NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Urinal Video Games Played With Pee

My girlfriend and I once drove across Michigan's Upper Peninsula. One day, after we downed a couple pasties, we stopped in to the VFW post in Ontonagon for a few beers. There, in the men's room, I saw something I'd never seen before: Hanoi Jane Urinal Targets.

In an era before Smart Technology, slapping a Jane Fonda sticker on some porcelain was the best the world had to offer in urinal target-practice games...at least in certain circles of disgruntled veterans and political malcontents. However, full-bladdered fellas, the future of mens' room gaming is upon us.

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Last year, we told you about Captive Media, a London-based start-up that created a urinal entertainment system. Think of it as X-Box meets Hanoi Jane Urinal Target, with the joy stick already in your hand.

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Well, the company has had a golden year since it's launch. Co-founder Gordon MacSween told Wired the response has been "beyond his wildest expectations." After being on the market in 18 bars, hotels, corporate offices and private residences across the U.K. and Europe, the company is set to soon aim its success at the U.S. market as early as next year.

In case you forgot what the system entails, here's a refresher:

Mounted on the wall above the urinal is an LCD screen that plays advertisements loops until you step up to the trough and unzip. By the time you let it flow, the game is on. Infrared sensors below the screen shoot into the urinal and detect your pee stream. That data is fed back into the system and used to control the game. For you stray shooters out there, there are decals in the urinal to correct your aim.

There are five games that, unfortunately, you don't get to choose from. They just randomly pop up. As you'd expect, a few titles are very tongue-in-cheeky. There's "On the Piste," a POV ski run game where you navigate the slopes trying to hit penguins; "Clever Dick," a trivia game and Art Splash, a coloring book of sorts that lets you email your masterpiece to loved ones, friends and art critics once you're finished.

As Captive Media's website proclaims, the gaming doesn't have to stop once you've zipped up. The system is well-endowed with high-score features and an online leaded board that let's you take your measuring contest to new lengths.

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The company just raised $700,00 from U.K. investors, so at least they'll have a pot to pee in for awhile. British blokes like their pints of ale. That they're rewarded with urinal video games the more they drink must be making bar tenders swoon. In fact, they already are. According to Wired, one bar in Cambridge reported a 22 percent spike in sales of a cocktail advertised on the game screens.

American dudes, I know you're anxious for your favorite watering hole to get one of these, but you'll just have to hold your horses. However, between now and then, if you're looking for a little target practice, you can always head up to the Ontonagon VFW lodge.

 

via Wired

credit: Captive Media

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Underwater Wheelchair Freewheels the Deep

When it comes to diving into the waters of self expression, British artist Sue Austin is as freewheeling as they come. As the 2012 Paralympics kick off this week in London, Austin has been making waves with a series of performances and film screenings of "Creating the Spectacle," a theatrical video of Austin as she navigates the deep in her underwater wheelchair.

According to the project's website, the work's "unexpected juxtapositions" aim "to excite and inspire by creating images that transform preconceptions."

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Austin, who's been in a wheelchair since 1996, told the BBC that she first had the idea for the project after learning to scuba dive in 2005.

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"When we started talking to people about it, engineers were saying it wouldn't work, the wheelchair would go into a spin, it was not designed to go through water -- but I was sure it would," she said.

Austin's wheelchair is powered by two dive propulsion thrusters under her seat. To steer, Austin slips her feet into an acrylic, U-shaped fin reminiscent of stingray wings. She also uses floatation devices for buoyancy.

Austin modified a standard-issue wheelchair from Britain's National Health Service (NHS) because it "is one of the most ubiquitous images of disability" and she wants this project to leave "a legacy of attitudinal change" in regards to the public perception of disability.

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The wheelchair has patents pending and is already making a splash outside of the art world.

"We've had Professional Association of Diving Instructors course directors and very experienced divers saying they would pay to hire it," Austin said.

"The Oceanography department at the University of Plymouth, where I did a BA in performing art, said it would make their courses accessible to students with disabilities."

Visit Creating the Spectacle's website to learn more about the project, film and live performances. In the meantime, grab your scuba gear and take an enchanting trip under the sea with Austin in the following video.

 

 via BBC  

Credit: Norman Lomax

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Nyad's High-Tech Wetsuit Didn't Stop Jelly Stings

Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad was pulled out of the water earlier today en route to the Florida Keys from Cuba. Four days into her bid, she was in the middle of a storm, suffering from jellyfish stings despite donning a high-tech wetsuit that was supposed to protect against them.

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Originally Nyad, 63, wanted to attempt the roughly 100-mile crossing without a wetsuit. She'd been adamant about pursuing the massive swim with as little aid as possible, notably refusing a shark cage like the one used by Australian Susie Maroney in her historic 1997 swim.

Sharks aside, jellyfish are so dangerous that the groups governing marathon swimming changed the rules to allow wetsuits. The catch: the suits can't contain neoprene because that kind of material provides unfair floatation. So Nyad collaborated with the California-based company FINIS on a high-tech hooded sting suit that would "allow her to avoid the painful stings of the box jellyfish." While the suit's exact specifications aren't public, the suit did meet the new requirements.

