We had an opportunity this week to spend a few minutes mesmerized by the tube (literally) television mounted prominently to the floor of the passenger compartment in
Ford's Airstream concept van. Granted, the big news here is that brick-like aerodynamics and hydrogen power make for strange bedfellows, but the bizarre display comes in a close second. Inhabitants of the van's quarters are theoretically able to use it to watch movies, but the thought of kiddies scrambling around a pole to catch the action on the other side of the picture is going to be a nightmare come true for parents of the distant future hauling down the highways and bi-ways in this thing. For what it's worth, the images looked extraordinarily bright (perhaps disturbingly so for the interior of a vehicle) and plenty crisp, but we'll ditch the movies -- we think could stare at that faux lava lamp for hours.
posted Jan 18th 2007 7:01AM
That thing is tronalicious.
I want it, I want it NOW!
So if I'm correct by my observation, that's a cylindrical LCD tube? Doesn't seem like it'd be good for traditional TV as you point out, but I guess it'd be cool for the already seen lava lamp and maybe a stock-ticker or some data that works off rotation. I don't want one anywhere in my car or home personally though.
- Tony R.
I think it's probably a vertical raster of LEDs (i.e. column of LEDs that physically spins around the vertical axis painting an image via P.O.V.).
FWIW There's a large one of these in the food trough area of the Canberra Center (like even 1% of the people reading this have been to Canberra - The C.C. is a big mall, natch). It has roughly 3 repetitions of a video image that slowly rotate (should really be 3.14 and a bit repetitions... geddit?!). The scan speed is disturbingly slow as sometimes sweeping your eyes past it nearly brings-on foaming fits of epilepsy due to the jarring lights before your eyes.
21st century lava lamp.
I'd get one ;)
That must be a small version of a Kinoton Litefast or one of that choopy chinese displays Dinascan. That's nothing new at all, it's just integrated on a car, not so surprising.
It's almost as if the plan was to mesmerise everyone with the lava lamp as if to distract them from something else.... wait, what was I saying? That lava lamp....
I wish some of these concept vehicles were a little more practical. I mean why spend millions of dollars creating something that does not even make sense.
1) Look at that side door. I don't think you could get that open if you are parked in a traditional parking lot. This is why Van's use sliding doors. Imagine the first time you park the car in a ramp or a lot and you scrape the side of the car next to you with the bottom edge of the door panel.
2) The stupid TV fish tank / lava lamp in the center would only work if it is removable, and I could put seats in its place.
The three door hatch looks cool and gives it a bit of uniqueness.
- my two cents
FUGLY!!!
This thing will never be built.
No wonder Ford is going broke.
You don't see Honda or Toyota building crap like this. How much money do you think Ford sank into this two-ton door stop??
Are you joking? Honda or Toyota aren't make things equally as bad?
Its a concept car... they always look weird. It is so they can see what aspects of the car people do like.
Check out his Honda winner: http://www.hondasuv.com/
or about anything that Toyota's Scion line makes. They are equally as awfully designed.
Hey Frank,
"You don't see Honda or Toyota building crap like this"
Ever heard of the Honda Element or the Scion XB or seen any of the prototypes for either one??
I really wish Ford would sell the Focus ST over here. They're selling it in Mexico, for christsakes! Why can't we get it?
Who makes that cylindrical display, does anyone know? That can't be from Ford.
I saw a similar display at Schippol airport (just displaying adverts) that I think used a vertical array of LEDs on a rotating arm to scan out an image. It produced an extremely bright display, and was pretty much flicker free so must scan at a very high rate. Made me want to build one..
Reminds me of a display in "Harrods of Knightsbridge" children department. They had 10 TV's mounted around a pole, withe the horizontal tweaked so the image would appear to move from one set to another.
They have 360 Tvs in japan at the sapporo airport, its pretty cool, now being the 2nd year its been there "pixels" are starting to "die" it seems but still pretty intresting to watch it spinning the display around. gotta walk around the thing to be able to center out what ever is showing