80kg machine can take off vertically like a jump jet
Powered by Lithium Ion batteries
Inventor claims the 16-rotor machine will make helicopters 'obsolete
Could be used for 'air sports' - or even as a flying car

It might look like as space hopper surrounded by model helicopters, but the 16-rotor E-Volo is an entirely new kind of helicopter - which can hover motionless in the air without input from the pilot

Its bold engineer, Thomas Senkel, took the machine on its first manned flight this week - lasting 1 minute 30 seconds.

It's not the first electric helicopter flight - but this is a new kind of machine, steered simply by joystick, with the pilot sitting above the rotors. Senkel says it could revolutionise transport.

The three inventors claim their flying machine could be used for inspecting pipelines, as an air ambulance or for taking aerial photographs - as well as just for fun.

Once they have solved the problem of how to keep it in the air for longer - and support more people - Senkel hopes it might replace helicopters for good.

It's far easier to fly than ordinary helicopters - it's steered by rotor speed, which is computer-controlled, so the pilot just needs to use a joystick as if playing a videogame, rather than controlling multiple complex contorols at once.

Senkel describes the easy-to-use machine as 'good-natured' and potentially capable of replacing the helicopter in many situations.

He added: 'Without any steering input it would just hover there on the spot.'

The multicopter is currently only able to fly for around 20 minutes because it runs on lithium-ion batteries.

But E-volo hope rapidly developing technology will mean they can complete hour-long flights in the near future.

A hybrid drive, in which a conventional internal combustion engine generates the electrical power, would already show an hour-long flight time.

A one-hour flight would cost around six euros in electricity. The machine has few parts, which could wear out, meaning the aircraft needs little maintenance.

E-volo say their aircraft is special because of the 'simplicity of its engineered construction without complicated mechanics, and redundant engines.'

In an emergency, it can land even if four of its 16 rotors fail. And since the propellers sit below the pilot, a safety parachute can also be deployed.

The controls could be integrated with GPS software, the three friends claim, and the machine could even automatically avoid obstacles and direct itself to pre-determined locations. E-Volo have already completed several successful 'drone' flights with the vehicle, controlled remotely from the ground.

Could a Mexican drug cartel be the next target for a group of hackers known for online attacks against banks and government institutions?

A video purportedly from the international hacker ring Anonymous threatens the Zetas, warning that the names, photographs and addresses of cartel supporters can be published "if necessary."

"We cannot defend ourselves with a weapon," a masked man says. "But we can do this with their cars, homes, bars and whatever else they possess. It will not be difficult. All of us know who they are and where they are located."

The man, wearing a suit and tie, claims the notoriously violent drug gang has kidnapped an Anonymous associate in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

"We demand his release," says the man, who uses Mexican slang but speaks Spanish with a Castilian accent.

It's unclear whether Anonymous is behind the October 6 video, which does not mention a victim's name or provide details about the alleged abduction. The hacking group has no clear leader, and no official website.

"One thing that's important to remember is that Anonymous is not an organization. It does not have a hierarchy. Basically it's a collective of people who self-identify," said Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical intelligence for the STRATFOR global intelligence firm. "Not everybody agrees and not everybody participates."

Stewart said the video "absolutely" appears authentic.

"It's part of the dynamic we've been watching with Anonymous activities in Mexico," he said, noting that the video was similar to others the group has released and expresses similar sentiments. "It seems like they're speaking up as the voice of those people who are in fear."

In recent months, Anonymous has claimed responsibility for "paperstorm" campaigns, dropping fliers accusing officials in the Mexican state of Veracruz of corruption and connections with cartels.

The video purportedly posted by Anonymous this month says the alleged abduction occurred during a "paperstorm" campaign.

An Anonymous source told CNN that there were discussions about three weeks ago in Anonymous' main online chat portal that suggested that members based in Mexico were going to target the Zetas.

The source said that Anonymous Mexican members claimed in online discussions to have information about politicians in Mexico who were corrupt and working with the Zetas. Anonymous members in Mexico appeared, based on their portal chats, to want to make this information available online, the source said.

On Monday, a Facebook page purportedly connected with a Latin America branch of Anonymous said the attack targeting the Zetas had been put on hold because of security and political concerns.

"We are searching for alternative actions," said the post on The Anonymous Link's page. CNN was unable to independently verity the website's claim.