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Nyad had blogged that the custom sting suit was actually harder for her to swim in than a regular bathing suit, but at night the jellyfish threat increased. In a video of Nyad demonstrating the suit she said, "The jellyfish are becoming an issue worldwide and for ocean swimmers, we're beginning to have to resort to tactics like this." Nyad's exposed skin got smeared with black-tinted anhydrous lanolin to prevent rubbing and help with warmth.

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Nyad didn't encounter any jellyfish on her first try in 1978, but they thwarted her attempt last summer. "I experienced that jellyfish sting last year for 41 hours," she said in another video. "I'm lucky I lived through it frankly." This time, they struck again through her custom suit, their venom slowing her average pace. She got zapped nine times yesterday.

Ultimately, it was a large tropical storm that finally forced a weakened Nyad from the water. Her 64th birthday is tomorrow.

Photo: Diana Nyad at first light during her latest attempt to reach Florida from Cuba. Credit: Christi Barli.

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Five Cool Olympic Technologies

Swimsuits
In 2008, Olympics spectators saw swimmers such as Michael Phelps wearing the LZR Racer suits made by Speedo. The seamless suits covered most of the body and were designed to allow better flows of oxygen to the muscles and repel water. They resulted in a number of world records broken -- many by Phelps himself.

But for the 2012 Games, the LZR and any other suit that provided all-body coverage was disallowed, as were any suits made of polyurethane and rubber. That didn't stop suit innovation though. The new "Fastskin3" suits from Speedo were designed by Rick Sharp, a kinesiology professor at Iowa State University, and they compress certain parts of the body to offer a more streamlined profile. But it wasn't just the suits that were innovated: the cap and goggles were reshaped to reduce resistance.

PHOTOS: Olympic Tech: Faster Than Skin

Cycling
Bikes bring a lot of advanced technology to the sport. To reduce air resistance on track bikes, for example, engineers fabricate the bikes from a single piece of carbon fiber, the same material used in advanced aircraft. The handlebars and stem, for instance, are an integrated unit instead of two pieces. Carbon fiber is so light that there's even a weight minimum -- 6.8 kilograms (a hair under 15 pounds).

Many Olympic cyclists are also wearing Giro's Air Attack helmets. Giro spent a year and a half designing the helmets, which not only have a more aerodynamic shape but are kept a few millimeters above the rider's head in order to keep them cool.

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The Bionic Man
Oscar Pistorius will be the first man with artificial legs to compete in the Olympics on Saturday, running the 400-meter. His legs are carbon-fiber springs that allow him to compete with the best of the able-bodied athletes. (Though given his times it might be fair to ask who is "disabled" in this sense). In fact his very presence has sparked considerable debate over whether his legs give him an unfair advantage -- for example, the fact that he lacks legs below the knee reduces his overall body weight, which can improve run times.

Not everyone thinks there's that much of an advantage, since Pistorius' legs transmit weight to the ground in a slightly different way than other runners, which could reduce their efficiency.

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Tech and Tae Kwon Do
Tae Kwon Do seems to get no love from the International Olympic Committee -- the sport was facing elimination from the games. A new scoring technology will be used this year, and the hope is that it will keep the sport on the schedule. The Protector and Scoring System (PSS) will measure the strength of a kick to the body and score it. It also has an instant video replay system involving no less than six cameras. Tae Kwon Do (and other martial arts) are tough to score well; this system helps the judges and takes some of the subjectivity out of it. Even the footpads worn by some athletes were redesigned to make a louder noise when they hit, so judges are more likely to hear them and recognize it as a point.

The Whole World Is Watching
Social media, internet broadcasting, and advanced telecommunications are all a part of this year's Olympics in a way that is new. Athletes are using Twitter, for example, to engage with fans – though it pays to be careful what you tweet. Meanwhile, in the U.S., some people are bypassing NBC's coverage by going to video streaming services, though it isn’t always easy.

On the broadcaster's side, OlympicsAtos, an international information technology company, is sending results instantly to commentators, while robotic cameras give us those great shots of swimmers underwater. It all adds up to a much more instantaneous experience of the broadcast, even when it is delayed by five or six hours.

via: Livemint

Credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

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Super Snorkel Helps You Breathe Underwater

Powerbreather: Still in Development

Many people would love to learn how to swim, but the fear of water, or drowning, keeps them on dry land. A new breathing apparatus called the Powerbreather could help those people overcome their fear and take to the waves. 

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The device is a ring-shaped snorkel that lets swimmers take in air through a valve on top of the device behind the head and exhale into a valve over their mouth. The valves are designed to keep water and exhaled air out so that a swimmer is only taking in fresh air.

