Outdoors

December 21, 2005 In early 2005, a small group of hardcore GPS geeks (who were tired of their GPS devices not working in dense cities, urban canyons, indoors, etc) got together to come up with a solution that would enhance the performance of their GPS equipment and applications. The goal was to find a way to make GPS devices work in all situations. The result was Navizon Pocket PC Client Software. Now the group has developed an ingenious P2P network that enables people to accurately navigate urban and suburban areas using WiFi and a cellular devices (cell phones) - a dynamic, collaborative, networked "Wireless Positioning System" using wireless signals (Cellular and 802.11 WiFI). The Navizon Network is worth a look if you are a city dweller as it enables you to have accurate GPS on your mobile phone. The Navizon network is based on a collaborative database. Members with a GPS device can use Navizon to map the Wi-Fi and cellular landscape in their neighborhoods. Once they synchronize their data, it is made available to all the other users of the network. This way, users who don't have a GPS device can benefit from a positioning system. And it's free for personal use!  Read More

December 12, 2005 Nanotachnology looks set to permanently fix the problem of fogging glass, with the news that a team of MIT scientists has developed a silica nanoparticle polymer coating for glass or plastic that creates a permanent non-fog surface. When commercialized sometime in the next few years, the technology will find immediate application in products such as eyeglasses, helmet visors, camera lenses, skiing goggles, bathroom mirrors and shower screens, but it will be in our cars that we will most likely first encounter the technology. Driving is a sight-response game and if you can’t see, you’ll lose. Not surprisingly, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was one of the major funders of the project as having a foggy windscreen makes you vulnerable in battle as well as on the roads. When a cold surface suddenly comes into contact with warm, moist air, thousands of tiny water droplets condense on it, scattering light in random patterns and causing the surface to become translucent. The coating prevents this by attracting the water droplets and reducing their contact angles with the surface. As a result, the droplets merge into a uniform, transparent sheet rather than forming countless individual light-scattering spheres. Nanotechnology will also enable the same coatings to have superior anti-reflective properties that reduce glare and maximize the amount of light passing through (good for greenhouses and solar cell panels).  Read More

O’Neill Europe continus to push the boundaries of what it calls “boardsport orientated wearable electronics.” The company’s new line consists of three technologically advanced items of snow apparel: The world’s first Integrated Solar Backpack with communication and entertainment functionalities, an Entertainment Backpack and the second-generation Communication & Entertainment Jacket (formerly known as the HUB). All products in the O’Neill H2 series have been developed for use in conjunction with Apple’s iPod MP3 player. The solar communication and entertainment backpack constitutes the most significant addition to the O’Neill wearable electronics line. Designed for the long haul, the solar backpack incorporates two flexible solar panels and a Bluetooth module. Both backpacks make tune selection hassle free via specially developed entertainment functionality.  Read More

September 15, 2005 For those who like to take all the comforts of home with them when they get away from it all, the Relaaaxer, from the company of the same name, is the world’s only rocking, reclining and folding chair. The Relaaaxer debuted yesterday at the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Show in Chicago and is bound to become a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts, hunters, boaters and those who are looking for the most comfortable chair they can fit into the smallest space. There’s a demonstration video viewable on the newly opened relaaaxer site.  Read More

September 1, 2005 One of the great ironies about inverters is that they are mainly used by people who want to get away from it all, and they use inverters specifically so they can take it all with them. Inverters convert 12volt DC power to AC mains power of the voltage of your choice – just choose the right one. The advantage of having such an energy appliance is that they offer a mains power source in car, caravan, boat … anywhere there’s a 12 volt battery. Using an inverter with standard household appliances provides a much cheaper option than purchasing specialised 12 volt appliances too – 12 volt appliances are generally far more expensive, and you probably already own such an appliance in your home that runs on mains power. The unit which really got us excited about the area of inverters was the new Projecta 2,000 watt inverter which is compact, light weight and incorporates some very special safety features such as allowing appliances to be run with high start-up loads, noise-free filtering, protection against overload, low battery warning, cooling fans and it has two power outlet sockets. On top of all that, there are some appliances they just don’t make in 12 volts – like if you really do need a freshly frothed Cappuccino in the morning, you could take your home coffee machine.  Read More

A futuristic design by Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton Architects has won the competition for the new British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Halley Research Station. The new station will have a series of mechanical legs on skis that enable it to stay above the surface of the ice and be relocated inland to minimize the risk of loss due to calving events. Designed to withstand extreme winds and freezing winter temperatures down to minus 56 degrees Celsius, the new design will provide a safe, stimulating place for scientists to live and work, in a building designed to minimize its impact on Antarctica's pristine environment.  Read More

July 27, 2005 Polaris ATVs have been racking up the awards recently, with the Predator 500 Troy Lee Designs Edition recently picking up the 2005 Sport Quad of the Year from ATV Sport Magazine. Now it appears the company has scooped the pool, with the Sportsman 800 EFI winning the ATV of the Year Award unveiled in the August issue of ATV Rider Magazine. The latest award is further confirmation of Polaris’ dominance of the big bore market after the 2004 ATP and 2002 Sportsman 700 Twin took out the same award with rival publication ATV Magazine. In awarding the new 800 the biggest annual prize of the industry, ATV Rider summed it up thus: “As the biggest of the big boys, Polaris’ Sportsman 800 Twin EFI came, saw and conquered all in our Big-Bore Open 4x4 comparison,” said ATV Rider’s Todd Canavan. “Relishing the loamy dirt and rocky, rutted and root-filled trails of North Carolina, the Sportsman climbed and crawled over every obstacle thrown at it." While noting that bigger does not always mean better, Canavan said in the case of the Sportsman 800, it did.  Read More

July 6, 2005 The announcement by WeatherBug yesterday that it will offer WeatherBug Mobile for Java via wireless carrier Sprint got us thinking. The service offers streaming, neighborhood level weather with customisable reports, including current weather conditions, local radar, live camera views and forecast updates. Using a mobile phone, you can now monitor what’s going on in and immediately outside your home and the weather. Nicholas Negroponte’s forecast that people would eventually think globally and locally seems to be coming true. "A recent AP poll indicated that most Americans closely monitor weather reports but find them unreliable. People want reliable weather conditions for their specific location and want to be able to view them as they go about their day, depending on where they are," said Andy Jedynak, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, WeatherBug. "Unlike all other weather reports, which are based upon hourly data from local airports, WeatherBug offers continuously updated live weather information at your fingertips, when it matters most."  Read More

June 27, 2005 An innovative concept for an Antarctic Exploration vehicle was unveiled this week at the Royal College of Art’s final year show. Working closely with experts from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), award-winning designer James Moon has come up with a lightweight, compact eco-friendly vehicle for use in one of the Earth’s most extreme environments. The vehicle, called “Ninety Degrees South”, uses novel technology to keep its occupants safe, warm and protected from the high levels of UV exposure that occur under the Antarctic ozone hole. The machine also uses pathfinder technology which travels on a GPS controlled route some 30 metres ahead of the vehicle using ground-penetrating radar to assess the safety of the ground to be travelled.  Read More