May 08, 2008
Geek Scooter
Researching this kind of thing for Adventure Touring the American Southwest, and Technomadism and Transhuman Hacks of Metavlogging Phrashion have been decorating my plate as of late. via Make:.
March 18, 2008
Introducing: My Technomadism Hacks
I haven't been posting much, but I have been researching, developing, rapid prototyping, and hacking. I'm applying my love of desert camping, travel, wearable technology, and embedded computing to my urban flagship; a duosport motorcycle. Here's a first look:
solar-nav-storage:
This photo shows items I transformed into a top case and a tank bag.
While commuting, the top case can hold gear from errands. While touring, it can carry as much gas a my tank holds plus water. I can remove it anytime. This allows off-roading without extra fuel sloshing around in an enlarged tank. It is made from an LP case, and stability tests will determine if it's indeed more versatile than a top case and replacement gas tank; easily at a savings of at least $200.
The tank bag is made from a folding map case, magnets, and wiring. It's appropriate that it holds my phone with GPS, a non-networked highway infrastructure computer, compass and pencil pack, map, and a solar battery charger for my bike and auuxilliary device battery. I'm sure it'll still also hold an actual paper map or two. I can't find many tank bags with top map pockets that will fit my sloped gas tank. So, I made a form-fitting one that mostly multplies the functionality of the feature I wanted most anyway; a large map pocket.
April 12, 2006
Remote-controlled cyborg sharks for Uncle Sam
Hi everybody! I thought I'd lead in today with killer cyborg warrior sharks. The U.S. Military is developing brain implants that create remote-control sharks to patrol the oceans and invade enemy waters.
Optional upgrade: frickin' laser beams attached to their heads.
Imagine getting inside the mind of a shark: swimming silently through the ocean, sensing faint electrical fields, homing in on the trace of a scent, and navigating through the featureless depths for hour after hour.We may soon be able to do just that via electrical probes in the shark's brain. Engineers funded by the US military have created a neural implant designed to enable a shark's brain signals to be manipulated remotely, controlling the animal's movements, and perhaps even decoding what it is feeling.
[ Link via New Scientist ]
January 25, 2006
GunCam - Give your assault rifle eyes
The Self Guard SG-310 is a video system designed for guns. You stick it on your most leathal weaponry, and ta-da, instant video clips for your commander. They claim this will enable better decisions on the battlefield, but somehow I think it will end up being a way to keep soldiers accountable for their actions. That in itself is a good thing in my opinion.
October 17, 2005
DIY Railgun
I seem to be finding a lot of mechanical type links today instead of the usual wearable computing roundup. I justify this post by saying "What self respecting cyberpunk wouldn't want a railgun?". Well for those who are interested in building such devastating backyard ballistics, there's a railgun blog to learn more about the art and science of high speed projectiles.
[ Link to the Railgun Blog via Hack A Day ]
October 15, 2005
Liteye in Iraq
Found this picture of an Liteye 450 on a soldier in Iraq. I really wish I could find more pictures of civilans though, but wearable computing aint cheap.
[ Link ]
May 25, 2004
Future Force Warrior
"We're stripping the soldier down to his skin, and building out from there," said Jean-Louis "Dutch" DeGay, an equipment specialist at the Army's Natick Soldier Systems Center, which is supervising the seven-year, $250 million overhaul, dubbed Future Force Warrior, or FFW.
The land warrior equipment was due for an overhaul. The previous design was designed for men only, which is inappropiate for women trying to pee. In addition, many other improvements have been made such as armor that can take five to seven direct hits from a machine gun, gel based sensors for collecting pulse and breating rate, and better etextile cabling (shown below).
Gee, as pacifist, I suddenly really want to join the army.