Flexible plastic helps the ring sit around the head securely and can be adjusted to fit different sizes. Geared more toward beginning swimmers, it’s doubtful that we’d see Michael Phelps sporting one of these at this year's Olympics, but it could be a good way to get people over their fear and introduce them to a sport they otherwise would’ve avoided.

via GearPatrol

Credit: Powerbreather

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Waterproof iPod Ready For All Kinds of Fun

Waterproof iPod: $160

Waterproof iPod cases are fairly easy to find, but what about a waterproof iPod? It seems like one company, Underwater Audio has cornered the market on that one by making a completely waterproof iPod Shuffle. The shuffle is waterproof up to 100 feet, making it a good fit for swimmers and runners alike.

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Underwater Audio is little vague on the process of making the littlest iPod water-friendly, calling it a “proprietary process,” but one can imagine it has something to do with better gaskets and rubber seals. If you’ve already got an iPod shuffle, it can be sent to Underwater Audio and they will waterproof it for you for a $110 fee. Here’s hoping they expand their line to higher capacity iPods like Classic and Touch in the near future. Waterproof headphones and a special designed set for swimming are also available at $10 and $15, respectively.

IPods are used frequently for working out or running, they encounter a great deal of sweat and moisture, but have no warranty that covers it. This “proprietary process” is something Apple should consider taking as their own.

via Technology News Daily

Credit: Underwater Audio

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Get Dragged Underwater, for Fun

Abyss Underwater Board: $395

It’s still winter, so unless you're going to the Caribbean for the holidays, water sports are probably far from your mind. But daydreaming about summer fun doesn't do any harm, does it? Especially when it involves an underwater boogie board. The Abyss Board takes swimmers for an underwater ride when towed by a boat going no faster then 10 mph.

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The board contours to the shoulders and arms of the rider to decrease water resistance. It can dive downward when the hand controls rotate the wings down. These controls also allow for some fun maneuvers like barrel rolls and upside-down gliding. Having total control of the board also gives swimmers a chance to catch their breath, either solo or with a snorkel, by rotating the wings up. While the board can float on its own, riders must wear life jackets for the right amount of buoyancy. Water sports don’t always have to be scary; sometimes they can just be peaceful rides under the water’s surface. But if you like some adrenaline with your ‘agua,’ the Abyss board can provide the perfect cooldown.

Via: Gizmag

Credit: Abyss

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Electric Jet Ski: Fun Without Emission Guilt

EXO Electric Jet Ski : $9,975 to $26,792

Riding in a stealth jet isn’t a possbility for people outside of flight school, (and you may not want to after reading this) but riding a stealth-style jet ski may be something a little more attainable. ExoConcept designed its EXO electric jet ski to glide through water with a small tweak: riders lie on it. The EXO runs on four lithium iron phosphate batteries and can be made with 100 percent carbon fiber or reinforced ABS. Engines range from 3.5 to 7Kwh. EXO is completely electric, so it releases zero emissions.

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The water jet turbine allows for a quiet ride and speed adjustments can be made on the carbon model for younger riders. This jet ski rings up in a yacht owner’s price range, so it’s not very attainable for the average water adventurer. However, the company is working on making the EXO available to rent at water sport facilities worldwide, so maybe in the near future zipping along a lake without the worry of polluting it may be something to try on vacation.

Via: Engadget 

Credit: ExoConcept

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Camper Joins the Amphibious Circle

Sealander Amphibious Camper: $24,000

Campers serve as home bases when exploring the outdoors; they aren't usually involved in the action. But in cases where water-centric adventures are part of the camping routine, the Sealander Amphibious Camper (site translated from German) could serve as both boat and home at the same time. The German-designed camper allows its dwellers to be out on the water without actually having to be “out” on it. (Though that may defeat the purpose for some die-hard outdoors enthusiasts.) Its interior includes two benches and a table that can be stowed away and turned into a bed.

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The Sealander can be towed by just about any vehicle, and according to the dramatically scored demo video (see below), it takes to the water quickly.The electric motor can be controlled to maneuver the camper to ensure smooth sailing. It’s set to release in 2012 and will come in different (unspecified) versions.

Credit: Sealander

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Watercraft Swims Like a Killer Whale

This summer, Innespace Productions, located in Redding, Calif., released a killer into the water. It's a speedboat-submersible dubbed the Seabreacher Y that looks a lot like a killer whale. In fact, it's the same size and has a similar-shaped nose, large whale tail, pectoral fins and dorsal fin. The features are not just for looks. The tail helps the boat do a 180-degree backflip. Shut the front door.

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The Y comes standard with a 255-horsepower engine, but the one in this picture cranks out 300 horsepower and can reach speeds of 55 miles per hour across the water's surface.

This custom-made two-seater, which costs $86,000 and was built for a person in Abu Dhabi, can be launched 16 feet into the air when breaching. Although this is the first killer-whale-inspired boat, Innespace has built previous models inspired by sharks and dolphins.

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Here's a video taken of the Seabreacher Y in San Francisco Bay:

[via TechNewsDaily]

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