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Underground Storage For Japanese Bike Owners

Here in New York City, there are a few select parking garages that are an example of master engineering. In Japan, the same concept applies to bicycles. Giken’s Eco-Park system involves an underground storage unit that is earthquake-proof and can hold a good number of bicycles (~50). For about $30, you can store your ride here each month and retrieve it whenever you see fit. It only takes about 11 seconds to retrieve a bike, too! Students only have to pay half of that and don’t have to worry about storing their bikes in already-small dorms.

Why don’t we have systems like this in the United States? It’s perfect for those with small studio apartments or dorm rooms, which is clearly the target demographic for the Eco-Park.

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Blue Oyster Cult: Hacking RFID on the London Underground

oystercard

Here’s an interesting little hack that will make those of you in London light up with glee. Some wisecrack DIYer went and dissolved an RFID-based Oyster card for the Underground. The result? A lot of wires and an RFID chip left behind. As you can see in the video above, the card continues to work flawlessly and can now be implemented into your hand, wallet or whatever you want to stick the chip in.

Although the method really doesn’t change anything about the card aside from appearance, it does open the door to some possible . Maybe you could replace the chip inside of a card with a different RFID chip your friend at the government lab re-programmed? The possibilities are (probably not) endless.

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