Australian

Artist's concept of a laser weapon in action

Military

Australia is building a tank-destroying laser weapon

Australia has joined the race to field a practical high-energy laser weapon. QinetiQ Australia has been awarded AU$$12.9 million (US$8.74 million) to develop a prototype with a twist – the goal is to build a laser that can take out main battle tanks.

The Ace Cargo is designed as a simple, practical electric delivery vehicle

Automotive

South Australia's Ace EV rolls out its first electric cargo van

Compact and humble, the first of Australia's Ace EVs rolled out to meet the media this morning in South Australia.

The Interloop sculpture, at Wynyard Station in Sydney

Architecture

5 tons of vintage wooden escalator warped into spectacular subway sculpture

Although showing some signs of wear after eight decades of use, the wooden escalators of Sydney's Wynyard Station aren't done just yet. Repurposed as a twisting installation by local artist Chris Fox, the heritage timber structures now hang from the ceiling as spectacular heritage-inspired artwork.

The Carbonix Volanti takes off like a multirotor and cruises like a fixed-wing aircraft

Drones

Hybrid VTOL fixed-wing drone flies for 2+ hours

The Volanti from Sydney-based Carbonix is a carbon composite drone with a 2.7-m (9-ft) wingspan that uses a multirotor system for VTOL, then transitions to horizontal flight as a push-prop fixed-wing once in the air. It flies for over two hours on electric power or seven with a gas pusher.