter container would fit that would not be in the way. Please don’t make it part of your hilarious design antics by putting in the way of conducting normal engine maintenance and with one bolt that requires two carefully placed mirrors to see and an exact mystery combination of a half dozen ratchet extensions and universal joints to remove. If finding a location is too much of a problem you can always use the trunk, just put it where I normally keep the 2 store-bought containers that I will no longer need to carry around.
While I’m on the subject of windshield wiper fluid, there’s one other thing I think you can also improve on. The low wiper fluid warning system. The current one where it just stops working is not very convenient, it often happens when I am traveling at a high rate of speed and something happens around me that makes it kind of important to be able to see. I suggest a yellow light on the dash that comes on when you are down to half the 8-liter tank proposed above. This would indicate you can add a full store-bought container to the reservoir. A red dash light would indicate you are down to the last couple of squirts before the current warning system would finally take over.
I know simple indicators like a red and green light have no place in technology today so you could add a microprocessor and color display showing: Average ml used per squirt, Squirts per kilometer used, and Driving range, based on average ml used per squirt times the number of squirts per kilometer divided by how many ml left in the tank. If that’s still not enough adding a blue tooth connection to your phone so your car can order more wiper fluid from amazon when it gets low should bring it up to today’s standards. Sorry…I’m just assuming everyone’s car has it’s own amazon prime account.
Oh…., and one other thing. The other morning I was taking the snow off my car while it was warming up. I couldn’t figure out why the snow on the ground was melting around the car and there was a strange electrical burning smell in the air. It wasn’t until scraping the final bit of ice off the windshield and the wipers suddenly became free and move did I realize I had left the wiper switch on from the night before. Of all the digital switches that automatically shut down car accessories when the ignition is shut off for some reason the wiper motor switch still remains the old mechanical type.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope you don’t consider my comments too extravagant and will consider them when designing future models. In the meantime, if I go through a stop sign because I can’t see through the windshield and I’m killed in a collision with a transport truck, I can rest assured knowing I did not depart my lane, my hands and butt were toasty warm, and my family will still be able to enjoy that new meatloaf recipe for dinner.
One of the most cherished videos people keep is of their wedding and they are willing to spend thousands for a professional single viewpoint video. I have videoed weddings myself and it’s always difficult to know when to zoom in for close-ups showing facial expression or use a less detailed wide shot to capture everything going on. With today’s technology, there is a way to do both. Imagine having a wedding video where you could change your viewpoint. When the couple is saying their vows in the church you could switch from the traditional side view of the couple and the minister to a zoomed-in high-resolution shot showing every detail of the bride’s face, the groom’s face, mother of the bride’s reaction, or the congregation. Every time you watched the video could be different as you select different combinations of camera views, moving around the church with the click of a mouse all while keeping the same timeline.
I got the idea for the app/program years ago after I videotaped a friend’s wedding. A couple of days later I went into a variety store and noticed the security cameras video monitor showing 12 different camera views in little squares recording together. When playing back the video, any of the squares could be selected to take up the full screen of the monitor.
By using recent off the shelf existing technology it’s possible to develop an app now that would revolutionize the way we take and watch videos, not just for weddings, for all videos.
HERES HOW IT WOULD WORK
The multi-view app/program is opened and a new file name is created, say “The Big Game”
Video shot from your camera or cell phone from your seat behind the basket is loaded in “The Big Game” file and automatically given the name camera 1.
The app would use the time stamp from the video and establish a “timeline template”. Most cameras now time stamp the date and time of every video recorded right down to the second. for example “Jan 28, 2020, 10:55:59 AM – Jan 28,2020, 11:20:06 AM”
The video you took is saved on the “timeline template” but on a different layer. Similar to photo editing layers.
The next day, 3 of your friends send you copies of their videos of the same game taken from 3 different locations in the arena.
You load the 1st of the 3 videos into “The Big Game” file and it’s automatically aligned by its time stamp on the “timeline template”, saved on a different layer and given the name camera 2.
The same thing is done with the other 2 videos, also saved on different layers and given the default names camera 3 and camera 4
You can add as many videos as you have room on your hard drive. Each one will be given a different camera number. Because the computer only deals with the playback data on one layer (camera) at a time the CPU is able to handle the highest resolution videos available without getting bogged down.
If one of the video’s timestamp is outside the original timeline, the original “timeline template” is increased and videos already loaded into the file are adjusted accordingly.
When all the videos are loaded into the file you click “create multiview video”, and a finished file with the extension “.multiview” is created. In this case, the file name would be “TheBigGame.multiview”
By opening the completed project with a future program that’s compatible to play “.multiview” files the timeline begins to play
The view from camera 1 or the lowest camera number available at the start of the “timeline template” is shown by default as a full-screen view on the computer.
At the bottom of the screen links to all the other available camera views are shown. These links could change depending on whether the camera associated with the link recorded anything at that point on the “timeline template”.
As the timeline plays clicking the link to another camera changes the on-screen video to show that camera’s point of view.
A toolbar at the bottom of the screen shows the different camera views available, toggles to pause, fast forward and rewind the timeline playing, as well as a link to settings/edits.
This is an example of how the screen would look when playing back the completed video. Notice at this point in the video there are 4 different camera views available as well as controls for rewind, pause, play, and fast forward. At the bottom right-hand corner is the tools link for editing and settings. By clicking on CAM 2 on the bottom of the screen your view is instantly changed to what camera 2 recorded.
EDITING AND SETTINGS
Clicking the black gear symbol at the bottom right corner of the screen would bring you out of the video and into edit/settings mode. Here you would be able to view a chart showing the “timeline template” (timeline) and each of the camera layers. Videos without a timestamp could be moved manually to match up with the other videos in the timeline. An automatic method would also be available where the audio signature of a 4-second sound clip from a video with no timestamp would be used to match up with one of the other videos. Each camera view could also be edited if you wanted to cut some parts out.
As well as editing video you could also change the camera names that will appear on the screen. “CAM 1, CAM 2, CAM 3, CAM 4” for instance could be changed to “Bride, Groom, Altar, Congregation”.
Another option available would be to record a custom video that changes camera views along the timeline at your personal preselected points. The traditional single-view point video created could be converted to existing video formats, for example, “.mp4”.
Getting back to wedding videos, with today’s technology and advanced software such as facial recognition tracking, multiple cameras mounted on tripods can be operated remotely and wirelessly by one person Videos taken by guests could also be added to the original professionally done videos giving dozens of viewing angles to select from while playing back.
With advances in software, CPU speeds, and Ai, one day soon with enough cameras, computers will be able to recreate events like your wedding in virtual reality. Imagine putting on a pair of VR goggles and headphones and being able to walk around the church during playback of your ceremony. How about sitting at one of your guest’s tables at the reception and listening to the conversations they had.
Dave Lister
listerlogic.com
Note: This is an original idea by me but there may be similar products or patents already. I am not an expert and take no responsibility for the development of this idea.
40 years ago, on a cold winter night in the middle of a dark field. I had been fidgeting with my brand new $90 telescope for over half an hour trying to locate the planet Saturn. I knew approximately where it was from information in the newspaper that day but was getting frustrated trying to aim the telescope. All I had been able to see so far was thousands of unimpressive stars. Numb from the cold, I was ready to give up when during one of my final sweeps of the sky, something different appeared in the eyepiece. The excitement of discovery built as I adjusted the focus to pinpoint sharpness and was looking at a distinct tiny disc with a ring around it. Although the image showed no detail and was pathetic compared to the photos in books, I was in awe. Finding it myself and seeing that eerie ring with my own eyes brought a new reality to science. That along with being alone in the dark, somehow in my mind for a moment, science and science fiction merged. Every hair on my back stood straight up as a feeling came across me so intense, it sent tremors through my body.
