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Outdoors
Futuristic design for new Antarctic base
By Mike Hanlon
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
Polaris scoops the awards pool with Predator and Sportsman 800 Twin EFI ATVs
By Mike Hanlon
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
WeatherBug delivers Live Local Weather Conditions
By Mike Hanlon
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
Antarctic Exploration Concept vehicle for two
By Mike Hanlon
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
Panasonic Toughbook travels to the 'Roof Of The World'
By Mike Hanlon
June 20, 2005 It’s often joked that you never really appreciate a computer until it goes down on you, which is precisely why the market for ruggedised computers exists. As we find more ways to depend on the computer, it’s inevitable that stories of computers withstanding incredible punishment will surface and such is the case with a recent Everest ascent by the ultra-ruggedised Panasonic Toughbook CF-18. On May 31, 2005, Australian Rex Pemberton reached the summit of Mt Everest and at 21years, became the youngest Australian to stand on top of the World’s tallest mountain. Rex’s Toughbook was his constant companion for the months leading up to the successful ascent, and was used for over two months on the mountain to type his daily diary, read e-mails from home, store digital photos and video footage taken on the climb, and to make notes for a book and documentary on the expedition. With the Toughbook connected to a satellite phone, the diary was e-mailed back to Australia for uploading to his web site. Read More
New sensitive GPS Signal Tracking Technology
By Mike Hanlon
June 15, 2005 The Global Positioning System is one of the wonders of the modern world. GPS has been available now in one form or another since 1978 and the full 24-satellite system was completed in 1993, making extremely accurate satellite location available to everyone – unless they were indoors, in a valley or in a city with tall buildings - any one of the common ways that GPS satellite signals can be deflected, weakened or obscured. Now there’s a new GPS weak signal tracking technology, called SuperSense, that makes GPS far more viable in many of those situations. Supersense will enable a new level of feasibility for handheld and in-vehicle navigation systems. Read More
Rodeo Bull-riding machine
By Mike Hanlon
June 5, 2005 The hospitality and promotional opportunities at a F1 or MotoGP Grand prix are limited only by your imagination and budget, with neither seeming to present many problems. This year we’ve seen the entry of Red Bull into Formula 1 with spectacular results on track and even more spectacular results in the hospitality area. Now Ducati has come up with a new way to entertain the bevy of actors, industrial barons, supermodels and A-list celebs that drop by to hang out when the Grand Prix is in town – a mechanical bull. Motorcycle racing being as competitive as it is, more than a few opposition riders called past to try their hand. Read More
HighGear Summit Shadow
By Mike Hanlon
May 10, 2005 Watches have traditionally been timepieces but with the ongoing miniaturisation of technology, there are now whole new categories of wrist-top instruments out there that cram so much more into the wristwatch form factor. If the great outdoors is your general destination, you’ll no doubt be aware of watches that keep track of the temperature, act as a digital compass, track your altitude, track barometric pressure and indeed, even offer a weather forecast – all handy things if you spend time at high altitudes where the weather can change rapidly – now there’s a watch that does it all. It’s the HighGear Altimeter-Barometer-Compass-Thermometer watch. Read More
BRP's Ski-Doo partners with Burton Snowboards
By Mike Hanlon
March 16, 2005 Snowmobile manufacturer Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), has signed an agreement of cooperation with snowboard manufacturer Burton Snowboards, with a view to expanding their product line to appeal to the snowboarding community. Burton is very savvy youth marketing company that we've written up several times in Gizmag for their innovative approach - in January the company unveiled a Bluetooth snowboarding jacket, helmet and beanie - and the benefits to both parties might yiled some highly innovative products. Read More
Interactive ambient lighting in public seating: "mood seats" that change colour in response to people's actions
By Mike Hanlon
February 9, 2005 Shopping centres, train stations and other artificially-lit public spaces may take on a magical ambience in the future thanks to an innovative project entitled 'Glowing Places.' The project is a collaboration between Philips and the world-renowned Royal College of Art and places interactive lighting inside public seating that glows, dims, flashes and changes colour in response to people's presence and actions. Read More
Smith & Wesson unveils highest velocity production revolver in the world
By Mike Hanlon
February 4, 2005 Smith & Wesson, the legendary 153-year old firearms maker has unveiled the Model 460XVR (eXtreme Velocity Revolver), the highest velocity production revolver in the world. With a muzzle velocity of 2,300 feet per second, you can zero the sites of the 460XVR and hit dead centre from 250 metres with no hold over. The new US$1,250 460XVR revolver holds 5-shots, uses the same X-frame as the 500 S&W and has an 8 3/8 inch barrel and a removable compensator. Read More
The Daiquiri Whacker - the blender with attitude!