It's too soon to tell whether Anonymous, which normally uses Internet attacks to disrupt website traffic, can combat the ruthless violence of drug cartels, Stewart said.

"This is like one of those 1950s horror movies, the Werewolf versus Frankenstein. They're incompatible creatures that do warfare in different ways," Stewart said.

Even if members of Anonymous use virtual weapons, he said, they could sustain real-life wounds.

"If they get identified as part of this, they could be beheaded," he said.

As social media become an increasingly common battleground in Mexico's drug war, the viral video fueled debate online.

Twitter was abuzz with word of the possible threat Monday, with some posts under the hashtag #OpCartel saying Anonymous had called off its plans to target the Zetas, and others questioning the legitimacy of the video.

"Was the #OpCartel Anonymous Hackers vs. Zetas story a highly publicized hoax?" SYoungReports wrote.

Other Twitter users criticized the group.

"Bits and bytes won't work against bullets," said a post on the Twitter account of Angeliner4life. "Don't be dumb, you are messing with real killers."

The most common mode of operation for Anonymous is launching distributed denial-of-service attacks, in which multiple people use scripts to access a website repeatedly, slowing it badly or shutting it down, if its servers can't handle the traffic.

In the past few years, Anonymous has taken credit for disrupting a number of prominent websites, including those of PayPal, Master Card, Visa and the Church of Scientology.

Last month the group claimed it was targeting the Mexican government, launching attacks on a range of official websites, including those of Mexico's defense and public safety ministries.

Online posts have become some of the loudest voices reporting violence in Mexico. In some parts of the country, threats from cartels have silenced traditional media. Sometimes even local authorities fear speaking out.

Last month attackers left ominous threats mentioning two websites on signs beside mutilated bodies dangling from a bridge in northern Mexico.

The message was clear: Post something we don't like online and you're next. "I am about to get you," one sign said.

It was unclear who the two brutally slain victims were, or whether they had any connection to social media. But analysts said that case showed the prominent role technology has come to play in describing and denouncing violence in Mexico.

Rebel factions which ended his 42-year rule appear to be still wrangling over the body, amid wider negotiations on dividing up power.

The killing of the 69-year-old in his hometown of Sirte ended a nervous, two-month hiatus since the motley rebel forces of the National Transitional Council overran the capital Tripoli and ended eight months of war - though Gaddafi's son and heir-apparent Saif al-Islam is still at large.  

NTC officials said negotiations were going on with Gaddafi's tribal kinsmen from Sirte and within the interim leadership over where and how to dispose of the bodies - and on what the Misratans might receive in return for co-operation.  

Yet few Libyans seem troubled about either how Gaddafi and his entourage were killed or why they are being kept exposed for so long in what seemed a grim parody of the lying in state often reserved for deceased national leaders.

'God made the pharaoh as an example to the others,' said Salem Shaka, who was viewing the bodies on Monday. 'If he had been a good man, we would have buried him.  

'But he chose this destiny for himself.'  

Another man, who said he had driven 400 km (250 miles) to see the bodies, said: 'I came here to make sure with my own eyes ... All Libyans must see him.'

The final humiliation for the man who so brutally ruled Libya for 42 years came when he was hauled from his hiding place in a sewer. Shocking video clearly showed the broken 69-year-old tyrant was alive as fighters, waving their guns in the air, threw him on to the bonnet of a jeep. Wounded and apparently dazed, Gaddafi appeared deluded to the end, asking his captors: 'What did I do to you?' Moments after he begged for his life he was shot 'like a dog in the street'.

Gaddafi tried to flee in a convoy hit by American drone
Vehicles were also shelled by Nato fighter jets...
... before being driven back to his compound in Sirte
Gaddafi in final attempt to flee before final push by rebels
'Found in a hole' wearing military-style clothing, shouting 'Don't shoot'
Rebel forces executed him in front of a baying mob
His body was paraded through the streets of the city
Eldest son Saif shot in leg in Sirte day before - some reports say he is dead
Other son Mutassim confirmed killed in Sirte
Barack Obama hails 'momentous day' in history of Libya

Wounded and apparently dazed, Gaddafi appeared deluded to the end, asking his captors: 'What did I do to you?'

Moments after he begged for his life he was shot 'like a dog in the street'.

Another video captured his bloodied body being dragged through the streets of his home city of Sirte, to be paraded later before celebrating crowds in the nearby port town of Misrata.

Confirmation of the death sparked wild scenes of celebration across Libya with tens of thousands taking to the streets.

Celebratory gunfire rang out across the capital, Tripoli. Cars honked their horns and people embraced each other.

In Sirte, ecstatic rebels celebrated the city’s fall after weeks of bloody siege by firing endless rounds into the sky.

Gaddafi’s death closes a chapter in the Nato-led military campaign to help rebel forces remove him from power. Ever since the fall of Tripoli, the hunt for Gaddafi had prevented rebels from claiming outright victory.

Last night it emerged that RAF Tornados helped launch the final airstrike by flying surveillance missions which cleared the way for French fighter jets to bomb a Gaddafi convoy.

There were also claims that RAF jets carried out another raid which led to the wounding of Gaddafi’s favourite son, Saif al-Islam.

The conflict has already cost British taxpayers more than £1billion and today Nato chiefs will decide whether to end the aerial campaign.

David Cameron, who had driven much of Nato’s intervention, hailed it as a moment to remember Gaddafi’s many victims, including those who died when Pan-Am flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie in 1988, policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, and those killed by the IRA using Libyan Semtex.

In a statement notably free of any hint of triumphalism, the Prime Minister said he was ‘proud’ of the role Britain played in helping the Libyan people liberate their country.

Outside 10 Downing Street, Mr Cameron said: ‘People in Libya today have an even greater chance of building themselves a strong and democratic future.

'I’m proud of the role that Britain has played in helping them to bring that about and I pay tribute to the bravery of the Libyans who have helped to liberate their country.’

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who with Mr Cameron had kept up pressure for Nato’s continued role, said Gaddafi’s death was a ‘major step on the country’s path to democracy.’

U.S. President Barack Obama said: ‘This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya.’

Nato leaders will be watching anxiously over the next few days, however, in case Gaddafi loyalists plunder stockpiled weapons to wreak bloody revenge on the rebels.

The astonishing end for the tyrant came after he and loyalist fighters tried to flee Sirte as it was overrun by forces of the National Transitional Council.

Gaddafi was in a convoy of up to 100 vehicles which tried to break out of Sirte – the last centre of resistance after eight months of civil war – early yesterday.
The escape was spotted by Nato which launched two devastating strikes. At least 50 loyalist fighters were killed.

Injured in both legs, Gaddafi made his way with bodyguards through trees. The group hid in two concrete sewers but were spotted by rebels.

Five bodyguards were killed but one tried to save Gaddafi, telling rebels: ‘My master is here, my master is here. Muammar Gaddafi is here and he is wounded.’

At the time of capture, Gaddafi was already wounded with gunshots to his leg and to his back, Bakeer said. He was then dragged 50 yards to a black Jeep  and thrown on to the bonnet. Several rebel fighters surrounded him, beating him about the face, before he was shot in the stomach and head.

One of those reported to have been killed along with Gaddafi was his son, Mo’tassim, who had been organising the defence of Sirte and his army chief Abu Bakr Younis Jabr. The bodies of three men, apparently Gaddafi bodyguards, lay at the entrance to the sewer, one in shorts probably due to a bandaged wound on his leg.

Four more bodies lay at the other end of the pipes. All black men, one had his brains blown out while  another had been decapitated.

8.30am - French Aircraft attack the convoy in which Gaddafi is travelling at a roundabout two miles west of Sirte. 15 armed pick-up trucks are destroyed in the attack. A wounded Gaddafi, accompanied by a handful of loyal men seeks refuge in a nearby storm drain. NTC forces initially fire anti-airctraft guns before moving in on foot.

11.05am -  NTC forces announce that the last remaining  areas of Sirte have been captured and that fighters are searching homes and buildings looking for any remaning Gadhafi loyalists.

2.00pm - After a fire fight Gaddafi is discovered cowering in the storm drain.

