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Douglas Malewicki
Douglas "Doug" Malewicki is an American aerospace engineer and inventor of Polish descent. Many of his inventions concern flying vehicles, but the range is quite diverse. He is also the concept creator and inventor of Skytran PRT (Personal Rapid Transit). Green vehicles Malewicki spent the past 25 years advancing the Skytran concept: ultra-light computer-controlled cars hanging below aluminum Maglev (magnetic levitation) tracks that could be supported above roads just by utility poles or the sides of buildings. Skytran basically combines maglev (which allows high speeds) and a hanging design (more stable; smaller tracks) with the 1960s idea of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) -- cars individual commuters take directly to their destination (hence "Personal"), but computer-driven and available to others after they exit (hence "Transit"). Another key PRT idea Skytran follows is exiting the main track for boarding; so the cars behind don't need to wait as they do with mass transit vehic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skytran
Skytran (stylized as skyTran) is a personal rapid transit system concept. It was first proposed by inventor Douglas Malewicki in 1990, and is under development by Unimodal Inc. A prototype of the skyTran vehicle and a section of track have been constructed. The early magnetic levitation system, Inductrack, which SkyTran has replaced with a similar proprietary design, has been tested by General Atomics with a full-scale model. In 2010, Unimodal signed an agreement with NASA to test and develop skyTran. skyTran has proposed additional projects in France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. System details To minimize maintenance and make switching on and off the tracks efficient at high speeds, early versions of the system proposed using the Inductrack passive magnetic levitation system instead of wheels. Passive maglev requires no external power to levitate vehicles. Rather, the magnetic repulsion is produced by the movement of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evel Knievel
Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He died of pulmonary disease in Clearwater, Florida, in 2007, aged 69. Early life Knievel was born on October 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana, the first of two children of Robert E. and Ann Marie Keough Knievel. His surname is of German origin; his paternal great-great-grandparents emigrated to the United States from Germany. His mother was of Irish ancestry. Robert and Ann divorced in 1940, after the 1939 birth of their second child, Nicolas, known as Nic. Both parents decided to leave Butte. Knievel and his brother were raised in Butte by their paternal grandparents, Ignatius and Emma Knievel. At the age of eight, Knievel attended a Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show, which he credited for his later career cho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Escalation (card Game)
''Nuclear Escalation'' is a 1983 card game published by Flying Buffalo. Gameplay ''Nuclear Escalation'' is a sequel to '' Nuclear War'' with new special rules and options. Reception Scott Haring reviewed ''Nuclear Escalation'' in ''Space Gamer'' No. 68. Haring commented that "So if you can laugh in the face of potential nuclear conflagration, ''Nuclear Escalation'' is not only a cute little game in its own right, but it combined with ''Nuclear War'' to produce a killer (pardon the expression) game that is a definite improvement on the original." ''Nuclear Escalation'' was awarded the Charles S. Roberts Award for "Best Science Fiction Boardgame of 1983". ''Nuclear Escalation'' had been the subject of a potential ban on all war related toys when two MPs of the UK Labour Party called the game "a nasty twist on the toy industry". Rick Loomis was interviewed as part of this discussion saying "the game is intended to be humorous... the subject is so serious that you have to laugh abo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Proliferation (card Game)
''Nuclear Proliferation'' is a satirical card game with a theme of nuclear war published by Flying Buffalo in 1992. Description ''Nuclear Proliferation'' is a card game for 2–6 players in which players draw cards and use them to try to eliminate other players. Components The game box contains: *40 Population cards *108 Nuclear War cards *13 display boards *1 six-sided die, with the "1" replaced by a mushroom cloud *rulebook *spin arrow card Set-up Each player is given a storage board. The two decks of cards are shuffled. A number of Population cards are dealt to each player, the exact number depending on the number of players. Nine Nuclear War cards are dealt to each player. Each player in turn immediately lays down all "Secret" and "Top Secret" cards, follows the instructions of each, and then replaces them with new cards from the Nuclear War deck. If any of the new cards are also "Secret" or "Top Secret" cards, then these are also played and replaced. This continues until al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Play-by-mail Game
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played by mail since 1963, introducing a multi-player aspect to PBM games. Flying Buffalo Inc. pioneered the first commercially available PBM game in 1970. A small number of PBM companies followed in the 1970s, with an explosion of hundreds of startup PBM companies in the 1980s at the peak of PBM gaming popularity, many of them small hobby companies—more than 90 percent of which eventually folded. A number of independent PBM magazines also started in the 1980s, including '' The Nuts & Bolts of PBM'', '' Gaming Universal'', ''Paper Mayhem'' and '' Flagship''. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal '' Suspense and Decision''. Play-by-mail games—becoming known as "turn-based games" in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Destruction
''Nuclear Destruction'' is a play-by-mail (PBM) game. It was published by Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc. in 1970. As the first professional PBM game, it started the commercial PBM industry. Offered by postal mail initially, the game is available by email as well in the 21st century. Active for 52 years, as of October 2021, Rick Loomis PBM Games publishes the game. Players use strategic missiles, factories, money, and other elements of gameplay with a focus on diplomacy to win by becoming the sole survivor. Development ''Nuclear Destruction'' was the first game offered by Flying Buffalo Inc., and started the professional PBM industry. It was the first professional PBM game. Flying Buffalo Inc. offered the game through mail initially, but it is a play-by-email (PBEM) game in the 21st century as well. Mosteller 2014. p. 21. As of October 2021, Rick Loomis PBM Games publishes the game. ''Nuclear Destruction'' has been active since 1970. Loomis 1981. p. 3. Gameplay According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo Inc. (FBI) is a game company with a line of role playing games, card games, and other gaming materials. The company's founder, Rick Loomis, began game publishing with ''Nuclear Destruction'', a play-by-mail game which started the professional PBM industry in the United States. Loomis added games and players while introducing Play-by-mail game#Computer versus human moderated, computer moderation and soon incorporated into the company Flying Buffalo Inc. The company published games in other genres, including card games such as Nuclear War (card game), ''Nuclear War'' and a role playing game called ''Tunnels & Trolls'', a game similar to ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Flying Buffalo acquired its 10,000th customer account number in 1980 and reached its largest size of 21 employees in 1983. In July 2021, Webbed Sphere bought Flying Buffalo with plans to incorporate Flying Buffalo's products. The PBM games were not included in the sale and were continued by a separate company cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rick Loomis
Rick Loomis (August 24, 1946 – August 23, 2019) was an American game designer, most notable as the founder of game publisher Flying Buffalo, which he managed until his death. Career Early years Richard F. Loomis was born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona and attended Coronado High School.Helser, Linda"War on the Homefront: Scottsdale inventor makes conflict and mayhem a game" ''The Arizona Republic'', Phoenix, Arizona, 96th year, number 349, April 30, 1986, page C4. He served in the United States Army for three years starting in 1969, and was stationed at Fort Shafter in Oahu, Hawaii. He had discovered the wargame '' Gettysburg'' by Avalon Hill in a toystore, and in 1970 had invented a game called ''Nuclear Destruction'' which—unlike most tabletop games—included hidden movement; in January 1970, Loomis started sending mail to readers of '' The General'' who had advertised for play-by-mail (PBM) opponents, offering to moderate multiplayer ''Nuclear Destruction'' games. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear War (card Game)
''Nuclear War'' is a List of collectible card games#Collectible common-deck card games, collectible common-deck card game designed by Douglas Malewicki and originally published in 1965 that is a satirical simulation of an end-of-the-world scenario fought mostly with nuclear weapons. It is currently (as of 2012) published by Flying Buffalo, and has inspired several expansions. Development Doug Malewicki designed the game in 1964. Gameplay The game is a multiplayer game, with each player having a small cardboard playmat upon which cards are placed and revealed. It is intended to be played by 3 or more players, but can also be played with only 2. At the start of a game, each player is dealt a number of "population cards," ranging in denomination from 1 million to 25 million people. Players must protect their population, as the total loss of population leads to player elimination. They are then dealt a number of cards, which may be of the following types: *Secrets which usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Correll
Bob "Crazy" Correll (born January 7, 1942) is a former daredevil and stuntman from Long Beach, California. According to his official biography from Balls, Unlimited, Inc., Correll has enjoyed a varied career racing motorcycles, drag cars, stock cars, and go-carts. He has also flown hang gliders, sail planes, powered planes, and hot-air balloons. From the 1970s to the late 1990s Bob Correll was associated with the following ventures: *The ''Kitecycle'' - Designed in the early 1970s and patented 1975, by Doug Malewicki of Aerovisions, Inc., the Kitecycle is a motorcycle/ hangglider combination that has been featured on the television programs "That's Incredible," " The New and Spectacular Guinness Book of World Records," "CHiPs," and " I Dare You: The Ultimate Challenge," amongst others. Correll's distance record with the Kitecycle is . This is recognized as a world record for wing-assisted jumps. *The ''Original Jet-Powered Dragster Motorcycle'' (The "Jetbike") - Correll's jet-p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the agency was created on February 7, 1958, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in response to the Soviet Union, Soviet launching of Sputnik 1 in 1957. By collaborating with academia, industry, and government partners, DARPA formulates and executes research and development projects to expand the frontiers of technology and science, often beyond immediate U.S. military requirements.Dwight D. Eisenhower and Science & Technology, (2008). Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial CommissionSource ''The Economist'' has called DARPA the agency "that shaped the modern world," and pointed out that "Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine sits alongside weather satellites, Global Positioning System, GPS, Unmann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller and a system of communications with the UAV. The flight of UAVs may operate under remote control by a human operator, as remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA), or with various degrees of autonomy, such as autopilot assistance, up to fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications.Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Jang, I.; Arvin, F.; Lanzon, A.,A Decentralized Cluster Formation Containment Framework for Multirobot Systems IEEE Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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