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Making SKILLS
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW
place
IS CLIMATE
CHANGE REAL?
ASK THE GUYS WHO
JUST HAD TO MOVE A
LIGHTHOUSE
RISE OF THE
PINK HARD HAT
Women engineers breaking
AIRSHIP 2.0 down barriers
VOLUME 14, NO. 11
CLEVER CARS
MAN VS MACHINE DRIVING APPS SUV E-POWER
FROM THE EDITOR...
CASH
for
SECURITY
TIPS!
INVASION
O
n an otherwise unremarkable autumn During the evening commute, with timetables in chaos, on
evening, we became another statistic. what was nominally the much-delayed 6 o’clock train, half of us
Under cover of darkness and a sudden were jammed into somebody’s armpit and the other half were
downpour, the crowbar gang went to work. clinging to the outside of the coaches. Right there, one of
Swiftly. They had to move fast, because I was my fellow sardines lifted my cellphone. What the hell, it was
just a few minutes up the road. So was my probably an omen that I should get that upgrade I’d been
wife. Meanwhile, from next door, the neigh- putting off. Anyway, the contents were backed up. And the
bours were raising a ruckus. Our alarm was phone could be wiped remotely and blacklisted. Is it worth
wailing and armed response and the police giving a damn?
were heading our way as fast as evening Well, you could say my strike rate is on the high side. High
traffic would allow. enough to call for stern action, such as piling on ever more
No problem. By the time we arrived, the impressive layers of virtual armour. That should provide a
action was all over. comforting sense of security – until the paranoia kicks in,
It wasn’t exactly clinically efficient, or that is, and another bristling layer gets added. And, to be
terribly effective. They left behind a bunch of honest, the protection we already have is pretty standard
stuff, but got the TV and those few items of for suburbia.
jewellery that had been placed in plain sight. What about fighting back?
What really brings home the impact of a True story: once upon a time, in the days before beams and
break-in – especially a violent one like this – is armed response and remote control, a younger me was con-
the realisation of what could have happened. fronted by a burglar. I went all Rambo and somehow – okay,
And assuming you manage to get over that, probably by means of the crazed look in my eyes and the golf
there’s the PT of the aftermath. The damage. club I was brandishing – brought him to book. Against our
The wrecked gate motor. The buckled door recent three committed intruders equipped with crowbars,
frames. The looking over your shoulder. a firearm and a getaway car, similar bravado might end a
It’s not the first time that we have fallen whole lot less satisfactorily.
victim to this kind of crime. And, as always, So, how to respond?
the worst effect is the most long-lasting: the I think, at first, with a conversation. I want to hear what
intrusion on one’s personal space. you think. Let’s get your best home security tips. Your
Not that I’m suggesting that we had it thoughts on where this crime thing is going. Best letter
particularly hard. Crime can be easy to get gets R1 000.
hysterical about. Frankly, there’s a lot worse
that could happen and there’s far, far worse
that others have experienced.
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CLEVER CARS
MAN VS MACHINE DRIVING APPS SUV E-POWER
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Cover JUNE.indd 1 5/4/16 9:19 AM
12 84 78
EDITORIAL TEAM
Associate editor Lindsey Schutters
Journalist Kyle Kock
Digital content manager Nikky Oosthuizen
Proofreader Margy Beves-Gibson
Jackie Browning
Durban – Lindi van den Heever
Cape Town and PE – Ingrid Versfeld
Advertising sales co-ordinator Linda Delport
SKILLS
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Making VIDEO EDI
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BE THE FIRS
THE INF
the world
NEL
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MARKETING, EVENTS AND CIRCULATION
a safer IS CLIMATE Group marketing and sponsorship manager Dean Dicks
T TO KNOW
SAVE
VOLUME 14,
giants of
next-generationfor lift-off
the sky get set DIRECTORS
ARS Paul Jenkins (Chairman), Anton Botes, Jacques Breytenbach, Tim Holden,
NO. 11
CLEVERINEC DRIVING APPS SUV E-POWER Terry Moolman, Neil Piper, Cornelios Vamvadelis
30%
MAN VS MACH
5/4/16 9:19
AM PUBLISHED BY RamsayMedia (PTY) LTD
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Visit www.popularmechanics.co.za/subscribe Published and distributed by RamsayMedia (Pty) Ltd by permission of Hearst
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Single issues are also available. We cannot be responsible for loss of unsolicited queries, manuscripts or photos. For return, they
Be sure to rate & review us! must be accompanied by adequate postage. As a service to readers, Popular Mechanics publishes
newsworthy products, techniques and scientific and technological developments. Due to possible
variance in the quality and condition of materials and workmanship, Popular Mechanics cannot
assume responsibility for proper application of techniques or proper and safe functioning of
manufactured products or reader-built projects resulting from information published in this
magazine.
NIN
G WINNING THE WAR ON BOREDOM Write to us, engage us in
debate and you could win
WIN TTER About 20 years ago I built scale attention. When I jokingly informed a cool prize. In fact, this
LE
models of a front end loader, a the inquisitive security official that month we take that liter-
Case 580 Tractor and a Gallion my name was Terblanche and that ally: our winning letter
road grader. Over the years, I I intended to build my own attack earns a Little Luxury
decided that this was going to vehicle, I was ensured of very Vitality water cooler valued
be one of my hobbies when I close continuous surveillance). at R1 300. This SA Rugby
eventually retired. Because I wasn’t sure how unit is beautifully finished
The big day finally dawned in difficult the project would be, I and has a rubber feel and
2014, but for various reasons I opted to first make individual real metal enamel badges
only recently got going on my parts and only do the assembly with a green LED. Water
first “pension project”, a model once all the parts were complet- is on, well, everyone’s
of a Ratel Attack Vehicle. With ed. The small scale and limited lips, with drought and
the attached photos I would like information forced me – but water quality among the
to share my pleasure and chal- admittedly also gave me the biggest threats facing our
lenges until the final completion artistic freedom – to invent and society. For many, filtering
many, many hours later. build my own suspension. To their water has become
As you can see, I used a mixture ensure that the finished product second nature and with
of exotic woods. The only refer- looked authentic I kept as close Little Luxury Vitality that
ence point available was a couple as possible to the original form, process is easy and afford-
of photos taken of a Ratel at the shape, detail and scaled size of able. It’s silly to have bottled water delivered to
South African War Museum in the vehicle. (A search on Google your house, at huge cost financially and environ-
Saxonwold, Johannesburg. (The revealed how versatile this vehi- mentally, with diesel truck emissions adding to the
fact that I started taking a few cle really is and how many ver- pollution.
measurements soon attracted sions were built over the years.) The Little Luxury Vitality water cooler is the most
I have included some photos affordable true mini cooler. It provides 7 litres of
taken at various stages of com- ice-cold filtered water at your fingertips. Little Luxury
pletion, starting with the suspen- Vitality cooler filters exceed both the USA and the
sion modules. European standards; they use NSF-certified filters,
After a customary South are tested by SGS France and approved by the FDA.
African strike to demand more It’s the perfect gift for your bar, desk, kids’
regular privileges of coffee and rooms, next to granny’s bed and on your kitchen
cookies from “senior manage- counter. Available at Makro and selected Dis-Chem
ment” I will decide on my next stores. To find out more and buy online, visit
model. Thanks for a wonderfully www.littleluxury.co.za
educational magazine that keeps
our inspirational juices flowing.
Popular Mechanics is an absolute Send your letter to: Popular Mechanics, PO Box 180,
must for any man and boy. Howard Place 7450, or e-mail popularmechanics@
DOUW KRUGER ramsaymedia.co.za Please keep it short and to the
RANDBURG point. Regrettably, prizes can be awarded only to
South African residents.
ROBOTIC SURGERY REVISITED on this subject, but the original outright in medicine to your generally mechanically
Although Popular Mechanics is hardly condemnation of it as stated in the response minded readership and not to discuss the
the proper forum to enter into to and fro has been tempered by the European and spectrum of treatment options. EUA guide-
academic discussions regarding medical American urological associations in their lines state brachytherapy clearly as a treat-
conditions such as the appropriate treat- most recent guidelines. ment option for low-risk prostate cancer.
ment of prostate cancer, the response of Regarding brachytherapy for the treat- To state that (it) has better outcomes for
a Durban-based urologist in your March ment of localised prostate cancer, it is true “all stages and grades” of prostate cancer
issue to an article concerning robotic sur- that it is an acceptable treatment option than surgery is a gross exaggeration and
gery in your January issue cannot be left that should be discussed between doctor simply not true.
unanswered. Certain statements can lead and patient. The original article may have The statement that “so-called experts in
to misinterpretations by the lay public created the false impression that its use is their field do not offer brachytherapy as
such as the majority of your readers. strictly limited to poor surgical risk patients an alternative “ is also completely untrue
Regarding screening for prostate cancer (although brachytherapy in itself wasn’t if he refers to the urologists at The Urology
(which wasn’t even mentioned in the mentioned, but radiotherapy in general). hospital in Pretoria, where we do indeed
original article), it is true that there has Bear in mind that the intent of the article offer (it) at our hospital.
been a lot of controversy in recent years was merely to introduce robotic technology Regarding the rather slanderous accusa-
www.popularmechanics.co.za _ JUNE 2016 7
LET TERS / WHAT ’S ON YOUR MIND?
tion that the robot is used for financial away, so we do a supply shop only once sive material with one open end a few
reasons, I can safely state that I am not every three months. metres under the waterline and the open-
aware of any hospital in our country that We are completely and utterly separated ing of the other end level, or slightly pro-
makes money out of the device. It is a costly from the rest of the world and at times I truding above the height of the pier. The
treatment option (as is brachytherapy) feel that when and if we eventually get back vessels could be anything from one to two
but we believe that the advantages to our to civilisation we will be so unequipped. metres in diameter. A number of these
selected patients of this minimally invasive With this in mind, I purchased a copy of vessels could be staggered at intervals
surgical procedure far outweigh the financial Popular Mechanics on our last supply along both sides of the piers.
disadvantages. Furthermore the urologists’ shop. It was so crammed with wonderfully Now, here is the crunch part.
remuneration for brachytherapy and surgery written articles and beautiful illustrations At the top (open) end of each of these
(open, laparoscopic and robotic) in South and made me look forward to going back vessels would need to be fitted a large
Africa is equivalent despite the fact that to civilisation to experience this, which now close-fitting fan with blades that are able
there is a huge discrepancy in skill levels seems futuristic to us. It was such a treat to rotate both ways, so that when each
and time that it takes to perform the pro- that we have read it several times over so heavy swell comes in the volume of air in
cedure. far and I can’t wait for my next issue, which the vessel is expelled with the fan rotating
DR F DU P BOEZAART I will pick up in three months’ time. one way and then when the wave swell drops
THE UROLOGY HOSPITAL, PRETORIA
KAVENDREE MUTHU-KURTEN and passes by, it sucks the air out, forcing
(Shortened – Editor.) SOMEWHERE IN THE BUSH the fan to rotate in the other direction.
Naturally the fans and components would
need to be made of non-corrosive materials.
OUTDATED? I BEG TO DIFFER SWELL IDEA In essence, heavy ocean swells are rolling
On the cover of the March 2016 issue, you Facing a shortage of generating power in all the time, one after the other. As a
have the BHT 150 hovercraft and inside to satisfy South Africa’s needs, we are swell rises in the cylindrical vessel it will
you refer to it as “outdated technology”! looking to other sources to add to Eskom’s push the trapped air out, spinning the fan
On the contrary, this craft is a modern power grid, such as massive wind farms, at the top open end and, as it moves on,
fast ferry, robustly constructed with large solar panels and costly gas-powered the air will be drawn back into the vessel,
diesel engines. It is used by Hovertravel in generators. but now spinning the fan in the other
their cross Solent service, which incidentally South Africa has a vast coastline, so direction.
has been running successfully for more why have we not thought of using what With all these constantly spinning fans
than 50 years. we have right under our noses to generate hooked up to a generating source I’m sure
It is ideally suited for this purpose in our shortfall from the unrelenting action a fair amount of energy could be generated
that it is not limited by tidal fluctuations, of the incoming swells of the waves crash- to assist with our present shortage, espe-
which can be many metres on the UK coast, ing on our shores? My idea would be to cially if a number of these piers with their
leaving large mudflats and sandbanks build long wooden or concrete piers straight components were situated around our coast-
exposed. It stops and turns on concrete out into the sea, similar to the piers off line. Not only would this be a continuous
slipways either side. Durban’s beachfront. Firmly attached to source of energy, but also a very cost-
FRANCOIS MALAN (HOVERCRAFT the uprights of the piers, on both sides, effective one.
EXPERT), SOMERSET WEST could be large cylindrical vessels, open at DEREK WHITEHEAD
each end made out of strong, non-corro- EAST LONDON
THINGS
the natural world on a cellular level is more
Biomimicry is slowly involved. The way energy flows through a
cell, the point at which it can replicate and
bleeding into every- even the atomic structures are subject to
a car or a jet plane burning biofuel? the article “The nature of things”
By LINDSEY SCHUTTERS
of arable land available for growing food. topic – made me think of the
easier. Leonardo da Vinci looked to birds
to inspire human flight. Isaac Newton
contemplated falling apples and gave
birth to physics and calculus. Biomimicry,
however, was first recognised in 1950
when biophysicist Otto Schmitt created
Natural plant life absorbs CO2 and produces French American engineer
the term biomimetics to describe the
engineering of a device to replicate a
biological system. In his case it was the
Schmitt trigger, which replicates the
way a squid’s nerves fire. The technology
forms the backbone for a CMOS chip,
harvested it does nothing for a few months. “The art of structure is where
just over the border in Harare there’s a
shopping mall (Eastgate Centre) that
uses natural means to stay cool. The
building is designed to mimic a termite
mound and uses about 10 per cent of
LIONEL LATIGAN have an organic appearance to 34 www.popularmechanics.co.za _ APRIL 2016 APRIL 2016 _ www.popularmechanics.co.za 35
structures have also mimicked Nature. Specifically, the structures were designed to mimic
the evolution of bones, where (in essence) material is added in locations of high stress and
A TASTE OF CIVILISATION taken away in locations of low stress (hence the holes).
For the past two years, my husband and I The designers of these structures use design software (for example, SolidThinking
and our two kids have been doing research Inspire). This software runs bone growth algorithms on the structures they have con-
in the bushes of KwaZulu-Natal. We spend ceived and modifies them just like Mother Nature does to your bones.
20 days of each month in the field living NICHOLAS MINNAAR (APPLICATION ENGINEER)
out of our vehicle. Our closest shop is miles BY EMAIL PM
Experience a blend of luxury and class-leading off-road capability. The all-new FORTUNER. THE LUXURY OF FREEDOM.
MODEL LINE-UP 2.4 GD-6 RB I 2.4 GD-6 RB AT I 2.7 VVTi RB AT I 2.8 GD-6 RB I 2.8 GD-6 4X4 I 2.8 GD-6 RB AT I 2.8 GD-6 4X4 AT I 4.0 V6 4X4 AT
Toyota SA @ToyotaSA
TIME MACHINE / IT MADE PERFECT SENSE AT THE TIME
May 1939
The flying freight wagon designed by racer/engineer
Benny Howard featured a tail that swung on hinges,
opening up enough cargo space for a small truck or
your new speedboat, as depicted on the cover (right).
Combining the classic instructional and America’s
favourite pastime, we asked then three-time World
Series of Baseball champion Monte Pearson to share
some of his pitching secrets with Popular Mechanics
readers. Pearson went on to win his fourth consecu-
tive World Series title later that year and put on one of
the greatest performances in World Series history,
apparently using the curve-ball techniques listed in
the five-page article.
September 1973
Today’s tough guys are cut
from the same cloth as
these elite units. With the
rising tide of political ter-
rorism, serial killers and
narcotics-enhanced crimi-
nals, there were certain
situations where the police
force in Los Angeles were
August 1953
Though autonomous inadequately equipped or
trucking is what’s being trained to neutralise
talked about right now, threats. Enter the Special
63 years ago the latest trend in commercial vehicles Weapons and Tactics divi-
was the “turbojet” truck. The engine, developed by the sion (SWAT), who were dis-
Boeing Airplane Company, tipped the scales at up to patched within minutes to
1 000 kg less than a diesel engine of similar output – any part of the greater Los
which was 130 kW. Fuel consumption was a bit thirstier Angeles area and used mili-
than a regular diesel engine’s, but the turbojet was tary precision in the war on
capable of running off regular petrol, diesel, kerosene, lawlessness. They were
stove oil and even jet fuel. It also used up to 1 000 called into action 46 times
fewer parts, took up 13 per cent of the space needed to in 1972, a rate of nearly
house a traditional diesel motor, and required only six once a week, to keep the
gears to maintain momentum. streets of LA safe. PM
Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Le Petit Prince”. IWC-manufactured 51111-calibre movement with
Ref. 5009: The little prince tells the pilot he will its seven-day power reserve. Time enough to for-
give him a friendly laugh from the countless stars get time and follow the dream-like journey of the
in the night sky. The sight this watch inspires sim- little prince. IWC . E N G I N E E R E D FO R M E N .
FUN
Madsen says one of the most to track their rovers,” Bretschneider says. The Void The technology works. The funding is
important requirements for achieving team customised the NASA model and can now track set. The only question is whether we’ll
a body with an accuracy of less than a millimetre. get off the couch and use it.
Consumer Electronics Show has the Guitar Hero problem. Why order a loaner VR headset to explore
allows users to play a first-person spend hours perfecting your cook- exotic destinations, such as an
speed-shooter game while strapp- ing skills on a pretend platform with “ice cream shop in Rwanda” from
ed into a baby-bouncer-esque inedible graphics when you could their rooms. Maybe go outside
harness. Real cool, guys. just, you know, cook? instead? – L A R A S O R O K A N I C H
Like all uncharted lands, space offers its earliest pioneers exciting opportunities in
lucrative minerals, free land and untimely death. With that come many questions.
For example: if a company sends a probe to mine an asteroid, does the platinum
SOON, SPACE or nickel it finds legally belong to it once the goods are back on Earth?
WILL HAVE After testing a version online this spring, Vickie Sutton, a law professor at Texas Tech
LAWYERS. University since 1999, is offering a course in space law in 2017. Among other regulations, it will cover UN
NOW WE’LL treaties stating that governments cannot claim ownership to asteroids and planets, as well as US statute HR
NEVER BE 2262, passed in November, which allows individuals to keep what they find. It seems the frontier’s period of
MOON PIRATES. lawlessness is ending before it even really got started. Gather ye Mars dust while ye may.