In the weeks following, I would go back out looking at stars and the moon but without any understanding of where to look and what I was looking at, I quickly became bored. Nothing came close to the experience of the first night. Like thousands of other people that buy their first telescope, I gave up within a month and the telescope got stored away in the back of the closet.
30 years later I moved to a farm. I still wanted to learn more about the universe and with the dark clear skies at night it was the perfect opportunity to take up astronomy again. I bought new, more expensive equipment. This time I was determined to find a way to keep it more interesting by figuring out what made the first time I saw Saturn was so exciting.
I soon figured out what the keys to making astronomy exciting and interesting were:
Knowing about what you will be looking at beforehand (what it is, how far away it is, how big it is, etcetera)
Finding the object yourself
Although you would think after figuring out the keys it would be simple, it wasn’t. Reading up on objects I was going to search for was easy, finding them myself with the telescope wasn’t. At first, like before, aiming the telescope was frustrating enough to make me want to give up again. I tried different techniques and encountered problems not covered in any of the books I read. Eventually, I found a solution. What I learned on my own is vital to anyone new to astronomy that wants to have the best experience and keep from quickly losing interest.
So you know what you are getting into, here’s a complete list of equipment I consider to be essential for someone starting out:
The Book “Night Watch” by Terence Dickinson $35.00
A Telescope $400.00+
An Astronomical Laser Pointer and telescope mount $60.00
Astronomical Binoculars $100.00
A star wheel $30.00
A Red Flashlight $20.00
A Scrapbook and Pencil $15.00
Hairdryer $20.00
Step 1: For the most part, the images you will see in the telescope will be nowhere near as impressive as the photos in astronomy books but they can be much more powerful. In order for this to happen, you need to appreciate what you see by understanding what you are looking at. Before buying anything, pick up a copy of the book “Night Watch”. The book has everything you need to know about astronomy including an explanation of the universe and the best objects there are to see, along with star charts showing where to find them. It also has information on buying and using telescopes. This comprehensive book is one of the most, well written, easy to understand books I have ever read. Even if you don’t buy a telescope it makes just reading about astronomy an experience on its own.
After reading the book you will have a vital understanding of the universe, distances, and all the interesting objects there are to see. You will also know from the included star charts, what and where the best objects in each of the constellations are located. The only thing not in the book is the observing method I came up with.
Step 2: The next thing you need to do is buy a telescope. If you can, buy one with a motorized drive that keeps the object you are viewing centered in the eyepiece as the earth rotates. A corded remote control to move the motorized telescope up/down/left/right is also a big help. You can now buy affordable computerized telescopes that have all the features you need as well as the ability to move to any object in the sky with the push of a button. However, if you do buy a computerized scope do not fall into the trap of using the computer for locating objects, you will quickly become bored! Like I keep saying, for the best experience, you need to find objects yourself with charts. Finding it yourself adds excitement and a feeling of being an explorer.
To find things yourself you need to be able to aim the telescope to an exact point in the sky roughly shown on a star chart (map of the sky). Here is where the problem began for me. Because of the magnification, you can never really tell where in the sky the telescope is pointed. Most telescopes have a small magnified finder scope mounted on the main tube to help you aim. The problem is because of the optics everything in the finder scope is upside down and backward to what you see with the naked eye and what is shown on star charts. Other methods of aiming the scope are not accurate enough and because of the small field of view in the telescope eyepiece, after aiming they still require you to sweep back and forth, up and down looking for the object. You soon forget where you are in relation to where you started leading to more frustration. After months of trying to solve the problem, I came up with a much better way.
The first part of my method is nothing new. Buy an astronomical laser pointer with a mount that attaches to the main tube of the telescope. This laser pointer differs from the common ones most people are used to in that you don’t just see the dot from the beam but the entire beam itself is visible. When used outside at night, it looks like the beam of light goes from the laser pointer right to whatever celestial thing its aimed at.
