Category: concept

Bluetooth World Cup Kicks Off

Time for the world cup, but it isn’t football or rugby. It will however, likely change the playing field of technology, as it is the Innovation World Cup.

This week the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced that it is once again looking for ideas and prototypes in the areas of health care, sports and fitness, automotive, entertainment, and more, that use Bluetooth technology version 4.0, for this year’s edition of the Innovation World Cup (IWC). This competition is now in its third year, as the trade organization contest calls on developers, entrepreneurs and students to submit concepts for applications making use of the low energy feature of Bluetooth v4.0. Continue reading Bluetooth World Cup Kicks Off

New Titanium Bike Lock Design

 

We’ve seen some new designs for bike locks. One new design from TiGr uses a flexible strip of titanium with a lock mechanism. Titanium is a strong metal composite and will likely stand up to the needs of any cyclist. A video on the TiGr web site shows the inventor using a hacksaw to cut through a typical U-Lock, and then the same with a strip of titanium. It took 1:26 to cut through the U-lock, compared to 2:36 and more huffing and puffing to cut through the titanium strip. Continue reading New Titanium Bike Lock Design

Biodegradable Golf Balls Made From Lobster

Here is an interesting solution that could solve two problems. First, what do you do with all those lobster shells that must pile up at various seafood restaurants – at least the higher end versions that serve real lobster? Second, driving golf balls into the ocean probably isn’t that good of an idea – there was that Seinfeld episode that explained why.

So how about golf balls made of lobster shells? In a word, brilliant!

That’s exactly the result that a team from the University of Maine – a place likely known for its lobster – has come up, golf balls made from the shells of last night’s supper. Chemical Engineering Professor David Neivandt and undergrad Alex Caddell, working with The Lobster Insititute, created the biodegradable balls, which are made from crushed waste shells, a binder and coating. Continue reading Biodegradable Golf Balls Made From Lobster

American Military Looks at More Padding in Helmets

ast week FoxNews.com noted that the researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Labs have been testing the current issue helmet, the MICH, which is used by the U.S. military. It was noted that just a quarter-inch, or even an eighth of an inch of additional padding would helmet greatly reduce the force to the skull when there is an impact to the helmet. The findings suggest this could be as great as a 24-percent reduction.

The researchers also looked to the helmets used by professional football players, as concussions are a big concern amongst the players. It was noted that a thicker foam system is used by the NFL players’ helmets than the spongier pads used in combat helmets, and that the NFL’s helmet padding worked better. Continue reading American Military Looks at More Padding in Helmets

Composite Carbon Bamboo Surfboard Ready to Catch Some Waves

Last week we noted a surfboard that added solar power, and this week we noted something almost as unique and certainly just an interesting. It is a board that is made of composite materials – combing space age carbon with the natural grass of bamboo!

This is the result of a five year R&D project from Tiki International. The company has now unveiled its first production models that utilize Carbon Bamboo composite technology, build around a high density EPS core, with bamboo layers and carbon rails. The result is a board that has strength yet weight gain. The board will be available in three shapes created by world renowned surfboard shaper Bruce McKee.

This new Feather Foil, as it has been dubbed, offers the natural feel of a bamboo board with the responsive performance of a carbon deck. Consider it the best of both worlds the meeting of old age and space age.

[Via Global Surf News: Tiki launch carbon bamboo composite technology]

Surfboard That Catches Waves and Rays

Surfers like to catch waves, and typically do so where there tends to be a bit of sun. There are times that people surf in less than sunny locations, but not a new innovation will want them to catch waves, and catch some rays of the sun as well.

Tony Jones of Coral Reef Wetsuits essentially added a solar panel to his custom board, and it adds power to the deck, enough to just up cameras, flashlights, mobile phones and portable radios. So while he’s out riding the waves, the solar power charges a 2200 mA lithium battery. The solar panel doesn’t even need direct sunlight to charge efficiently, but with the board on the roof it could even trickle charge the car’s battery.

This is certainly an interesting twist on getting positive energy!

[Via Earth Techling: Solar Surfboard Lets You Catch Waves, Power]

Movea To Get Motion Moving

The key to the convergence of fitness and technology is often times the development of new technology. This week we heard about the new MotionPod hardware from Movea, a leading developer of motion technology. This new gizmo is a wireless miniaturized, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that uses MEMS sensors to accurately measure 9 Degree-of-Freedom (DOF) motion with a PCB module that is only the size of a small watch.

This patented hardware solution for motion sensing incorporates a 3-axis accelerometer, as well as a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis magnetometer in a single package that further includes built-in software and a wireless interface. As an off-the-shelf component it is ready to be used in a variety of applications including fitness, sports and gaming – or a competition of the three. Continue reading Movea To Get Motion Moving

Wall of Bikes – For Storage

Many of us have a “wall of bikes” in our garage, basement or extra room. As apartment dwellers know, using the wall saves a lot of room. So how about using the outside wall of an apartment building or office structure for a wall of bikes?