2.30pm - A local man tells Reuters news agency he saw Gaddafi shot in the abdomen with a 9mm pistol

2.45pm - A pro-Gaddafi TV website denies that the former Libyan leader has been captured

2.56pm - Reuters report Gaddafi has died of wounds sustained during his capture

3.00pm - Celebrations across Libya at the news of Gaddafi's capture

3.44pm :  Mobile phone image is released of a man who appears to be Gadadfi wearing blood soaked clothing with blood on his face

4:02pm - Al-Jazeera TV is airing shaky footage of a man resembling Gaddafi lying dead or badly wounded, bleeding from the head and stripped to the waist as fighters roll him over on the pavement.

4.31pm - AFP reports that Gaddafi's son Mutassim has been found dead in Sirte.

4.30pm - Libya's acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril appears on television to confirm the news that Gaddafi is dead.

4.56pm - Video appears of fighters brandishing a gold-plated handgun said to have been taken from Gaddafi

4.59pm - Al-Jazeera shows video of Gaddafi's body being dragged along the ground

5.25pm -  Reports come in that Gaddafi's body has arrived in Misrata.

6.00pm  - Reuters reports that according to an NTC commander Gaddafi's son has been killed

7.50 pm - Al Jazeera announces it has received unconfirmed reports that Gaddafi's son Saif is dead

The home-made rig was made by Josh Taylor, 21-year-old website designer from Guildford - entitled the Taylor Made Space Balloon. It captured images from 23 miles up in the stratosphere.

Taylor had lost radio contact with the unit as it fell - and was only alerted that its antenna were back online when he was in the pub having dinner.

The camera had fallen into the North Sea - and had to be inspected by the Coastguard for contraband. Taylor had to wash off the memory cards in fresh water to make them work again.

'We pressed record, gaffer taped and secured the lid, then hoped for the best,' wrote Taylor on his blog Joshing Talk, after he launched the balloon with school friend Edward Bishop, 21.

Taylor is still editing the video captured by another video camera inside the unit. He describes it as 'The most exciting weather balloon flight ever,' but says, 'It was a garden shed kind of project.'

He told Mail Online, 'Whoever you are, whatever you do, you can achieve the same results as I did. There's no better way to learn and enjoy science - your very own journey to the edge of space.'

The images were all taken automatically by the cameras, and saved to memory chips - Taylor only found out how many images he had after the unit landed.

After the successful launch, the camera's radio trackers stopped working on the descent, and Taylor had decided that it was lost.

'We headed back to a pub and had a much needed meal and whilst at the pub, I decided to take a look at the tracker to see what it was reporting,' he wrote.

'Previously, it had not reported any locations after many attempts.This time however, we got a response - although nothing we had expected. We had a location for some co-ordinates, roughly 3 miles of the coast in the North sea.'

The unit containing the cameras floated in the North Sea for 15 hours before it was rescued by coast guard.

After a day-long chase that Taylor said involved driving 'all the way round' the M25 motorway, the unit was handed over, after having been checked for contraband.

Taylor said, 'I wanted to prove that you do not have to be a rocket scientist to capture images like I have done.'

Taylor is now planning further space missions.

This is the critically injured toddler who is fighting for her life after she was run over twice and ignored by passers-by in China.

Yue Yue, two, remains in a coma after the horrific incident was captured on surveillance camera in a narrow street in Foshan city, Guandong province.

After days of treatment, the little girl has regained the ability to take weak breaths with the help of a respirator and some feeling in her arms, according to China Daily.

Her heart beat has also stabilised, but her life remains in danger and there are concerns she may have suffered extensive brain damage.

Video of the shocking moment she was hit by a car and then ignored by more than a dozen people who walked or drove past her as she lay in the street has sparked outrage in China and the world.

Both drivers who ran her over had been arrested, but internet users have flooded microblogs over the apathy of the people who left her to die.

The two men, along with people who left her on the road, claimed not to have seen the little girl in the 'dark' street.

Chinese media reports that one of the men had allegedly just broken up with his girlfriend and was on his mobile phone when he hit the girl.

Horrific: Yue Yuem lies critically injured on the floor after she was run over by a van in Foshan city, Guangdong, China

The Shanghaiist claims one driver called Yue Yue's father to offer him money just before he was arrested.

It claims he said: 'You saw that girl on the CCTV footage, she didn't see where she was going, you know.

'I was on the phone when it happened, I didn't mean it.

'When I realised I had knocked her down, I thought I'd go down to see how she was.

'Then when I saw that she was already bleeding, I decided to just step on the gas pedal and escape seeing that nobody was around me.'

Authorities in Foshan presented Chen Xianmei, a rubbish collector who went to Yue Yue's aid, with $1,570 as a reward.

Another company in the city has also offered to donate $7,500 to her family and rescuer.

China's economic boom and the growing disparity between the rich and poor have made changing social values a contentious topic, with some lamenting what they see as materialism replacing morals.

Yueyue's father Wang told Chinese television: 'Yueyue is so lovely. If I quarrelled with her mother and if her mother cried, she would tell us not to cry, she always tried to amuse us.

'I just hope my child will wake up and call me Dad again.'

China's equivalent of Twitter, Sina Weibo, has seen 4.4million comments posted on the little girl's plight, under the heading 'please end the cold-heartedness'.

One user called the incident 'the shame of the Chinese people'.

Another user, under the name Xiaozhong001, wrote: 'Really, what is up with our society? I saw this and my heart went cold.

'Everyone needs to do some soul-searching about ending this kind of indifference.'

Many people in China are hesitant to help people who appear to be in distress over fears they will be blamed.

High-profile law suits have ended with good Samaritans ordered to pay hefty fines to individuals they sought to help.

The incident has also sparked a series of soul-searching articles in Chinese newspapers, including the Guangzho Daily and People's Daily Online.

London, England (CNN) -- Paving slabs that convert energy from people's footsteps into electricity are set to help power Europe's largest urban mall, at the 2012 London Olympics site.

The recycled rubber "PaveGen" paving slabs harvest kinetic energy from the impact of people stepping on them and instantly deliver tiny bursts of electricity to nearby appliances. The slabs can also store energy for up to three days in an on-board battery, according to its creator.

In their first commercial application, 20 tiles will be scattered along the central crossing between London's Olympic stadium and the recently opened Westfield Stratford City mall -- which expects an estimated 30 million customers in its first year.

"That should be enough feet to power about half its (the mall's) outdoor lighting needs," said Laurence Kemball-Cook, a 25-year-old engineering graduate who developed the prototype during his final year of university in 2009.

The green slabs are designed to compress five millimeters when someone steps on them, but PaveGen will not share the precise mechanism responsible for converting absorbed kinetic energy into electricity.

Although each step produces only enough electricity to keep an LED-powered street lamp lit for 30 seconds, Kemball-Cook says that the tiles are a real-world "crowdsourcing" application, harnessing small contributions from a large number of individuals.

"We recently came back from a big outdoor festival where we got over 250,000 footsteps -- that was enough to charge 10,000 mobile phones," said Kemball-Cook.

The young inventor envisages PaveGen systems being used to power off-grid appliances such as public lighting, illuminated street maps and advertising, and to be installed in areas of dense human traffic such as city centers, underground stations and school corridors.

"Our main test installation is at a school in Kent (southeast England) -- where 1,100 kids have devoted their lives to stamping all over them for the last eight months," said Kemball-Cook.

In its current form, the PaveGen paving slab contains a low-energy LED which lights up, expressing the energy transfer idea to the user but only consuming around 5% of the energy from each footstep.

"This is what I really enjoy about the design," said Richard Miller, head of sustainability at the UK's government-funded Technology Strategy Board.

"As much as it's an effective, common-sense source of some sustainable electricity, it's also a great way for people to engage with the issue of sustainability ... to feel like they are part of the solution in a very immediate, fun and visual way that doesn't make you do anything you wouldn't already be doing," said Miller.

However, although generally enthusiastic about the product, for the time being Miller withholds speculation about its far-reaching impact.

"As with all things of this nature, on a large scale and in the long term, its success will be determined by how cost-effective it is to produce ... If it turns out to be expensive, then it will struggle to find a place as anything more than a niche application," he said.

Kemball-Cook declines to comment on the cost of each slab, arguing that their current price is much higher than what it will be when they go into mass production.

That said, the company has already won a spate of awards, including the Big Idea category at the UK's Ethical Business Awards and the Shell LiveWire Grand Ideas Award. PaveGen has also recently received a round of financing from a group of London-based angel investors, although the sum is undisclosed.

Kemball-Cook is confident that the slab is durable. Over the course of a month it was subjected to a machine that replicates the pounding of footsteps, non-stop every day, he added.

"It's also really easy to install as a retrofit on existing pavements, because they can be made to match their exact dimensions ... you just replace one slab with another," he said.

Looking to the future, Kemball-Cook would like to see the paving system introduced to the developing world, in areas that have a high footfall, but are off-grid, such as the slums in Mumbai.

"The average person takes 150 million steps in their lifetime, just imagine the potential," he said.

We have the goal cam, the field cam, and the helmet cam. But the best may be still to come: the ball cam.

An initial prototype of the Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera has been developed by Jonas Pfeil, Kristian Hildebrand, Carsten Gremzow, Bernd Bickel and Marc Alexa. Consisting of 36 mobile phone cameras and a layer of advanced protective foam, a simple toss in the air gives breathtaking perspective to a ball's flight.

It's not hard to see potential in the sporting arena. What if this sort of camera was mounted inside the balls we use on the field in professional sports?

Can you imagine seeing Santonio Holmes' Super Bowl-winning catch against the Cardinals captured from the perspective of the ball, surrounded by a packed stadium and flying past some of the best athletes in the world? Or perhaps the moment just after Lionel Messi fires at goal, but just before the keeper extends to stop the shot?

"It would certainly be intriguing to try that," Pfeil told ThePostGame.com by email Thursday. "We only have a single prototype which we would rather not take into a basketball game. We did, however, take great care to build the prototype as durable as possible."

Of course it would take immense upgrades and immensely light cameras for such a concept to work in a regulation football or soccer ball, but you have to imagine Ball Cam is coming. And after seeing this video, we can't wait.

A self-styled superhero known as Phoenix Jones has been unmasked in a Seattle court as he waits to see if he is charges with a pepper spray attack.

Police say Phoenix Jones - real name Benjamin Fodor - attacked four people who had left a Seattle nightclub.

As the court hearing ended, he tore off a dress shirt to reveal his black and yellow superhero costume.

Prosecutors said they hadn't yet decided whether to file charges, but Mr Fodor vowed to continue crimefighting.

The 23-year-old, who leads the Rain City Superhero Movement, said he was trying to break up a fight. The clubgoers insisted to police they were not fighting.

"I will continue to patrol with my team, probably tonight," he told the Seattle Times on Thursday. "I am just like everybody else. The only difference is that I try to stop crime in my neighbourhood."

During the hearing, a court officer asked Jones to remove his mask. He did so, but then put it back on to speak with reporters.

Seattle Police are not likely to be calling on Mr Jones to help them keep Seattle safe.

"If people want to dress up and walk around, knock yourself out," said police spokesman Mark Jamieson. "Our concern is when you insert yourself into these situations without knowing the facts, it's just not a smart thing to do.

According to the Associated Press news agency, a police report says there has been increased reports of citizens being pepper-sprayed by the would-be superhero and his group.

Although Phoenix Jones "has been advised to observe and report incidents to [police], he continues to try to resolve things on his own," the report says.

Imagine if you will, a three-wheeled motorcycle enclosed in the thin shell of a car, a roll cage worthy of Nascar supporting its frame, and with all the comforts bestowed on the less daring drivers out there—air conditioning, heat, and an opulent sense of safety. But, it has all benefits owned by two-wheeled riders zooming down the express lane with their uncanny ability to park in even the tightest of spaces. Throw in an electric-gas hybrid engine and 100 mpg, and that space-age vehicle you’re picturing may resemble what the team at Green Lite Motors is cooking up.

According to Tim Miller, CEO of Green Lite Motors, the idea behind the project is to bring some good sense to commuting. While driving alone in a Volvo Station Wagon big enough to seat seven, a few years back, he had something of an epiphany, and as he gazed out his window at other drivers wasting gas and space like himself, he decided to do something about it.

“There has got to be a better way … there is definitely an opportunity for vehicles designed to carry just two people instead of seven,” Miller said in a phone interview.

Going electric seemed the most practical solution for fuel efficiency, yet after looking at the cost of batteries, he and an assembled team decided to go hybrid—or more precisely, a hybrid of a hybrid. The current prototype has three fuel modes a driver can switch between, including hybrid, electric-only, and a “sports mode” that uses both gas and electric simultaneously to push the vehicle’s 85 mph speeds.

They also decided to give it three wheels, and keep it enclosed, like a car. “Part of it was a minimalist philosophy of can we get the job done with less than four wheels,” Miller said. The three-wheel solution would become one of the more difficult parts of the design, but in the end, also one of the vehicle’s key aspects.

The reason an everyday motorcycle can’t have an enclosure is that drivers needs to put their feet down when they stop, or it will fall over. Going with three wheels, and a thin frame, also has its problems, however. With less than four wheels, a driver and the vehicle need to lean into turns or the vehicle risks flipping over.

To solve this, Green Lite Motors built what they call “Smart Stand Up,” which is basically a hydraulic system that holds the vehicle upright when it stops, and makes it naturally lean into turns.

“There have been other vehicles that lean into turns, but they would force you into the turns, they push you into the turn, and that can make for a somewhat unnatural feeling,” Miller said. “What we’ve done is developed a system where the electronics allow the vehicle to be either free leaning or in the stand up mode.”

The result is a vehicle that rests somewhere between a car and a motorcycle. Drivers can get the feel of the road by leaning into turns and zipping past traffic, and taking small parking spaces; but they also can keep on their suits, not wear a helmet, and enjoy some reassuring safety features.

A working prototype so far shows the shell of the vehicle, resembling a motorcycle with the roll cage of a racecar. Miller says another video will be released soon, showing off that same prototype but with an early exterior “to give people a feeling of what the shape and size really is.”

They haven’t done any crash testing yet (they only have one prototype, so smashing it to bits is a bit further down the list), but they’re using software in the meantime to simulate what the vehicle can take. They’re leveraging virtual prototyping tools from Autodesk, one of the leaders in 3-D design, engineering, and entertainment software.

The prototyping software lets them find weak points in the design and run tests to see if the vehicle can hold up to the stresses of the road. “If we can figure something out in software rather than building everything, that’s great news for us,” Miller said.

He adds that 10 or 15 years ago, it would have been impossible for a small company like Green Lite Motors, with only seven core employees, to build a sophisticated vehicle on a small budget, but software let them go “beyond what you can imagine, effectively, pretty quickly.”

Although once everything is said and done they plan to market the vehicle to commuters, Miller believes “a lot of folks are going to buy this just for fun.”

They’re even working on a design where drivers can pop off the doors in the summer to feel the wind of the highway. But he also hopes people’s interest goes beyond that, and shows an electric, minimalist vehicle is “a whole future of how you can get around in a metropolitan area.”

Guests arrive at the inauguration ceremony of the new skyscraper tower of Huaxi village, in Jiangsu province, October 8, 2011. Huaxi village, also known as China's richest village, celebrates its 50th anniversary with the inauguration of a massive 328-meters (1,076 feet) high skyscraper that screams for attention from its lowly skyline. A solid gold bull weighing a tonne also greets visitors at a viewing area on the 60th-floor of the tower, a testament to the wealth of the village. In Huaxi, those from the original 2,000 residents have at least a house, a car, and $250,000 in the bank and enjoy universal health care and free education. Officials from elsewhere in China tour Huaxi to find out how this once sleepy village, with just 576 residents in the 1950s, is now so rich and why non-local businessmen would donate million-dollar factories to buy the privilege of a local residence permit.

Women pose for a picture in front of the new skyscraper tower of Huaxi village, Jiangsu province October 8, 2011. Huaxi village, also known as China's richest village, celebrates its 50th anniversary with the inauguration of a massive 328-meters (1,076 feet) high skyscraper that screams for attention from its lowly skyline. A solid gold bull weighing a tonne also greets visitors at a viewing area on the 60th-floor of the tower, a testament to the wealth of the village. In Huaxi, those from the original 2,000 residents have at least a house, a car, and $250,000 in the bank and enjoy universal health care and free education. Officials from elsewhere in China tour Huaxi to find out how this once sleepy village, with just 576 residents in the 1950s, is now so rich and why non-local businessmen would donate million-dollar factories to buy the privilege of a local residence permit.

A guest poses for a picture at a painting of Huaxi village during the inauguration ceremony of the village's new skyscraper tower in Huaxi, Jiangsu province, October 8, 2011. Huaxi village, also known as China's richest village, celebrates its 50th anniversary with the inauguration of a massive 328-meters (1,076 feet) high skyscraper that screams for attention from its lowly skyline.

Cairo (CNN) -- The number of dead in clashes between the army and pro-Coptic Christian protesters in Egypt over the weekend rose to at least 25, with at least 272 wounded, a Healthy Ministry official told CNN Monday.

But conflicting reports from the two sides indicated the death toll could be as high as 29 in violence that an army spokesman speculated may have been guided by a "hidden hand" associated with neither side.

Many of the dead and injured were crushed by speeding military vehicles, said Dr. Adel al-Dawi of the ministry.

The violence -- the deadliest in Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled by a popular revolution in February -- has brought the country back to the tense, violent period before the uprising, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said Monday.

"Instead of going forward, we found ourselves scrambling for security," Sharaf said on state television in an early morning speech, noting that the incident had produced "martyrs, both civilian and from the military."

Hundreds of Coptic Christians rallied outside a hospital Monday, chanting "The army has its tanks but we have our prayers," CNN saw.

Some Muslims were at the rally to express solidarity with Christians.

Egyptian security sources said there was violence at the rally, with stones being thrown, but CNN saw no evidence of that.

Both European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed concern about Sunday's violence.

Ashton said Monday she was "extremely concerned by the large number of deaths and injuries," while Hague condemned the loss of life.

The bloodshed in Cairo occurred just over a week after the burning of a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt.

The violence broke out around a protest on Sunday demanding equality and protection of Coptic places of worship.

Coptic Christians, an ancient sect, make up about 9% of Egypt's population, according to the U.S. State Department.

They have suffered serious violence in recent months.

A Coptic church in the city of Alexandria was bombed on New Year's Day, killing 23 people -- the deadliest attack on Christians in Egypt in recent times.

There were also clashes involving Coptic Christians in May, leaving at least 12 dead.

But there has also been mutual support between the minority Christians and majority Muslims in Egypt, with reports of Christians protecting anti-Mubarak Muslim demonstrators when they stopped for daily prayers during the uprising.

Despite the Health Ministry toll of 25 on Sunday, figures from the two sides indicated as many as 29 may have died.

Sherif Doss, the head of Egypt's association of Coptics, said 17 civilians died and 40 were injured.

An additional 12 army troops were killed and more than 50 were injured, according to Lt. Col. Amr Imam, an army spokesman.

The protesters -- many of them Coptics or supportive of their cause -- said they had been marching peacefully toward the Egyptian state television building when the violence erupted.

Anti-Gaddafi forces claim to be on the verge of taking full control of the dictator's home town of Sirte.

Fighters loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council say they have have seized a conference centre and university, as well as taking control of the Mediterranean town's hospital.

The fortress-like Ouagadougou conference centre, constructed to host pan-African summits, has been a major target for NTC forces since they launched a September 15 offensive on Sirte.

"We control 100% of the Ouagadougou centre," said Mohammed al Fayad, an NTC military chief, adding the capture "opens the way" for his forces to overrun the city centre.

"We are ready to take the centre" of Sirte "within a matter of hours," said Fayad. "It is only a question of coordination... We just need time."

As he spoke, NTC fighters spread throughout the sprawling complex, tearing down portraits of Col Gaddafi, who remains on the run, and the green flags of his fallen 42-year regime.

They later advanced another kilometre north along streets littered with debris and lined by pock-marked buildings towards the heart of the city.

NTC fighters also took control of the town's Ibn Sina hospital. A massive firefight broke out near the hospital late on Sunday with intense machine gun and rocket fire.

At a Gaddafi palace about 500 metres from the hospital, partly destroyed by NATO air raids according to the NTC fighters, a group of men jumped up and down on a four-poster bed.

Sky correspondent Alex Rossi, reporting from the front line, said that despite the celebrations it had been a "costly advance".

He said: "They're throwing everything they've got at Sirte in what they're calling the final push.

"They have covered a large area of open land between the road and Sirte, which was acting as a buffer.

"Although the revolutionaries have gained ground they have lost many men."

The ferocity of Gaddafi forces' resistance in Sirte and their other main bastion, Bani Walid, has surprised the new regime, with NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil admitting the battle was "very vicious."

Medics say 32 NTC fighters have been killed and almost 420 wounded since Friday, when they launched what they have been calling their final assault on Sirte.

Thousands of civilians were still trapped in the city, and NTC commanders said they have been pacing their advance to evacuate some of those who had not fled and to avoid losses from friendly fire.