Charles, you've got to see this movie, and so do the rest of you who are reading these comments.
The posts were to describe the best Engineering movies, not the best movie that had technical things in it. There are a lot of technical movies, both SciFy and fairly factual, but few show the engineering process as well as did "Brainstorm." I am quite amazed that the producers and director were able to piece the already-filmed parts together, as Natalie Wood died during the filming and the completed movie showed her in the movie all the way to the end. Christopher Walken portrayed a perfect nerdy, driven scientist / engineer. I write about robots and have seen many amazing robots in my days, but nothing that even comes close to what is portrayed in this film. Even the non-technical parts showing the beautiful scenery of North Carolina was among the best for a SciFy film.
I have to admit, Jim, I watched the manufacturing segments on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood with my son when he was growing up. I liked them as an adult and actually learned new things. I suspect I wasn't alone in this.
I agree with the person who mentioned "Brainstorm." Having been in many types of labs over the years, that movie most closely depicted a real scientific lab, the strange manner in which projects are created and gain approval. Yes, the capture and storage of human sensations on tape and the ability to transfer these emotions / feeling to another may be a bit in the future, but the science seemed so real. Natalie Wood died during the filming of this classic, but it is my all time favorite movie due to the accuracy and theme.
I'm willing to bet that there are other engineer/designers out there who, like me, was inspired by "Picture Picture" on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. For those of you too young to know what I'm referring to, it was basically the 1970's-1980's version of "How its Made." I loved that show!
Absolutely! After seeing Brainstorm I said to myself "I would move anywhere to work on a project like that." Obviously, I didn't get the chance because this comment wasn't posted directly from my brain to the Net.
I also want to second "Real Genius" - Smart People On Ice!! It put me on the road to having a palm-sized battery-powered 2W CW 445nm laser just for coolness sake.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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