This is the idea behind a Ferris-wheel design by Manifesto Architecture, which was submitted to a recent design competition in Seoul, South Korea. The result would be vertical bike storage that could hold 20 to 35 bikes. The bikes would be rotated up and out of the way. So instead of needing to take nearly an entire floor to store the bikes, they could be lifted up and out of the way in a space in an alley or rear of the building.

The issue of course is that many cities – including New York – don’t actually have an abundance of alleyways – despite what Batman comics might otherwise suggest. But there are plenty of nooks and other spaces. And this would certainly make good use of every inch of urban space.

And the designers even thought of worst case scenarios – such as a power failure. The Ferris-wheel system could even be cycle powered, so you have to sit and spin to get to your bike!

[Via Cyclelicious: Bike Hanger vertical bicycle storage]

Cycle Goes Round

Bicycles have lots of round parts. There are obviously the wheels, but there are the chain rings, cassette, hubs and in many cases, even the tubes are round. But Lou Tortola, an avid cyclist who put in more than 3000 miles on his road bike last year, has another idea. The inventor and entrepreneur from Windsor, Canada has created a revolutionary bicycle frame design that he says will increase comfort, while retaining lateral stiffness and pedaling efficiency of the standard diamond frame bicycles.

The result is the Roundtail, which he says should provide more shock absorbing than traditional straight seat stays.

Tortola uses his computer to draft up a prototype of the twin ring design, and with his years of experience in metals and fabrication produced tooling to test his concept. Custom bike builder Paul Taylor helped bring the Roundtail to life.

The bike made its debut at the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show this past weekend. Titanium and carbon fiber versions, with mountain bike and hybrid models will be available later this year at Interbike.

Roundtail Official Website

Will the Machines Take Over… the Ice?

We continue to have fears that our reliance on technology could lead to the machines taking over, but maybe that is because we watch too many Terminator and The Matrix films (even the bad ones). Now there is news that the machines might not actually be in the process of taking over all mankind, maybe they’re just focused on the ice. Hockey Robotics is a newly created company born out of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and they specialize in hockey stick design, performance and durability testing.

Thus they haven’t actually created a robot hockey player, but rather the first very dynamic hockey stick testing robot, which is reportedly capable of properly mimicking the professional hockey slap shot. The company plans to launch this robot testing tool this summer.

So far Hockey Robotics has garnered the support of SBK Hockey, a leading Quebec-based hockey brand, and the company offers standardized hockey testing services to other brands, manufacturers, leagues and teams. But hockey players should worry that the robots will take them off the ice… at least for now!

Hockey Robotics Official Website

Self Balancing Skateboard Arrives

One problem with learning to ride a skateboard is simply maintaining balance. Staying on the board is the other problem, but again it comes down to balance. If you could solve the former problem, the latter one would be less of an issue.

Now it seems that a few people have tackled the problem by incorporating the same technology used in the Segway scooter into a deck, which was unveiled at Maker Faire 2011. The question here is whether this things is technically still a skateboard or just a revised Segway with a flat board?

Artificial Clouds to Beat the Heat

While no one wants it to rain on game day, too much sun can be a real pain – and actually a health hazard for those in the stands. There are indoor stadiums of course, but that’s not the same. And even retractable roofs don’t always shield everyone away from the glare of the sun’s rays.

This is no doubt a concern for the 2022 World Cup games that will be played in Qatar, where extreme summer heat is something that can’t be easily beat(en). The solution, according to The Daily Mail is a cloud. We’ve heard of the digital cloud – as in online hosting of digital data – but this is actually an artificial cloud. And least you fear that this is some of gaseous creation, it is actually lightweight carbon structures carrying a giant envelope of material containing helium gas. In other words, large balloon like objects. So maybe a retractable roof would be the better idea?

However, because of the region has so much sun, organizers are looking to power the artificial clouds via solar power, as well as the air conditioning in the stadium. Hopefully as this will let spectators beat the heat.

[Via The Daily Mail: Pie in the sky! Qatar invents artificial clouds to beat the heat at 2022 World Cup]

Electric Sleds in Clean Snowmobile Challenge

One word does not come to mind when we think of snowmobiles, and that is “clean.” We think of these as loud machines that spew fumes and basically disturb the peace. Of course, this is coming from someone who thinks November to March is a good time of year to enjoy the great indoors.

But the idea of a Clean Snowmobile Challenge is intriguing, more so because we’ve heard that this is the 12th annual event! Electric cars are having a hard time catching on, but it seems that electric snowmobiles are just improving with each year.

According to reports the SEA Clean Snowmobile Challenge is an annual event to push entrants to develop eco-friendly transportation for the real world, including those that have a lot of snow. Competing teams, which are made up of college students, must design a touring snowmobile for groomed-trail riding. More importantly these must be cost-effective, and comfortable to ride, while also improving on emissions and noise. There are categories for low emissions – which obviously do use traditional fuels – as well as zero-emissions, where the devices are judged on how far they can travel and how much of a load they can carry.

Given that winters maybe getting longer, these teams are probably on to something.

[Via Gizmag: Electric sleds compete in the 12th annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge]