The Plain of Jars is a mysterious archaeological site located in Laos' Xieng Khouang province. Housing around 2,500 jars created by an unknown civilization between 500 B.C. and 200 A.D., the objects are seemingly strewn across this broad stretch of land. Because this area was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War, there still remains a danger of explosive land mines and bombs—which makes archaeological work quite risky. Recently, researchers from Australian National University (ANU) and Melbourne's Monash University derived a way to mitigate risk in the field by enlisting drones. The team is trying to construct a virtual site map using drones that capture 3D images every 3.9 inches, and a virtual reality mapping system called CAVE2. This replica will not only help with safety, but also track any changes to the site. Museums may also use the modelto take visitors virtually to new places. "For museum applications, this is an amazing tool especially [for] remote museums that are not at the site. So you can create this environment where people feel they are walking among the monuments in that 3D context," said Dr. Dougald O'Reilly, a senior lecturer at the ANU's school of archaeology. [Phys.org + Lonely Planet]
ICYMI: MIT's Mediated Matter Group, directed by associate professor Neri Oxman, documented the health and wellness of bees inside a synthetic apiary it designed and constructed to help save the the economically vital insects. [ARCHITECT]
New York-based biomaterials company Ecovative Design launched a residential line of natural, biofabricated furniture made with the company’s MycoBoard technology that utilizes fungi. [Builder]
Wazer, a new waterjet cutter developed by University of Pennsylvania graduates, claims to be the first desktop-sized cutter of its kind, at a fraction of the cost of traditional waterjet cutters, while still maintaining its ability to slice through numerous hard and soft materials. [New Atlas]
Panasonic will be building solar panels to power Tesla's Powerwall and Powerpack. The two companies entered a non-binding deal earlier this week. [Tesla]
Max Boegl Wind and G.E. Renewable Energy have joined forces to build a wind farm with both the world's tallest wind turbines (584 feet tall) and a hydropower plant. [GE Reports]
Tackling the lack of clean drinking water in cities, Scottsdale, Ariz.–based startup Zero Mass Water has created solar panels that can turn water vapor into drinkable water. [Fast Co. Exist]