By Gizmag Team
November 5, 2004 The Daiquiri Whacker from SR Leisure Time Products isn't your mother's blender. This petrol-driven, portable daiquiri blender has motorcycle-like handles and a twist-grip throttle so you can mix that daquiri just right! At the twist of a wrist, you can have 23cc of raw power whip your ice into a frenzy not to mention making a lot of noise. An ideal Christmas present for the missus. The Daiquiri Whacker gas powered blender is totally portable and needs no extension cords or generators to take the fine art of blending drinks out of the kitchen and into new party zones. The 23cc Homelite motor has enough power to whip up a batch of your favourite blended drink faster than you can say "Dos Margaritas Por Favor!" Read More
StrikeAlert Personal Lightning Detector
By Mike Hanlon
The StrikeAlert is a belt-worn pager-sized lightning detector which can detect lightning up to 70 kilometres away, tell you how far away each strike is, and whether it's coming towards you or not. Each year 10 Australians and 100 Americans die from lightning strikes - quite clearly, the world's first personal lightning detector could save many lives. Read More
Garmin handheld GPS shows terrain in colour
By Mike Hanlon
Garmin International is to release a portable aviation device that delivers colour topographic mapping and terrain advisory information. Thanks to its 256-colour, high-resolution (480x320-pixels) TFT transflective display, the GPSMAP 296 makes it easy for pilots to view and interpret navigation data in almost any lighting conditions. Fans of Garmin's pilot-friendly monochromatic GPSMAP 196 and colour ful GPSMAP 295 will notice that the GPSMAP 296 takes legacy innovations from these products and adds several significant features... Read More
Wristwatch fish finder
By Mike Hanlon
As the most significant recreational fishing innovation in recent times, sonar fishfinder units are well established as a fundamental piece of equipment for boat-based anglers and, like almost everything electronic, decreasing size and increasing capabilities are expanding these applications by bringing the benefits of sonar technology to land-based fishing. One of the latest examples - the Humminbird Smartcast RF30 - utilises a wireless link between a small sonar transducer attached to the fishing line and a wrist-worn display unit to provide a picture of what's underneath - identifying fish within a 25 metre radius a well as a map of the bottom and any submerged structures that could cause snags. Read More
MP3 Jukebox built into AK47 Ammunition Magazine
By Mike Hanlon
AudioBooksForFree.Com, the No1 UK online mp3 audio book publishers has released a one-of-a-kind MP3 portable jukebox - built into the ammunition magazine of a Kalashnikov AK-47 Assault rifle. The "AK-MP3 Jukebox" comes with 20GB storage capable to hold up to 9000 songs or 3000 hours of mp3 audio books. The manufacturers claim that the stainless steel body of the casing makes this new player uniquely suitable for the outdoors. As the advert says, the 'player could be used on its own or it could be attached to the Kalashnikov machinegun instead of the ordinary magazine.' Read More
Handheld first delivers weather-overlaid mapping in real-time
By Mike Hanlon
Storm Hawk is a hand-held weather forecasting and GPS-based mapping device designed to give motorists, recreational boat users or hikers real-time access to critical information about what's ahead, as well as improve safety for businesses with weather sensitive operations. Read More
MIOX purifies the camping experience
By Mike Hanlon
If you've ever experienced the singular joys of a stomach "bug" like giardia you will appreciate the MIOX water purifier - a light-weight, compact unit that requires no pumping, maintenance or iodine with which to inactivate viruses, bacteria, giardia and cryptosporidium... Read More
Flexible solar panel goes wherever you do
By Mike Hanlon
This go-anywhere solar charger uses flexible, non-breakable solar cells to provide power to batteries, GPS units, mobile phones and other portable electronic devices in any location where the sun shines. Read More
Video-capture binoculars provide Instant Replay
By Mike Hanlon
November 18, 2003 The Bushnell Instant Replay is a first of its kind, 3-in-1 device that incorporates an 8X magnification optical binocular, a 2.1 megapixel digital camera and a video-capturing unit that allows you to record and view action in a continuous 30-second video loop -so there's always an instant replay at the ready. Read More
Ultra-light 'Matrix' sunglasses
By Mike Hanlon
Monday November 10, 2003: Silhouette has released its Minimal Art and Minimal X ranges to coincide with the global release of the final instalment in The Matrix film trilogy. Rimless and without hinges or screws, the ultra-light glasses aim to embody the slick Matrix style that has become the height of cool in the fashion world since the original 1999 film. Read More
Handheld Weather Meter aids US firefighters
By Mike Hanlon
Thursday November 6, 2003: A hand held digital weather station that measures every major environmental condition has proved a useful tool for firefighters battling the recent spate of serious wildfires in California. Read More
LaserGolf gets you in the virtual swing
By Mike Hanlon
Wednesday September 24, 2003: Laser Golf uses the special club in conjunction with a sensor mat attached via USB cable to the PC to simulate a round of golf in every detail - greens, trees, and even sprinklers are rendered in 3D on the screen and exact ball velocity, spin, impact point, water and terrain calculations are made so that "shots" have realistic results. Read More
Insect-Repellent Apparel provides invisible defence
By Mike Hanlon
Wednesday August 6, 2003: A range of clothing that incorporates insect repellent into its fabric has been recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US. BUZZ OFF apparel is manufactured using a special process that binds the repellent tightly to the garment, resulting in an invisible, odourless layer of protection around the wearer. Read More
Ian Thorpe debuts revolutionary bodysuit at World Championships
By Mike Hanlon
Monday July 21, 2003: Ian Thorpe will be the first swimmer to use adidas' new "Jetconcept" full bodysuit when he hits the water at the World Championships in Barcelona this week. The suit design takes a new approach to reducing drag by using small integrated "riblets" that shift turbulence away from the body. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