After attaching the laser mount to the tube of the telescope you need to calibrate it. To do this find the brightest star you can and aim the telescope so the star is visible in the center of the telescope’s eyepiece. With the laser in the mount and turned on adjust the screws on the mount so that the laser points to the same star. When done, whatever the laser is aimed at is what is seen in the telescope eyepiece.
Step 4: Get ready to go exploring! Use the star wheel to see what constellations will be visible in the next few weeks, they change depending on the time of year and time of night. Pick a target in one of the visible constellations from the star charts in the Night Watch book, say “M51 / Whirlpool Galaxy” In the Canes Venatici constellation. Again, it is vital you do a little reading before you go out so you understand what you will be seeing.
On the next dark, clear night head outside with all the items I listed above. Open the book to the star chart you will be using. Use the red astronomical flashlight to see, red light helps to keep the pupils in your eyes open for better night vision. Look for the target again in the star chart (shown above). You see that the Whirlpool Galaxy is below and to the right of the last star in the big dipper spout. Turn on the laser (mounted and calibrated to the telescope) and aim it to that area of the sky as accurately as you can from the chart. Turn off the laser and have a look through the eyepiece of the telescope (use the lowest power eyepiece you have, it allows you to see the largest area when searching). If you happen to see it, your really lucky, aiming this way, like most, is still not very accurate and most times the telescope will still be off, but you will be in the right area.
Step 5: Here is where my method comes in. Instead of doing the back and forth sweeps that become frustrating because you forget where you started, turn the telescope laser back on. Take out the Astronomical binoculars. Using the binoculars look up in the sky and find the end of the laser. Use the binoculars to search the area around the end of the laser for your target. Because binoculars do not magnify as much as the telescope the object you are searching for will probably be very faint. It may take a while to see, the pupils in your eyes need to really open up. Eventually, you will see something, or maybe even just think you see something. When you do, while still looking through the binoculars use your other hand to move the telescope so the laser is pointing right at it (this is where it’s nice to have a telescope with a motorized drive and wired remote). Put the binoculars down, turn off the laser and look through the telescope. You should be looking at the Whirlpool Galaxy. Congratulations! you will be feeling that exciting sense of exploration and accomplishment that comes from finding it on your own! (If you didn’t see it start over again.) Now center the galaxy in the low power eyepiece than switch to a higher power eyepiece to see more detail.
Step 6: Now that you found it, take the time to really look at what you are seeing. Use the scrapbook and pencil along with the red flashlight and draw it. Try to spend at least 30 min and do as much detail as possible. It doesn’t matter if you have no drawing ability at all, by trying to draw it, you force yourself to really take the time to see the detail and absorb what you see.
One other piece of advice, sometimes in your observations, you will notice the image in the telescope isn’t sharp anymore no matter how you adjust the focus. Have a look at the lens at the end of the telescope and you will find it covered with condensation. A few minutes of using the hot air from a hairdryer will clear it right back up again. You can also stick the hairdryer under your coat to warm yourself up on cold nights.
I spent 3 years exploring the universe with my telescope and had many more incredible experiences. Although I never quite experienced a feeling as intense as the first time I saw Saturn, using this method made every night interesting and exciting.
Our planet is such an insignificant speck, floating in an incomprehensible size universe yet few people take the time to be aware of what’s out there. Taking up astronomy even for a year or two is an enlightening experience that provides an important perspective of life.
Imagine skimming just above a lake bottom, exploring underwater terrain that’s never been seen by anyone before, all without leaving the safety and comfort of a powerboat. Virtual reality goggles give you the feeling of being right on board the drone and the joy stick control puts you in the pilot seat. As your powerboat pulls it along faster then a diver can swim, it records the changing water depth coming up and displays it on the VR screen. All the action is recorded on an SD card in 360 video along with latitude and longitude so you will know the exact location of any treasures you find.
