Gadgets

Ever wanted to fly in a drone?

Flying drones remotely is definitely a lot of fun, but for those who have always wanted to go a bit further, the Jetson ONE, a personal electric aerial vehicle, AKA a funky drone you ride in, might be a good option. It weighs 86kg, and its eight engines allow it to fly at a maximum speed of 102 kph with a service ceiling of around 1,500 ft, carrying a pilot weighing up to 95kg for about 20 minutes — the apocryphal average life span of WWI pilots. Production starts in summer 2022, with a build slot requiring a deposit of $22,000, although all slots for 2022, as well as most of 2023’s slots, are sold out. Why? Because it’s a drone you can fly, and why wouldn’t you want that?

Jetson ONE www.jetsonaero.com $92,000

Rugged power

Budding Jetson pilots might do well to pack a few Goal Zero Venture 75s. Larger than the average battery pack, it holds up to 19200 mAh in charge and supports fast charging and a 60W USB-C port. It could probably survive a crash, as it is a hugely sturdy build, with rubber coating and a protective cover for the power ports that protects it from dust, sand and submersion in up to a meter of water for at least 30 minutes.

It also sports a 50 lumens torch in one corner and fully recharges in about two hours from the mains, but it is also designed to recharge with Goal Zero’s Nomad line of solar panels, although that would take longer depending on the sun and solar panels used.

Goal Zero Venture 75 Power Bank www.goalzero.com $120

Star printer

Awhile ago we enthused over the Elegoo Mars, as an elegant Photocuring LCD Resin 3D printer solution. Their new offering, the Saturn, is a rather bigger version (290%), as the name suggests. Those up to snuff in orbital mechanics might also have surmised it should be faster, and they’d be right — it’s about 60% faster than the Mars thanks to a resolution of 3,840 x 2,400 giving a 2-3 second per layer speed. It also sports an ethernet port, to speed up file transfer as well. The Z-axis movement now uses a double linear guide-way for smoother and more accurate movement, ensuring even better results. You might say the Saturn runs rings around the Mars.

Elegoo Saturn 3D Printer www.elegoo.com $500