5 OUTSIDE
MACHINISTS:
Experts in alignment,
outside machinists
install the toys:
propulsion machinery,
steering gear, radars,
antennas and weap-
ons systems. They
make sure each piece
is placed properly on
welded bases known
as foundations.
ON THE INTERIOR
9 PIPE WELDERS AND FITTERS 12 SHEET-METAL MECHANICS create
connect pipes for sewage, water and air ducts for the ventilation system.
machinery, using mirrors in tight spaces. 7 PAINTERS:
ILLUSTRATION BY SINELAB
AVIATION
REAR
PROPULSOR
FORWARD DUCT
PROPULSOR
DUCT PAYLOAD FUEL/FREIGHT MODULE
MODULE
ENGINES
Airlander’s quartet of four-litre V8 turbo-
diesels, two each front and rear, produce
260 kW apiece. All are configured in ducts
with blown vanes to allow vectored thrust
For takeoff/landing/ground handling.
SOME 45 YEARS AGO, one of the fuel compa- Detail from Herman Farr’s
nies ran deliveries from its depot in Cape original patent.
Town Harbour. Then, wide new roads and
big traffic circles were constructed on the
reclaimed harbourfront. Soon afterwards,
the fuel company experienced a series of
puzzling tanker turnovers. Were the new
roads to blame? Or was it something else?
Investigators struggled to solve the mystery.
At that time, I was the young design
engineer for Consani Engineering in the
Westen Cape, which made most of the
country,s tankers. The company was called
in to assist. Some digging revealed that all
the semi-trailer tankers involved:
➜ Had done the job for a long time;
➜ Were operated by experienced drivers;
➜ Overturned while exiting a traffic circle
at normal speed;
➜ Had previously negotiated the same
traffic circle without incident, either fully
laden or at higher than normal speed.
What had changed?
I will get to that. But first let’s backtrack
to talk about semi-trailer stability.
Essentially, it depends on three factors:
➜ Positioning of the load.
➜ Suspension.
➜ The current international convention of
the semi-oscillating fifth wheel.
Firstly, on the subject of loading, the
road ordinance lays down strict rules of
maximum sizes of vehicles and maximum
weights that a combination of axles can
carry. Maximum allowed weights include
the weight of the trailer, so manufacturers
make trailers as light as possible.
Now, for a maximum load on a horse/
trailer combination, the position of the
centre of gravity is fixed. It cannot be
moved forward or backwards without
overloading one or more of the axles. Part
loads, however, can be located anywhere
along the semi-trailer and still be legal.
Here is where the problem starts.
Some drivers are not aware that locating
the load upfront, instead of over the trail-
er’s rear wheels or bogie, renders the semi
much more unstable.
The fifth wheel, which attaches the
semi-trailer to the mechanical horse, is
usually a semi-oscillating fifth wheel,
allowing the rear of the trailer to move up
THE RICE
The more rice grain
removed through
milling, the closer
DRINKING
FAQ: SAKE! you get to pure
starch, which has
fewer earth tones,
Over the past few years, brewers outside Sake’s native country have started to produce their more flavour and
tastes less like rice.
own versions of the classic Japanese rice wine. We had a few questions.
BY B E AU T I M K E N A S TO L D TO F R A N C I N E M A R O U K I A N Bran, a mix
of proteins,
fats, and starch
amino
Q: Sah-key or sah-kay? Q: How is it brewed? ture, partially due to the influence
STEP 1 acids
A: Sah-kay. After the rice is milled, of the Western wine palate.
or shaved down to expose the Unfiltered sake is more expressive
Q: What is sake made from? starchy core, it is cleaned, soaked – bigger, bolder and grabs you
A: Water, rice, koji (mould that in water and steamed to create right out of the glass – whereas
helps break up the starch and the perfect environment for koji, the filtered version presents a
allows it to become glucose) and a yellow-green mould powder that more pristine flavour profile: very
yeast. The balance of these ingre- is sprinkled on the surface of the light and clean, more nuanced.
dients creates different flavours. rice after it has been spread out in
In its final form, sake is about 80 shallow beds to cool. The sake is heated to 66 SAKES FROM
per cent water. Historically, brew-
STEP 6 R I C E M I L L E D...
degrees. At this stage,
ing locations were selected for
their natural supply of “good”
STEP 2
The koji is massaged by
hand into the rice to help
brewers can also choose to add
water to bring the alcohol level
30%
• Junmai*
water, a mystical quality known break the starch into sugar, down to 14 or 15 per cent from a • Honjozo
only by taste. Eventually it was induce the yeast to breed and peak of 20 per cent.
discovered to be caused by potas-
sium, magnesium and phosphoric
eventually give the sake character.
Q: Is there a special way to
40%
• Ginjo
acid, which promote fermenta- A super-concentrated drink it?
STEP 3 liquid yeast starter,
tion. Favourable composition can A: Yes, many. Sake is probably 50%
now be achieved by filtering. called moto – made from the koji the most ceremonial beverage on • Daiginjo
Unlike table rice, brown brew- rice, additional steamed rice, yeast, Earth. That said, whatever you’re
*Junmai represents
ing rice has a large starch compo- lactic acid and water – is placed in doing should be fine. Start every two things: it denotes
nent concentrated in the centre of a small fermentation vat. toast with kanpai, the Japanese a sake made without
the grain. It’s surrounded by the equivalent of “cheers”. the addition of brew-
bran, which contains proteins,
STEP 4 The main mash, or
er’s alcohol (pure dis-
OUR EXPERT Beau Timken is the founder tilled alcohol), and a
fats and amino acids. Large moromi, is created in a of San Francisco’s True Sake, the first
machines with vertically pivoted sake made from rice
large fermentation vat by adding dedicated sake shop outside of Japan
and the first in America.
that was milled down
rollers scrape away layer after rice, koji and water to the moto in by 30 per cent.
PHOTO BY BUDDHIKA WEERASINGHE/GETTY IMAGES
layer to expose the starch, which three separate stages over four
can then be converted to ferment- days. During the 15- to 18-day
able sugars. fermentation, brewers can control GLOSSARY Honjozo Velvety, thin,
like a port or sherry.
waist-expanding wallop – some 37 kj per gram. That’s more than bone material and Gore-Tex fibres.
double the payload delivered by protein or carbohydrates. The surgery was facilitated by computer-
Of course, “pure fat” is not an item you’ll see on a lot of menus imaging technology that allowed surgeons
(“Excellent choice, sir. Will that be the cup or the bowl?”), nor is to create 3D scans of the sisters’ brains
your local supermarket likely to stock it, though it might be fun to ask. The most fat-laden and to rehearse in advance. As a side note,
foodstuffs you’re likely to encounter routinely in the real world are oils and nuts. Your neurosurgeon and sometime US presiden-
typical oils – olive, canola, peanut, sesame, etc – contain about 500 kilojoules per table- tial aspirant Ben Carson, a pioneer in the
spoon. Nuts, meanwhile, tend to be more than 50 per cent fat and will therefore, unless field, served as an advisor to the team.
consumed in moderation, make you 100 per cent fat. Macadamias, at 30,5 kilojoules an Most important, perhaps, the operation
ounce, are the worst offenders, followed by pecans at 29,8 and pine nuts at 28,1. was a success: though Ganga contracted
Don’t despair, however. Oils and nuts may be fatty, but, like, say, John Candy, many meningitis seven years later and passed
have appealing features, too. Registered dietitian and Boston University nutrition profes- away, Jamuna is now 15, alert and well
sor Joan Salge Blake cites olive oil, nuts and avocados as three fatty foods that deliver and can talk, sing and attend school. PM
www.continental.co.za
F O R T H E LOV E O F G A D G E T S ● EDITED BY LINDSEY SCHUTTERS
Huawei P9
This is the most interesting camera on a
smartphone at the moment. The best is still the
12 MP unit on the back of the Samsung Galaxy
S7, the most useful is still the wide angle lens
on the LG G5. Huawei combining the
powers of a regular 12 MP sensor with
a proper monochrome 12 MP sensor
(no RGB colour filter) has, however,
yielded an intriguing package.
As a smartphone, the P9 is on
par with the current crop of flag-
ship products, although the home-
baked Kirin 955 processor will again
put it at a disadvantage against its
Snapdragon 820 competitors. USB
type-C is on connector duty, there’s
3 GB of RAM and the now standard set
of NFC, Bluetooth, high speed Wi-Fi and
LTE radios round out the notable insides
of the glass and metal device.
Forget the Leica branding for a bit
because there are some unrealistic ex-
pectations regarding the partnership. Just
appreciate for a moment the fact that you can
now take a black and white photo with properly
deep blacks. A brief outing with the launch
device transformed happy snaps at the airport
into exhibition-quality photographs. And in low
light, the smartphone will comp together images
from both sensors so you get full radiance on
any light source.
It’s something different and we should be
excited.
RTBA, consumer.huawei.com
Anker Powerhouse
It gets a bit silly to refer to something as a powerbank when it’s
packing 400 Wh of charge. Anker’s Powerhouse is 4 kg of portable
power that can be charged via solar panel or wall socket and run a
small fridge for about seven hours.
$500, amazon.com
Thule Subterra
You need a new daypack. At least think about it.
Petrol is getting more expensive and commuting
to work will improve your health as well as wealth.
This one has a well-protected space for your 15”
laptop and a whole bunch of other stuff. And
it looks awesome.
R3 200, thule.com
Dewalt MD501
Boomcloud360 Boomstick You’d expect a smartphone
In a startling development, audio product wearing the DeWalt name to be
company Boomcloud360 doesn’t want you to rugged and come with a 5-inch
upgrade your audio output device, but rather touchscreen that plays nice with
enhance it. The Boomstick is essentially an gloves. The range sensor and
amplifier that makes anything with a 3,5 mm wireless charging are great
audio connector sound better. touches though.
$100, boomcloud360.com RTBA, dewaltphones.com PM
Make it your home with the innovative PTC 640 tile cutter from Bosch.
Tiles can be scored and broken precisely in just one step. Advantages:
Precise results, razor-sharp breaking edges and no unnecessary tile
wastage, while being incredibly easy to use.
LG G5
Hedge betting
The device you see on this page is a
landmark smartphone. You’ll remember it
fondly in the future, but that all depends
on whether LG’s modular wager pays off
and consumers start demanding more
options. The G5 carries many of LG’s flag-
ship G-line hallmarks, but introduces an
entirely new design language.
First there’s the full metal jacket, albeit of
the confusing plastic-coated variety. Think
of it as similar to the trick the Korean com-
pany pulled last year with the leather veneer
over plastic, but just with a thin aluminium
core smothered in primer. I like it. But I also
liked the feel of Samsung’s faux leather on
my personal Galaxy S5.
Next is the volume button migration
back to the more conventional side. The VITAL INFORMATION
power button is still on the back and it
SCREEN: 5,3-inch QHD IPS LCD with backlight
now gains fingerprint-scanning powers. zoning for always on display
It’s in line with Google’s placement of MEMORY: 32 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, microSD
Nexus Imprint and LG probably took a support
page out of the Nexus 5X playbook for CAMERAS: 16 MP main, 8 MP wide angle,
that. Fingerprint scanning is a bit slow 8 MP selfie
compared to offerings from Huawei, Apple SENSORS: Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, accelerometer,
and Samsung, but you won’t notice. gyro, compass, barometer, colour spectrum,
In all LG has crafted a competitive flag- proximity, fingerprint
ship device that is every bit as fast as its PRICE: R11 800, lg.com the edges of the frame warp to near fish-
competitors in terms of task accomplish- eye levels you can be very creative with
ment and adds a few twists. The bottom Test Notes: close-up shots.
chin is removable and replaceable with The always-on screen is nice, but because it’s While there are many clever touches on
modules that LG is calling “Friends”. You an LCD screen, the light bleed is quite severe the G5, the package seems a bit rushed to
plug the friends into the “Magic Slot” and and I found myself switching off the function market. You can tell by the way the remov-
transform your device into a G5 with a to get better sleep at night. This is a USB able chin doesn’t line up with the rest of
high fidelity amplifier from Bang and type-C device, wireless charging would’ve the device and the burr on the chamfered
Olufsen, or into a G5 with hardware zoom help reduce the stress of forgetting the cable edge (the shiny chamfer is chipping off of
and shutter (video and camera are separate) either at home or at work, but LG aren’t play- the review device and showing the plastic
ing that game yet. Battery life was average
buttons and some extra battery. antenna lines). The camera is also a bit
and made it to 7 PM from 5 AM regularly, but
Currently the friends are limited to the slow to launch and LG threw the app draw
beware the QHD screen is thirsty for power.
Cam Plus camera grip and the DAC. LG is baby out with the cluttered UI bathwater
lumping the 360 Cam, VR headset and toy- in the latest iteration of its Marshmallow
cum-cat-exercising Rolling Bot together flavour of Android skin.
with the friends, but they’re separate There’s a lot to love in the G5, but the
devices. That leaves just one more point of review experience was peppered with infu-
difference from the 2016 Snapdragon 820- standard two-axis set-up, but the lens is riating discoveries where I wanted to slap
equipped flagships: camera. still f1,8 bright. Alongside is an 8 MP unit LG with the hand of common sense. The
The G4 had arguably the best camera with a 135-degree field of view. You access company was expected to build on the
module on a phone in 2015 and LG has left it within the same viewfinder and this strengths of the G4, it chose instead to try
it virtually as is for 2016. I suspect they gives the never-before-seen powers of neg- to learn three entirely new skills and didn’t
neutered the optical image stabilising to a ative zoom. It truly is amazing and because master any.
UP mini
The UP BOX
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CUTTING-EDGE TECH THAT’S DRIVING
THE AUTOMOTIVE REVOLUTION
Contents
The age of autonomy 34
Assistant M 38
Leading the convoy 40
Hiding in plain sight 44
Brain boosters 45
The body electric 46
Reinventing the wheel 48
Volvo’s XC90 is the cleverest car on South Africa’s roads right now, says Lindsey Schutters.
But all the carnage melts away while I’m coddled in the cli-
I’VE BEEN QUICK TO OUTSOURCE my driving ever
mate-controlled embrace of the Volvo. One finger touching the
since I first engaged cruise control on the N1 between Pretoria
steering wheel is enough to keep the car happy in the knowl-
and Cape Town. That pilgrimage has come to define the early
edge that I’m still alive and won’t abandon it, and I’m comfort-
part of my life, but if I could just be a passenger as the car
able enough in the XC90’s automatic braking to even treat
drove itself, I’d rather have it that way.
myself to catching up on my reading list.
The Volvo XC90 is a car I genuinely love for many reasons,
but mostly for the thoughtfulness. There’s a little plastic clip
that lets you display an access disc on the windscreen and a Cape Town traffic adds on average an extra 40
special function called Pilot Assist that allows the car to drive minutes of travel time to road journeys daily.
itself at speeds under 50 km/h. The feature needs a car ahead
of it and clear road markings to work, but it’s very effective Pilot Assist is an evolution of Volvo’s ever-improving
when in full swing. IntelliSafe system, which debuted on the S60 years ago with
Pilot Assist transformed my morning commute. the CitySafe auto braking and pedestrian recognition. It’s a
See, I live in what the 2016 TomTom Traffic Index found
to be the most traffic congested city in South Africa: Cape
Town. My home is also about 40 km away from my office and I
travel from Stellenbosch in the direction of the CBD. It’s hell.
I used to do Pretoria to Sandton on the daily, so I know that
the Cape Town situation is a special kind of torture.
Connectivity isn’t just for clever cars. Tomorrow’s truck arguably stands to benefit most of all.
As the Internet of Things grows apace, we’re under- Daimler’s Promote Chauffeur system involved two interlinked
standably excited about how advances in connectivity and net- semitrailer/tractor combinations. The lead vehicle used infra-
working will transform car travel. Yet our increasing reliance on red signalling, a camera and a radio connection to transmit its
transport by road makes it almost certain that the biggest bene- driving status to the following vehicle, between 6 and 15 metres
ficiaries will be not our Sunday afternoon drive or the weekday behind. As Autonomous drive wasn’t yet on the agenda, a
commute, but instead the trucks that ply our roads 24/7. human driver was in control.
The communication buzzwords V2V and V2I – Vehicle to By the turn of the millennium, the company had introduced
Vehicle and Vehicle to Infrastructure – are being touted as the its Fleetboard telematics system on board a major customer’s
answer to gridlock, heavy fuel consumption and emissions and vehicles. For the first time, the truck now became a fully inte-
traffic accidents. grated element of the logistic transport chain, entailing route
One of the companies at the forefront of efforts in this field planning, continuous positioning and the transmission of
is Daimler Trucks, which casts the fully connected truck as a vehicle data. A few years later, an upgrade to that system
success formula for companies, drivers and society. Since the involved an interface that allowed data to be integrated into
company decided in 2013 to pursue connectivity as an integral forwarding agents’ own software systems. At the same time
element of its technology strategy, more than 365 000 vehicles DispoPilot, a mobile hand-held device for logistics manage-
worldwide have been connected. ment, navigation and scanning, was presented. The system
Elements of this connectivity could include: now extends across 40 countries and covers 180 000 vehicles.
l Short- and long-range surveillance; In North America, the company’s networked services in
l Monitoring of the road friction level; partnership with logistics and telematics developer Zonar
l Driver aids and information systems; Systems have encompassed the Virtual Technician remote
l Inter-vehicle communication that can be used to optimised diagnostics system and an all-round system it calls Detroit
traffic flow; Connect. Virtual Technician sends a snapshot of the engine’s
l Telematics. technical status to a service centre when warning lights come
Smart trucks aren’t that new. As far back in the 1980s, on so that the team there can analyse the data, identify the
problem and send out an email with advice on what action
should be taken.
CONTROL UNIT
(REACH 200 M)
VIDEO-LINK CAMERA
(60˚, 100 M)
DRIVER INFORMATION PANEL
STEREO CAMERA
(45˚, 100 M) HIGHWAY PILOT CONNECT CONTROL
UNIT
TRAFFIC JAMMING
Last year, Germany alone reported 568 000 traffic jams. Road
users spent 341 000 hours stuck in traffic. By receiving and
passing on information about their movements, fully connect-
ed trucks can provide one another with warnings about traffic
jams and unnecessary waiting times, while the entire popula-
tion of such vehicles can prevent many traffic jams from the
outset, says Daimler.
As an indication of just how smart the dumb goods trans-
porter envisaged 120 years ago has become, Mercedes-Benz
says its present-day Actros already incorporates hundreds of
millions of lines of software code – more than an airliner’s. On
a modern semitrailer/tractor combination, 400 sensors pro-
vide data to optimise drivetrain operation and minimise fuel
consumption and emissions. The anticipatory cruise control
system Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC), for instance, cor- other drivers, friends and family.
relates the data from 3-D road maps with the data collected At the same time as they are consuming data, of course,
from the truck’s drivetrain. Using that data, it’s able to antici- trucks are themselves collecting data while on the move. That’s
pate gearshifts and braking better than any human. It can a distinct plus for V2I, where trucks will be data distributors to
even teach a driver how to be better. (While he still has a job, infrastructure such as enabled traffic signs and signal gantries.
presumably.) Information it can pass on could include traffic, weather and
In fact, the company says, transport is evolving into a self- road conditions, benefiting all road users. By extension, this
learning system that is integrated into the overarching logisti- information could be useful to insurance companies, which are
cal environment. Autonomously driving trucks will seek able to identify individual risk profiles depending on mileage
appropriate partners on their route automatically, with plan- and types of use and can thus adapt their premiums with
nable journey times improving scheduling at ramps and load- bonus systems on an individual basis. Not only in terms of
ing doors. Docking will take place automatically or with a individual fleets, as has been the case to date, but also at the
smartphone app from outside of the vehicle, combined with level of individual trucks and their drivers.
the vehicles’ built-in Active Parking Assist function. From the ergonomic point of view, the driver will be able to
enjoy a flexibly designed dashboard that enables different cab
ONE HAPPY FAMILY layouts and usage scenarios to those that apply today. The use
On a wider scale, the data that is collected provides the basis of devices such as tablets for interaction with the vehicle will
for precise fleet control. Take that a step further, and you have become commonplace.
connectivity that permanently links the driver and vehicle In the long term, this could even result in unforeseen events
with operations planning, with consigner and consignee, with being, well, foreseeable.
other vehicles and with the infrastructure, as well as with No more sudden panic, then, when cresting the brow of a
2. LESS ADMINISTRATION
The truck will be able to handle most admin drudgery itself, such
as booking service and downloading and updating its own on-
board software.
3. CONNECTED DEVICES
As everything from watches to jackets and cycle helmets
becomes connected, tomorrow’s wristwatch will also be able to
monitor the driver’s pulse and issue an alert – even activate
autopilot – if something happens to the driver.
4. PERSONALISATION
Future platooning will allow other road-users to move in and The more information a truck manufacturer has about who is
out of the convoy, top. Above, the lead truck feeds images to behind the wheel and who owns the truck, the easier it becomes
the “train”. to tailor the truck to match specific driving styles and transport
assignments.
hill to be confronted by a traffic jam dead ahead. Fog, rain, Source: Volvo
uphills, bends can be “seen” in advance. Even pedestrians’ and
cyclists’ probable directions of movement can be computed,
incredible as that may sound.
Here’s another practical example of a scenario tailor-made employing the so-called flash-over-the-air (FOTA) method. The
for this kind of data. When a new route leads through TeamViewer which is familiar to computer users will become
demanding terrain, it is conceivable that the company might standard on board trucks, too. When it becomes apparent that
book a higher power rating for a brief period, digitally. This is a visit to the workshop will be necessary in the foreseeable
an optimised version of what the company currently markets future, this will be integrated into the trip planning, mitigat-
as Top Torque, which boosts torque in certain gears at full ing downtime.
load. At heart, connectivity is the essential basis for the continu-
Just as situations on the road and in traffic can be predicted, ally self-optimising truck. That’s to say, a truck that travels
so such systems are able to predict and prevent breakdowns intelligently and autonomously along the motorway to its des-
automatically. The truck will be checked by remote diagnosis, tination – more safely and economically than ever before.
and new software can be installed by remote maintenance Source: Daimler
They are the unseen, the unsung. They are the tough guys.
BY JOSHUA HERSH PHOTOGRAPH BY TRAVIS SHINN
RECENT NOTABLE
TOUGH GUYS
> SHAYE HAVER AND KRISTEN GRIEST The first women to qualify > BECCA PIZZI The first American female to finish the World Marathon
for the Army’s elite Ranger unit. Challenge – seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.
> DARIUS FLEMING A New England Patriots special-teams player who kicked > JAMIE FOXX He also dragged a trapped driver
out a car window to save a trapped motorist, then played in a playoff game from a car after cutting him free from his seat belt.
two days later with 22 stitches in his leg. Plus, the car was on fire.
< RONDA ROUSEY As tough and dignified in her first UFC < ANGELA MERKEL So tough (but fair!)
defeat, which included a dislocated jaw, as she was in her on Greece. She’s the Dawn dishwashing
previous six wins. detergent of the EU.
THE TOUGHEST GUY I EVER MET had a neighbour, a young guy who was always getting in her
hair. One particularly bad day, she noticed that he was limping.
“Get in here,” she yelled. He shrunk at her voice and hobbled
into the house. She found out he had gashed his foot. My brother
BY: ROY BERENDSOHN came home a short time later to find Mark on the couch, his
foot freshly bandaged and a sandwich in his hands.
Even as she neared the end of her life, when her hospice
nurse would come by, Mom would put up a pot of coffee and
She never talked about it, but my mom, a German
set out a plate of cookies. When the nurse claimed to be on a
immigrant, had a tough childhood. An early surgery
diet, Mom lowered her bifocals, looked the woman up and
left her with a pinned hip and a permanent limp. When
down and said, “A diet? You must be kidding. You’ll have a
she was in her teens, she was conscripted by the
cookie.” The nurse knew exactly what was expected of her.
Nazis. They sent her to Hamburg to care for dis-
She had two. PM
placed children who had fled the advancing Russian
army. Once, she’d tell me, she was shot at by a low-flying Spitfire.
The plane came so close that she could clearly see the pilot’s
white scarf as he banked and flew away. Later she would survive
three days in a collapsed bomb shelter.
Despite all that, she remained positive. In fact, the best meal
she ever ate, she said, was served to her by the occupying
forces. As my mother was led to the chow line, she wondered
if the whole thing was a hoax. She thought the British might
just line the Germans up and shoot them. Instead they served
them food: greasy beef stew over noodles. It was a meal my
mother never forgot.
Food was her way of connecting with people. No matter
what my three brothers and I would put her through – no matter
how many times she’d come at us with a wooden spoon, which
we knew we had to stand and take, and not only because we
always deserved it – she never let us miss a meal together. We
KIN
Moosajee and her NGO colleagues sat
A
down to try to work out what makes
a girl take up engineering as a career.
E
The answer is as obvious as it was
simple: mostly luck.
The aspirant engineer first needs
to choose her family wisely. So one
BR
where the dad, uncle or acquaint-
G
ance is an engineer. (Note the preva-
lence of males in all of that.)
Failing that, a guidance counsellor
at school or other place of learning
points her in that direction.
And finally… well, she needs a big
helping of dumb luck.
AS
It was all a little discouraging.
Still, even Moosajee herself today
jokes that her own entry in the field
S
was something of a fluke.
An engineer and sometime restau-
rateur, ten years ago she co-founded
TIGM
WomEng, a Cape Town-based non-
profit group of 120 volunteers aimed
at encouraging girls to become engi-
neers through workshops and men-
toring. WomEng started life as
SAWomEng, whose aim was to moti-
vate, empower and celebrate women
who are pursuing careers in engi-
neering. They offered courses to
those who were already converted –
engineering students. But to nurture
cal the next generation of female engi-
. O ne lo that neers required getting involved with
n
e me idea a far younger audience. Mainly, those
v e to b en the learners who were starting their sec-
st ha wom KOCK
d o n’t ju g young BY KYLE ondary schooling.
inee
rs givin do it
. That’s why, six years ago, they
Eng sation is o, can established GirlEng.
ni , to
orga they After looking into why girls didn’t
– and still don’t – want to study engi-
COFFEE TABLES AREN’T FOR COFFEE. Kawae, 28, is a graduate of the vaunted Rhode Island
Not anymore. They’re not even really for coffee-table School of Design, where they talk about things like hav-
books. In living rooms around the world, the coffee ing a conversation with wood. Working out of the
table has become the centre of the familial universe. Artisan’s Asylum maker space near his home, he turns
It’s the kitchen island of the 2000-teens. The place salvaged timber into tables. He keeps the wood looking
where homework is done, where the bowl of popcorn fairly raw, relying only on the 9 000-r/min engine in the
sits on movie night, where feet are put up, where chainsaw, some 120-grit Diablo sandpaper, and a bit of
drinks are spilt. walnut oil or wipe-on polyurethane. The result is some-
“I really like the danger,” says Yuki Kawae. He refers thing that looks better the more you live with it. Like a
not to the danger that a coffee table might get wrecked, nick on the banister, or the pencilled marks on the
but rather to the way he makes his: using a Husqvarna doorjamb showing your kid’s height, every scuff, little
chainsaw. “You could cut your feet off. Or your finger. dent and halo created by condensation on the bottom
That makes the material speak more. Because if I cut it of a glass renders a Yuki Kawae coffee table less an
this way, then the chainsaw will fire back at me. That’s inanimate piece of furniture and more a part of your
the wood telling me what I can do. It’s a conversation.” life. – S E A N M A N N I N G
PHOTOGRAPH BY BURCU AVSAR
TESLA MODEL 3
surprising amount of grunt off the line (254 N.m available immediately). Dynamically, Tesla Roadster (which cost almost three
the Leaf is no ball of fire and the realistic range from a full charge is around 140 km. It times the price of the Model 3), the Model
also manages to blend in with the internal combustion crowd, thanks to safe styling. S and Model X – so much so that it began
Fast forward to 2015, and the BMW i3 captured the attention of the automotive world, showing profits only in 2013, 10 years
partly for being the baby brother of the i8 sports car, but mostly because it appears so after opening its doors. At the time of
obviously different from everything else on four wheels. Funky design, glossy finishes and writing, the company had already secured
futuristic details are found inside and out, and even though the i3 packs only slightly more in excess of 300 000 pre-orders, roughly
torque than the Leaf, there’s plenty more peak power – making full-blown acceleration runs R200 billion in funding.
the order of the day. Even the i3, with all of its bells and whistles, and clever regenerative
braking, can’t overcome the thirst of its battery-powered motors and its range isn’t any
more impressive than the Nissan’s.
And this is where Tesla comes in. The upcoming Model 3 mid-sized sedan, the
first of its kind for the brand, is claimed to be capable of a range exceeding
320 kilometres, while offering seating for five adults and enough room
for their luggage. The best part is the asking price of just
$35 000 (roughly R495 000) given the Model 3’s size
and range.
Why should we believe Tesla? Above all, the company
has delivered on all of its promises with the original
TESLA MODEL X
TESLA MODEL S
INSIDE STORY
Giving a foretaste of how 2025’s cars will look – EV or not – is
this “sculpture”, based on the interior of the forthcoming new
Excellence, the flagship of the Swedes’ S90 range (below).
The S90 Excellence Lounge Console Concept is actually
three interiors in one:
a mobile workstation with fold-out work table and large
screen;
a pure entertainment area;
a relaxation zone in which the occupant can recline the
seat, enjoy a cold drink from the fridge and put his or her feet
up on the heated foot support.
“We had such positive feedback with our original Lounge
Console Concept in the XC90 that we wanted to take it a
step closer to reality with an S90 Excellence interior. With
this interior we wanted to create a piece of art, a sculpture.
We’ve taken many of the original concepts and brought
them to life,” says Robin Page, the company’s vice president
of interior design.
A centre control panel incorporates features such as heat-
ed and cooled cup holders, sound system, massage func-
tions and large multimedia screen. The rear armrest holds a
refrigeration unit and boasts hand-cut crystal glasses from
Swedish glassmaker Orrefors. In case you wondered, no
there is no front passenger seat. The seat was removed to
provide unrestricted forward visibility, a sense of space and
more light.
1 2 3
Log on to www.popularmechanics.co.za and complete the online entry form. Competition closes 30 June 2016, and the winners will be
drawn on 5 July 2016. Competition rules online.
CRASH TESTING
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN FOCUS
Two firsts were recorded at the most
recent round of crash tests: autonomous
emergency braking systems for pedestri-
ans and a dual rating that assesses
optional safety equipment.
Toyota’s Prius is the first car to have
undergone Euro NCAP’s newest test of
autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
technology for pedestrians (right). Its test
results were announced at the same
time as those of the Suzuki Baleno,
which is the first to get a dual rating.
Besides detecting vehicles ahead, based on its standard safety equipment. will help the proliferation of the crash
today’s top AEB systems can detect situ- However, with the optional safety pack avoidance technology into all segments
ations where pedestrians are at risk of Radar Brake Support, which includes an of the market. At the same time, to pro-
being run over and can brake the car AEB City and AEB Inter-Urban system, vide accurate and clear information to
automatically. Toyota’s standard Safety the Baleno achieves 4 stars. From now consumers about the latest systems and
Sense system effectively recognised on, Euro NCAP will allow similar dual what benefit they might bring, is becom-
potential crashes with pedestrians and ratings. ing more challenging. The dual rating
cars and helped the Prius achieve the “The inclusion of AEB Pedestrian in will simplify the choice for the safest
first 5-star rating in 2016. the rating is a key milestone in the car,” says Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro
The Suzuki Baleno received 3 stars development of automotive safety that NCAP Secretary General. PM
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T-cell companies have sought agreements with
drug companies and specialists in gene editing.
ISTOCKPHOTO: ROYALTYSTOCKPHOTO/ANNARASSADNIKOVA/PALTO/STUDIODR
T remains murky, her recovery pointed
a spotlight on “immune engineering”
T and on the way that advances in
Millions of copies of controlling and manipulating the
3 these GM cells are immune system are leading to unex-
grown in the lab, pected breakthroughs in cancer
creating a living drug treatment. They also could lead to
new treatments for HIV and auto-
immune diseases such as arthritis
and multiple sclerosis.
and-destroy special
forces of the immune
system – are depicted
in grey, attacking a
cancerous cell.
vehicle for it, because other things that ail people is a major front. I think HIV is
the best candidate in infectious disease. If you talk to the
they can move and HIV community, they are crying for a cure – a treatment
that, ideally, you do once and never again.” PM
migrate and play such (Copyright 2016 Technology Review, Inc. Distributed by
important roles.” Tribune Content Agency, LLC.)
Rush ?
INCLUDES: Return flights ex JHB, airport transfers,
4 nights lodge accommodation, private 4x4 vehicle,
all meals, park fees, professional tour guide
VALID: Throughout 2016
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* Rates based on 4 people
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FOR YOUR FREE
ADVENTURE GUIDE INSIDE
red. Think about the calendar.” come to be. They’re both Martha’s and 0,4 seconds south of its previous
“Ah.” Vineyard polymaths, guys who have location.
“Weeks of the month.” mastered the various skills required Richard: “Even for landlubbers, Len,
“Heh heh.” to live on an island full time (an when he comes, and if I come home
“Sailors weren’t so politically correct.” island with a year-round population at night, at some point, I’m going to
Adam Wilson, Aquinnah town administrator, and George of 17 000 and six towns and where see the flash of that light and think,
Sourati, a civil engineer on the island who helped plan the the Obamas and the Clintons vaca- yeah –”
move, seem the likely authorities. But they mostly sit back tion, but an island nonetheless). Len: “I’m home.”
JUNE 2016 _ www.popularmechanics.co.za 81
what the situation is. Water wins.” Looking at the bluffs from offshore, the most extensive
ALTHOUGH CRISES OCCUR Byron Stone is a geologist for the point of land is a red-clay promontory, with white sandy
only when we have built something US Geological Survey and his job is to receding faces on both sides. A geotechnical consultant took
that can be threatened, the problem know the Massachusetts coast blind. core samples of the soil all over Gay Head. Stone helped
of erosion dates back to before the He’s well aware of lighthouse moves review them. The vein of clay, which continues inland, proved
creation of the island itself: 144 000 in his backyard. The two companies to be steadfast against water. In a hundred years, perhaps
years ago the Illinoian glaciation push- that moved Highland Light – Inter- it will be a red buttress between brick, candle and sea.
ed ice down North America. And national Chimney and Expert House “That’s three mortgages,” said Stone.
120 000 years later, the Wisconsinan Movers – moved the Southeast Light- “A hundred years gets it safely out of our purview,”
glaciation did the same. The weight house on Block Island in 1993. And said Richard.
and motion of ice from the glaciers the Nauset Lighthouse in Eastham, “A hundred years from now, maybe moving a lighthouse
ploughed up an edge of land called a also on the Outer Cape, in 1996. And is no big deal,” said Len. “You just put it through a matrix,
moraine and topped it with till. That the Sankaty Head Lighthouse in Nan- vroop! We transport it.”
is Martha’s Vineyard: the island is a tucket in 2007. “There’s no cement
pile of rocks. Gay Head is so named between the grains,” says Stone of the ON THE morning the
because of the unending sculpting of land beneath most of these places. “It’s lighthouse was scheduled
the loose and colourful alliance of loose sand. You could stick your finger to move, Richard and Len entertained a group of second-
white Cretaceous and green Miocene in. You could stick your little finger and third-graders from Chilmark, the next town. They
sands, light-brown Quaternary sedi- in. You could stick your tongue in it.” came armed with questions.
ments, and red Cret-aceous clay that Stone helped choose the new loca- “How tall is the lighthouse?”
make up the bluffs. The string of tion for the Gay Head Light. The goal “Twenty metres”
landmarks from Martha’s Vineyard was to deposit it someplace where it “How much does it weigh?”
down to Montauk, on Long Island, is would be safe for at least a hundred “Four hundred tons.”
pocked with proud maritime villages years, when perhaps other men will “How far is it moving?”
but also severe coastal erosion, because stand in its shadow and try to figure “Fifty metres.”
the moraine, essentially, is the crusty out how to move it. Sea levels rise, Then a little squirt in Red Sox gear asked, “In the future,
lip of snow, dirt and garbage raised climates change, erosion, accretion do you think you’ll, like, have to move the lighthouse again?”
at the edge of a road by a snow-plough. – these forces move so slowly as to Len smiled. “Very good question. Very good question.”
And the Atlantic won’t stop. “When seem unmoving to time-bound “You know, when you say ‘the future’, that’s a very big
you’re dealing with the sea – the sea humans, until the moment that one word,” Richard said.
wins,” says Joe Jakubik, head of is engulfed in a hurricane or drought, A few hours later, Jerry had everything perfect, beams
International Chimney’s historic or one finds a lighthouse on the edge in place, rails level, lighthouse secure. He climbed into the
preservation division. “Doesn’t matter of a cliff. cab of the yellow truck. He looked like every driver of every
2 4
T HE MECH A N I C S OF T HE MO V E
1 2 3 4 5
STRUCTURAL SUPPORT MOVING EQUIPMENT MOVING PROCESS NEW FOUNDATION
PREPARATION Excavation of the base of Two pairs of 15-metre-long A push jack – a hydraulic Jacks hold the lighthouse
To make the lighthouse the lighthouse allows work- beams are bolted together device that extends from a over a new concrete foun-
stout enough to move, weak ers to pass steel beams to create 30 metres of track. resting position to a length dation. Workers build a
ILLUSTRATION BY T.M. DETWILER
mortar joints are cut out and underneath, in layers. One (Because the move is 39 of 1,5 metres – is bolted to masonry structure between
replaced with new mortar. layer supports the founda- metres, halfway through the each rail. The other end is the concrete and the bottom
A compression cuff of ply- tion. Below that, 12-metre- move the first pair is re- coupled to a wheeled beam. of the light, working around
wood bracing and tensioned long beams perpendicular moved and reattached at Using power generated by the steel beams. Then, with
cables is installed, and to the move path rest on the front to finish the job.) a unified jacking machine, the light resting on the
doors and windows are oak cribbing while jacks Between the track and the the push jacks slowly move masonry, the beams are
removed and the openings are being prepared, and main beams, lengths of the lighthouse along the removed and the gaps are
filled with brick so they can’t on moving equipment while steel bolted to Hilman tracks, which have been filled with brick, completing
weaken the structure. the light is in motion. rollers act as wheels. greased with soap. the new foundation.
box truck ever. But when he turned the key, something Suddenly, Len came back. He had would be reversed: steel removed.
different happened. Fuel. Air. Spark. The percussion of surveying equipment with him, and Foundation reconstructed. Trough
internal combustion. Hydraulic fluid began coursing through he worked with the movers to shoot refilled.
the tendrils of hose, and somebody yelled, “It’s moving!” each rail. When the kids from Chilmark were
Jerry had 16 jacks rigged up under the light, in a tri- What happened? visiting, Len told them about the be-
angle: groups of five on the left and right and a group of “As the weight was coming over ginning and the ending of the move
six in the front. When the lighthouse was being lifted on the beam, it was dropping on one process. “The first thing we did is we
to jack support, all 16 were linked in a system called unified side, so we were starting to notice a took all the grass and all the little
jacking, forcing them to rise together, at the same rate – list to the structure.” shrubs, all the trees and everything,
slowly. During the move, Jerry would decouple the three How’d he notice? and we plucked them out of the
zones. They defined the plane the lighthouse sat on. Any “I have kind of a trained eye for ground,” he said. “And we put them
point of the triangle could be adjusted to keep it level. when things are out of plumb, and across the street to save them, so that
“It’s like a Greek vase sitting on a plate,” said Richard. even though it’s tapered, I mean, it’s after we move them we can put every-
“It’s like sex,” said Jerry. “If it doesn’t stay up, you’re a little bit of an optical illusion – but thing back, so that when you come
in trouble.” I could sense it. Actually, as I was driv- back up here after it’s all moved, it’ll
Behind the lighthouse were a pair of push jacks, long ing down the road, I looked back and I look just like it always did.”
extending arms, one cylinder that slides out of the other said, ‘Wait a second. That doesn’t So it will. On 30 May this year – one
like the actuator on a storm door. Hydraulic pistons pushed look right.’ ” Memorial Day late, thanks to that
the bright-yellow beams the lighthouse rested on, and it In his rearview mirror? And he rough winter – the lighthouse will
slid along the rails, which had been greased with nothing was right? open to the public for the summer
more than Ivory soap. “We were about a half-inch low on season. The vegetation will be pristine
This push moved so slowly that Len decided to try to one side.” but familiar, as Len promised. And
give the spectators a visual reference. He grabbed an orange Len sounded like he was talking there will be grace notes: a ring of
cone and put it on the rail. The lighthouse moved forward, about changing a tyre on the side of granite from the old keeper’s house
pushing it – and the cone slid, barely, still too slow to see. the road. But then someone came over will mark the lighthouse’s old foun-
Len had another idea. He wedged the cone against the light- to hand him something. He looked dation. But one day those markers
house platform. He found a scrap of wood and balanced down. “Oh! Hey! All right!” A flat will fall into the sea. The island will
it against the tip of the cone. The rail, the cone, and the shiny oval. age. The schoolchildren from Chilmark
wood made a delicate triangle. As the lighthouse moved “Penny on the rail!” will get older, take Len and Richard’s
forward, it pushed on one corner, the cone pushed the place. The people who moved the light
wood – and the wood fell, with a minor clack. Len set it TWO DAYS later the will be long gone, and those who re-
again. A hundred and sixty years of history had led to lighthouse reached the member seeing it happen – their mem-
this: clack. Len gave up. end of its railway. The work wasn’t ories will fade. It will be hard to discern
The jacks pushed, telescoping until they’d extended over, but the sexy part was done. that the lighthouse moved at all. The
165 centimetres, as far as they go. When they got there, With the light suspended over the structure will be what it has always
Jerry turned off the truck, and his team reset: tucked concrete pad, International Chimney been: a red-brick, candle-topped chim-
the extending cylinders back inside the push jacks. Moved built up masonry supports, flush ney in a field of green, sentinel over
them up the rails. Bolted them into new positions. against its granite underside. The jacks cliffs, white-red beacon washing over
The unified jacking machine was restarted and the push- were released, and the lighthouse’s the people of this island, who never
ing continued. It was slow going, mundane, even – and weight shifted on to this new founda- really see their home getting smaller
entirely necessary. tion. From there, the move process every year. PM
JUNE 2016 _ www.popularmechanics.co.za 83
The
infinitely
scalable
dog
kennel
Sometimes the simple approach
is best to shield your pooch from
the elements. By LINDSEY SCHUTTERS
STEP 1 - MEASURING form the front and rear ends. for the front, but place two *Disclaimer: The sideboards
This doghouse is designed to For the entrance opening he centre posts – one on each aren’t actually bevelled and
fit a medium-sized animal and mock-assembled the front end, side of the opening. Glue/nail there are gaps where the boards
uses the wood from 10 pallets marked out the opening and to the sidewalls and floor. overlap. You can cheat like
with minimal wastage. First cut the boards accordingly. The this if you know your dog can
measure the dog, or find the floor is a close boarded pallet. STEP 4 – ROOFING tolerate the slight draught. The
breed standards if your pet is Before you put the roof on the cheat is recommended for
thoroughbred. In this case an STEP 3 – ASSEMBLING doghouse, it’s a good idea to dogs with double coats that
adult male Australian cattle dog Set the floor on the blocks check you haven’t got any sharp are used to sleeping outside.
stands 51 cm at the withers, and treat the wood (we used nail points inside. If there are
so we made the opening 55 cm Woodoc 50 Exterior Sealer any sharp nails, then take the
high. The floor is around 120 Marine). Separately assemble time now to cut them off and
x 100 cm, with blocks from a the side panels by screwing the file flat. You don’t want to cause
block pallet used as stilts in bevelled edges to a timber frame any injury to your best friend.
each corner. Floor dimensions (we used 25 x 38 mm roof Then all that’s left to do is
are only limited to the largest- battens cut and set to 100 x attach the roof to the dog
size pallets you can source. 120 cm rectangle frame and a house. This can be done with
centre post). When the floor the lengths of timber and
STEP 2 – CUTTING is dry, set the sides and glue/ nails. We chose an A-frame
I wasn’t around for most of this nail in place to the floor and because my father-in-law is
part, but my father-in-law bev- to a pallet board (which then skilled enough to pull it off,
elled* one edge of the 120 cm forms the bottom of the wall). but I would’ve gone for a flat
pallet boards at 35˚ for the Repeat the framing for the roof had I been left to my
sides and roof shingles. He also rear panel (100 x 100 cm bat- own devices. We added a rub-
sourced 100 cm pallet boards ten frame and centre post) and ber mat over the apex for
and bevelled that at 35˚ to mirror the perimeter framing extra weatherproofing.
A CLEVER
EMAIL HACK
Gmail ignores text
after a + in an email
address, but can
still search and filter The whetstone that
on it. For example, whets your appetite
you can use this to A dull kitchen knife can be sharp-
manage a guest list
by directing RSVPs
ened on the unglazed ring on the
to your email+party@ underside of a ceramic dish. Angle
gmail.com, then the knife about 20 degrees from
filtering all emails the plate and run the blade along
to the +party the ring from heel to tip, alternat-
address into a ing sides until sharp.
folder. Great for
bills and spam.
CHEAP
TOOL OF THE MONTH
ORGANISER
FOR FOOD-
THE ELECTRICIAN’S AWL
The electrician’s awl is a sturdy
STORAGE tool with a misleadingly specific
MATERIALS name. You should consider
Instead of filling a keeping one in your general
can be stored for intensely flavoured matics can add vice. Slip the tubing
later use by packing drink, like coffee, hints of flavour to a Tack keeps drawer
over the dowel.
them into ice cube so you can drink it beverage. Try ice Make the cut while
pull tight
trays and filling the ice-cold without cubes with mint in rolling the tubing If the wooden knob on a drawer
trays with olive oil, diluting its flavour. bourbon-based around it. Works keeps twisting loose, drive a small
then sticking them cocktails and frozen best when the nail or tack into it from inside the
in the freezer. pureed berries in dowel and the tub- drawer, parallel to the screw hold-
summer lemonade. ing have similar ing it in place. The nail prevents it
diameters.
from rotating.
Software
Once you record your video,
you’ll need to edit it, either on
your computer or your phone.
ON YOUR COMPUTER
iMovie (free) All Macs come with
iMovie, which offers limited options
for transitions and titles, but lets you
upload raw video, cut and export with
a relatively intuitive drag-and-drop
interface. When you’re ready to share,
you can upload directly to YouTube.
YouTube Video Editor (free)
Extremely basic. The few functions it
does have – automatic stabilisation,
brightness and contrast correction –
work well, but simple edits such as
extracting a middle section of a scene
are difficult. Because it’s browser-
only, a slow connection can make
the process take forever.
Windows Movie Maker (free)
For PC users, this is about your only
free desktop option. Movie Maker is
limited in options, but it will let you
practise the fundamentals.
Final Cut Pro X (from R4 000)
A professional program that lets you
add sound effects, titles and transi-
tions. Once you get the hang of it,
the multi-window interface makes
reordering footage and working with
multiple sources feel easy.
Adobe Premiere Pro CC
(monthly subscription) Premiere
has superseded Final Cut as the
choice of professionals. You get more
tools (after-effects like rotoscoping
and greater latitude in changing frame
Editing video is one of the most demanding tasks rate), which can be a little overwhelm-
T I P ! you can ask of a computer. The big, dense files
PHOTOGRAPHS BY HENRY HUNG
ON YOUR PHONE
A
Even on a big, fast phone or tablet
like a Samsung Galaxy S7 or an
iPad Pro, editing without a mouse
and keyboard or the ability to pull
up several windows makes the pro-
cess glacially slow. Use phones
only for very, very short videos or
for practising.
TURN YOUR EDIT THROW IN SOME Cutting down two hours of vacation footage into
PHONE SIDEWAYS MORE B-ROLL a watchable three-minute highlight reel takes
some time. For one thing, you have to skim
Unless you’re in Attention spans are A little B-roll of city through the original footage to find the good
Snapchat, where short. So when traffic or a time-lapse parts. It also takes trial and error as you shift the
horizontal is annoy- you’re cutting a sunrise (both of specific placement of each clip. Moving things by
ing, videos are bet- video, start a scene which can be found one or two seconds or cutting too quickly into the
ter in landscape the second the for free online) works next scene can change a moving moment into an
mode. No one wants action begins or with well at the beginning unintentionally funny one. A two-minute video
to see those black the first syllable spo- of nearly any video. might take hours for a beginner to produce.
bars. You should ken. Great videos Try it. You’ll get more efficient, but it takes time.
know this by now. are concise.
Instagram
Music Videos can be between three and 15 sec-
onds. Longer videos can be easily trimmed
Adding music to a video is a challenge, unless you like the idea of a within the app.
melodramatic birthday montage. But it can also be important, as long
as it’s self-aware. If you’re concerned about being sued for using music YouTube
you don’t have the rights to, you can search for royalty-free or for-com- If you have a Gmail address, you already
mercial-use songs from SoundCloud or sift through Creative Commons. have an account. Otherwise you’ll need to make
This is a time-consuming process, but it can be worth it – if your video one. YouTube offers both private and public ways
is one of the few that goes viral. If it’s just going to your college of sharing. Private videos require an invitation.
buddy, you’re pretty safe to use that excerpt from “Bohemian Public videos can be found by anyone. If you make
Rhapsody.” No one will ever know. your videos public, you might want to turn off
comments, just to be safe. Commenters don’t
always understand auteurs.
DOES MY VIDEO Is a child singing? NO Is there a section of fast-
NEED MUSIC? Singing terribly? STILL NO paced travel clips that convey Vimeo
Is there dialogue? THEN NO Is the scene sped up for a great passing of time in a
A smaller audience than YouTube, but this
Is there crowd noise? NO comic effect? YES short period? YES
site attracts a higher concentration of profession-
als. Think: fewer cat videos, more Vice-caliber
THE CLASSIC MUSIC CHEAT SHEET Web shorts – and even polite commenters! A
YOUR VIDEO IS TRY couple thousand rand gets you a year of Pro
membership, which means 1 040 GB of video
Funny “Yakety Sax,” by Ronnie Aldrich and His Orchestra
storage, bandwidth priority for high-resolution
Nostalgic “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” by Green Day playback of your videos and no ads. All users,
Sad “Landslide,” by Fleetwood Mac Pro or not, can password protect their videos
to limit access.
Snapchat
There’s no upload function. You shoot vid-
Transitions, slow- TRANSITION
OPTIONS IN
eos in increments of ten seconds or less, typi-
cally in portrait mode. After that you can apply
motion and filters DECREASING
ORDER OF
WHIMSY
filters, illustrations or change the speed of the
video. But you can’t make cuts. The only real edit-
The rules are pretty simple, but you have to ing is deciding what to shoot and for how long.
know them.
Venetian blinds Google Photos and Dropbox
TRANSITIONS TITLES SLOW- FILTERS Google lets you save an unlimited
Fade to black. Instead of lay- MOTION Instagram lets amount of 1080p videos, which is good enough
Nothing else. ering the titles Only if some- you apply the Radial wipe resolution for most users. Dropbox gives you 2 GB
(See right.) over an image, one falls down same filters on for free, or you can get 1 TB for a small fee. With
give them their (and is even- video as you can either, you can send out a unique link via text
own frame, on tually found to for photos. or email to allow others to watch, even if they
Light flash
a black back- be unhurt). Unless you’re don’t have an account with the service. The big
ground, at the putting together
drawback with Google Photos is that uploading
very start of the final project
Linear wipe files waives your copyright. That’s not a good thing
the video. for your drama
if you’re an aspiring professional or someone
class, use them
sparingly.
who doesn’t like even the remote possibility of
Fade his family vacation showing up in a Google ad.
A section of new vinyl siding on Is it worth trying to fix a broken Is there a nicer way to keep a
our holiday cottage has buck- doorbell myself? sandbox dry than just covering
led. Can it be repaired, or should it It can be a lot of work. The button it with a tarpaulin and a few pieces
be replaced? or the chime is usually the culprit, of firewood?
Once buckled, vinyl siding is done. since those are the only components with As likely as I am to reach for a DIY
Fortunately, buckling is a relatively moving parts. After that, it gets tough. alternative, it’s pretty hard to beat
rare problem. To properly diagnose a non-working shop-bought sandbox covers. With their
You want to figure out why it buckled doorbell, you’ll need a digital multimeter elastic drawstrings, they can be removed
to avoid having it happen again. to check each part of the doorbell’s system: and replaced in seconds. But they’re not
Leaving out an obvious cause, like heat the power to the transformer; the trans- inexpensive.
from a grill that’s too close, there are three former and its output; the continuous wir- If you’d rather make something your-
things that cause vinyl siding to buckle. ing between the doorbell, the transformer, self, consider specialist manufacturers
Usually, the siding was nailed too tightly. and the chime; and the chime itself. and suppliers such as SA Canvas. You
Vinyl siding expands significantly as it’s Mice have been known to chew through could sew in a couple of sleeves around
heated. That’s why it has oval-shaped doorbell wiring, or wires work loose from the edges of your canvas sheet, or simply
nailing slots that allow it to slide back vibration and can come out from under a hold the sleeves together with exterior-
and forth under the nailhead. Nail it too terminal screw, or greasy dust can build up grade duct tape. Slip in a few segments
tightly and you prevent this movement inside the chime, rendering it inoperative. of sand-filled 20-mm pipe to weigh the
– and cause buckling. So consider all that. Also consider that tarpaulin down, and you’re in business.
The problem can also come from reflect- you can buy an inexpensive doorbell builder A hardier alternative is to build a lift-
ed glare from insulated windows with an kit. Installation takes about half an hour, off cover out of 6-mm marine-grade or
optical coating. These windows can focus depending on how accessible the chime pressure-treated plywood, with 30 mm
a beam of sunlight much in the same way and the transformer are. Or skip that and pressure-treated timber for the sides.
a magnifying glass does. If the reflected update your system to one of the many Avoid hinged or sliding-cover designs
beam lands on vinyl siding, that siding wireless products. It’s even possible to have that could create a pinch point. And if
is toast. such a device powered by a rechargeable you build a wood cover, don’t remove it
Finally, ordinary, sunlight-induced heat battery and to allow you to answer your and lean it against a tree, where the wind
can soften siding to the point that it starts door with your phone. The outside unit could tip it over and hurt somebody. Lay
to sag. Chemists and engineers say that, consists of a button, a two-way speaker, it flat on the ground, where it will be safe
for this to happen, the siding has to be and a wide-angle, high-definition camera. and can also provide a play surface, maybe
heated above the point at which it’s capable All of this is remarkably unobtrusive and even a chalkboard. PM
of maintaining a rigid structure – and mounts where you would normally find
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CLINT FORD
resisting the shape-shifting stresses lurk- the doorbell. When a visitor rings the
ing inside it. Those stresses are introduced bell, the device alerts your phone. Using
in the manufacturing stage, but lie dor- an app, you can see the person at the
mant as long as the siding is strong door and speak with him or her from
enough to resist them. Once the siding anywhere.
is heat softened, it no longer resists
those stresses and warps.
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1978. Such reproduction or broadcasting may be authorised only by the publishers of Popular Mechanics. Published by RamsayMedia Pty Ltd for the Proprietors, Popular Mechanics (SA) Pty
Ltd, 36 Old Mill Rd, Ndabeni, Western Cape. Distributed by RNA, 12 Nobel St, Industria West, Johannesburg, and printed by CTP Web, 12-14 Boompies Street, Parow, Cape Town. Apple
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