I second this. I just accepted a new position where I won’t be doing any parametric modeling or designing so I’ll be itching to design things. Happy to help anyone that wants/needs it
2 Likes
Depends on how fancy a drone you have. Many drones when they get low on power they fly back to the launch point, others when the control signal gets weak they fly back. Incredible software. My $55 quad requires a lot of skill to fly and will run out of power anywhere…including over trees. 
- Rich
5 Likes
The real genius comes from getting a variety of different skills and talents together and just talking. In some of the most successful projects, the game changing idea came from the least likely source. The true long term value of Glowforge is in this forum. We have all contributed, in our own way, to making it a better product.
5 Likes
Funny thing is this isn’t new technology, it’s actually very old, just a new approach/attempt. This was the project Nicola Tessla pretty much went broke on (the inventor, not the company). The problem has always been the amount of energy (radio waves) in the air were never substantial enough to make the technology viable. Maybe that has changed enough now with all the man-made rf noise out there.
7 Likes
The breadth of background we have on this forum is quite amazing and one of the most fascinating things. It’s also staring to show with the beta teaters…lots of neat new ideas popping up.
2 Likes
I once asked a medico a question about RF frequencies and the increasing pace of life in general. My question went something like: "the environment is full of radio frequency “energy” and we travel through this radio frequency at an increasingly fast pace compared to our forebears. We also live in a giant, albeit weak, magnetic field. What effect on the does any internal generation of EMF have on the body?
The question/discussion was much longer than that of course and focused a lot on “new” cancers, or rather, those that had rarely been seen in the past. Discounting better diagnoses, increasing longevity, other environmental factors she didn’t have an answer, not unexpectedly.
So, my question remains, “because we travel more quickly than our forebears what, if any, effect does the increase in EMF generated within us have on our bodies?” Take Alzheimer’s disease as an example, a lot a stray electric currents blatting about in the brain, any connection?
Just another example of the random thoughts that go through my head from time to time.
2 Likes
This sounds pretty amazing. Wow!
1 Like
I’m thinking it would not be a viable tech for avalanche beacons, but maybe other types of survival/recovery products. I would love it if those “essential for survival when needed but never used otherwise used” bits of electronic security would just keep themselves trickle-charged and ready to go.
1 Like
There’s a lot of unofficial debate on the problem of increased em fields and their health repercussions. One of the problems is many engineers have viewed the body as a “simple sack of water” and not a highly complex and sensitive bio-electrical machine. Sometimes I wonder, though if I could give it up if something indisputable came up saying all this rf tech is bad, or would I say the risk is worth the convenience - after all I can’t hard wire my forge 
3 Likes
“Gentlemen, practise these words in front of the mirror: Although we are constantly exploring the subject, currently there is no direct evidence that links cellphone usage to brain cancer.”
-Nick Naylor, Thank You For Smoking
5 Likes
Hee, hee…true, but I tend not to carry my smart phone in my front pocket next to my…um…private parts. Just sayin’… - Rich
3 Likes