While there has been an increased focus on the protection that helmets can provide to the wearer, engineers at the Frauenhofer Institute are also considering how a helmet can also help provide some power for personal electronics. The team has developed a flexible solar panel that is durable enough to be mounted on helmets, and can optimize Bluetooth in the process.
The result is a helmet that can include speakers for a mobile device or music player and use solar cells to get juiced up by the sun, while a battery can ensure that collected power can be saved for those times when the sun might not be shining. The helmets still in prototype but should be arriving later this year.
[Via Ubergizmo: Solar Ski helmet keeps your gadgets charged]
Last week we posted about Nike’s knit shoes, and now the company has gone to the other extreme with Nike+ Basketball and Nike+ Training shoes that are digital! The shoes feature a sensor system that can sync with software to provide wearer’s with detailed information to help during training and to track performance. 
It is hard not to think of the Robert Redford movie The Electric Horseman when seeing the Sporty Supaheroe cycling jacket, which features 64 integrated RGB LEDs and a stretchable and very wearable circuit board. The LED array can light up the way and display a variety of patterns.
Video games have opened possibilities beyond mere “gaming.” While no one is actually going to be a rock star playing the various musical themed games, the wave of Rock Band and Guitar Hero have reportedly inspired some young musicians while more recent releases have actually utilized more realistic instruments. On the fitness side of things games have tried to encourage exercise, with motion control opening up new possibilities.
When you’re in a pool, swimming from point A to B is a no-brainer. Out in open water, however, tracking your performance and location is a bit more difficult. The new Hydro Tracker GPS from FINIS is a fitness device designed for open water swimmers that tracks, maps, and records performance.
As our friends at BikeRadar.com noted last week “Roof rack reminders could save your bike,” because we either have done it or know someone who has done it – driving into the garage with the bike on the roof of the car. The result is never pretty for the garage, the car and especially the bike. As the spring riding season is coming up, US Editor Matt Pacocha offered a piece that looked at a range of products designed to remind those with bicycle roof-racks that the bike is up there. 
We’ve seen a lot of waterproof cases for the iPad this season. And while a few seem like nothing more than just slightly thicker sandwich bags, Aquapac could prove those others are all wet.
While consumer GPS units have long been “rugged” some specialized field devices have lagged behind. But recently Trimble introduced its next generation of GNSS devices for GIS field applications, including the Trimble Juno 3B and 3D handhelds. These specially computers offer positioning, imaging and communications in a single package.
This week Panasonic announced that will re-enter the European mobile phone market with a waterproof, dustproof phone called the Eluga. While pricey – as much as $650 in American currency – the phones will utilized the Google Android OS.
There is a saying the close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades, but it soon close could be enough when it comes to providing light for bicycles. Right now there are two ways to get light to shine the way – either have it powered by a battery or utilize a dynamo-powered light that works by utilizing the motion of the bike itself. The latter is green, but can still slowly wear down the tire and it requires extra effort for the rider.