I came up with the idea for a towable underwater drone while seaching a lake bottom for an outboard motor that had gotten loose and fell off the back of a fishing boat. The search area turned out to be much larger than anticipated. Although the water was just 15 feet deep, visability was only 8 feet and the bottom could not be seen from the surface. After a half hour of searching and my air tank half empty I had an idea. To cover more area, instead of swimming, have them tow me with a rope behind the powerboat. It worked so well I thought about it more and came up with the idea for a towable underwater drone.
Unfortunatly towable underwater drones don’t exist yet but could be built with today’s current technology. Heres the rest of my idea with more details.
THE BASE: The base unit contains the complete system that quickley connects to a permanently mounted bracket at the stern (port or starboard side) of any powerboat. A storage compartment on the base contains VR goggles, a wired joy stick, and a cable with alligator clips that connect to the tow boats 12V battery for power. A small rechargable 12V gel cell battery is also contained in the base for emergency power. On the back of the base a depth finder is mounted at the end of a telescopic shaft that extends into the water. The base also contains a gps, computer, electronics, and reel of 200 feet of tow cable that also provides power and data transfer for the drone. The boom keeps the drone and tow cable clear of the boats motor and propeller.
HOW IT WORKS: The pilot attaches the wired joystick control to any smooth surface by suction cups in a position thats comfortable to use and turns on the main power. When the boat is in the desired area the pilot puts on the VR goggles connecting him to to the drone’s 360 degree camera via blue tooth conection with the base.
As soon as the drone is lowered by its cable via the joy stick middle finger switch, the camera and headlights turn on, video from the drones camera is sent to the VR goggles video screen, and recording begins on the memory card. The 360 degree camera and VR goggles give the pilot the ability to look left, right, up and down in real time. With the boat moving forward slowly, the pilot pulls back on the joy stick (to keep the drone on the surface) and continues to unwind tow cable until the drone contacts the water. With the drone skiping across the surface the pilot continues to let out aproximately 100 feet of cable. The base computer continuously records the depth of the water between the power boat and the drone and displays it as a “bottom profile line” on the VR goggle display. This allows the pilot to know the depth of water where the drone is as well as any obstacles or depth changes 100 feet ahead.
The digital proportional joy stick is conected to the drone through the base computer to create a fly-by-wire control system. Two servos in the drone control up/down and left/right respectively to create the following functions:
Pull back to go up
Push forward to go down
Move left to go left
Move right to go right
Information from the “water speed sensor” on the drone is sent into the base computer to determine the ratio of movement of the drone’s control surfaces to joystick input. The computer will also override joystick input should depth sensors on the tow boat or drone indicate imminent impact with the bottom. These 2 fly-by-wire features allow for both safety and ease of control by new/inexperienced pilots.
Video is sent from the drone’s low light 360 degree camera to the base computer through the tow cable. The following overlay of information is added to the video before being sent by blue tooth to VR 360 degree goggles:
“Drone Depth” from depth guage on drone
“Bottom Depth” from depth finder on drone
“Speed of Tow Boat” determined by base’s GPS
A “Bottom Profile Line“, created from the base’s depth finder data, the line shows a profile of the bottom between the drone and the tow boat. This aids to warn the pilot in murky water and high speeds of sudden depth changes and obstacles coming up. It also shows the drone’s position in relation to the bottom.
“Distance to Tow Boat” (same as the length of bottom profile line being displayed).
“Latitude and Longitude” of the drone. The base computer uses the GPS of the base unit and calculates direction of the tow boat, length of tow rope, depth of drone and left/right angle of the tow cable leaving base unit to get the actual latitude and longitude of the drone itself.
Current “Date and Time” with seconds
“REC” indicating video is being recorded
The following warning messages are displayed only when applicable: “BACK UP POWER” when power from the tow boat is interrupted and base has switched over to the back up enclosed battery / “LOW MEMORY” when the memory card used to record the video gets close to full / “COMPUTER OVERRIDE” when computer takes over joy stick control to prevent impact with the bottom.
Any number of blue tooth VR goggles can be synced with base allowing passengers in the tow boat to feel like passengers on the drone. Independent signals allow everyone to look different directions at the same time and help ensure the pilot dosen’t miss anything interesting. A button on top of the joy stick enables the pilot to take a still photo of anything he sees thats interesting. All the information including longitude, latitude, date, and time is captured on the photo making it easy to go back through the video and play back the same location later.
When ready to return, the pilot squeezes the cable in button with index finger on the joy stick and the electric motor in the base winds in the tow cable. When the drone makes contact to the docking conection at the end of the boom, power to the drone is shut down, lights and camera turn off, and a data folder is written to the memory card. The folder is named “the date and time the drone left the docking connection” and contains a video file of the whole trip and a seperate file with any still photos the pilot took. The video can be played back later with any VR goggles making it possible to relive the experience over and over.
An App. for a tablet could also be created to work with the base’s GPS to do a grid search. Enter 3 or more GPS points to form a search area along with the bottom water visabiliy on the tablet App. The GPS on the base unit sends information by blue tooth to the tablet enabling the App. to provide a line for the power boat driver to stay on so the entire search area is visually covered by the drone.
Towable underwater drones would combine the thrill of being an explorer with the fun of a video game.
Dave Lister
listerlogic.com
Note: This is an original idea by me but there may be similar products or patents already. I am not an expert, if you attempt to build always consult with an expert and check with all local code and laws. Build at own risk.
It’s minus 5 degrees outside but inside the house it’s warm and comfortable. If your like most people, as the furnace is running to warm your house the hydro metre is running extra fast powering compressors to keep the inside of the fridge and freezer cold. In climates that are often below the freezing mark 4-5 months out of the year why not use the outside elements for cooling?
By installing a temperature exchange unit similar to a car radiator outside (photo above) and a smaller one inside the fridge it should be possible on cold days to use a very low energy water pump to circulate plumbing antifreeze through insulated pipes between the two. The circulating water pump would use a small fraction of the energy of the fridges compressor and if used 4 months out of the year should not only save money on energy but also extend the life of the appliance by 33%.
When the outside thermostat registers -5 degrees or colder a signal is sent to the control module inside the fridge and a relay disconnects the fridges compressor. Instead of the fridges thermostat activating the compressor when it becomes too warm the pump is activated instead and cold plumbing antifreeze from the “outside temperature exchange unit” is brought through insulated pipes to the “fridge temperature exchange unit” and cools the fridge. When the fridge is cold again the control module shuts off the pump.
On a commercial level such as in a supermarket with rows of freezers, using the outside cold from the winter has a much bigger benefit. Cooling tubes mounted in the freezer during manufacturing could be used in winter to circulate cold plumbing antifreeze from outside storage reservoirs. Conventional cooling compressors would still be used for summer time or warm winter days.
Another possibility is on cold winter days would be to use cold air instead of cold liquid.
A thermostat in the food cooler from a grocery store would activate a roof vent fan. Cold outside air would be blown down through insulated ducts to the inside walls of the food cooler.
In winter, the insulation from the inside walls of the food cooler would be automatically retracted creating a channel for cold outside air to be blown through.
In summer time the insulation is automatically moved up against the inside walls of the food cooler. A traditional compressor is used with evaporator coils.
Its hard to believe that in todays day and age we still waste so much energy and money creating a cold area for food when in the winter time our house is surrounded by it.
Dave Lister
listerlogic.com
Note: This is an original idea by me but there may be similar products or patents already. I am not an expert, if you attempt to build or use always consult with an expert and check with all local code and laws. Build and use at your own risk. I take no responsibility for injury, death or damage to property.
