Lenart Studios kicks out GPS / LCD-equipped surfboard

Granted, the Light Wave was snazzy in its own right, but Lenart Studios has certainly gone the extra mile with its iteration of the intelligent surfboard. Simply dubbed the Surf Radio, this board reportedly packs a built-in display that utilizes "radio and GPS technology" in order to "give surfers updated information about their location, rip currents, and building swells," and even doubles as a walkie-talkie for chatting it up with fellow riders. Moreover, the unit features an integrated sensor that can detect if you've wiped out a bit too harshly, and then triggers the internal communications system to send out an emergency beacon with your exact location. Unfortunately, there's no word on if this design will ever go mainstream, but a board so stacked ain't likely to run you cheap if it does.

[Via Core77]

[L.Rawlins @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:01AM]

Combined with the tagging of shark numbers that I'm certain various eco-groups actively monitor, this could also provide a... gnarly... safety measure. ;o)

[logyk @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:16AM]

like any self respecting surfer is gonna give that a second look. Anyone who's surfed more then a day in there life wouldn't pay $10 for that POS.

it takes a surfer five seconds to spot the rip current, 5 minutes to tell if it's gonna be trowing bowls later. And about 20 seconds to see if Da kine hit reef on da last set and needs to be pulled out the water like one hooked Ahi.

so you got a bunch of useless features and the extra weight an LCD screen would add. fricken brilliant...

the walkie talkie part is hilarious, like there's gonna be another idiot out there with this board. If there is more then one at the same spot they should stick together incase they get jumped by real surfers.

[Shaun Sanders @ Jul 23rd 2007 3:57PM]

I'm a surfer... and a gadget lover.

I think this surfboard is fancy.

You're just one of those "I want to tell everyone how awesome I am" people trying to put this down.

[Andrew @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:39PM]

You sound like the type of person who's a blast to be next to in the lineup.

Now, when I'm sitting in the ocean in a less than optimal day, I often wish I could know exactly when the next good swell was going to hit. It seems that without fail as soon as I go into the beach for a rest, or take some sissy little wave, the perfect swell rolls in while I can't get on it. It'd be great if my board suddenly started freaking out and saying, "Hey, idiot, the wave of the day is on its way, get back out there."

However, I don't think swell tracking is this precise yet. And the other features are more of a gadgetophile thing than a surfing thing. I'm not sure there's enough surfer / engadget reader crossover to make something like this viable.

And the "Emergency Services after a wipeout" thing sounds ridiculous. I mean, how could the board tell the difference between a normal wipeout and a life threatening wipeout? Maybe an emergency beacon locater that you could manually activate in case you were towed out to sea or something, but automatically activated seems like a recipe for lots of false positives.

How about a ding-proof board? That'd be a truly revolutionary advance in surfing technology. No more freaking out every time I take a beach-break.

[Johnny Appleseed @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:52AM]

Where are you surfing? The bermuda triangle?

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 23rd 2007 8:12AM]

I thought they had to concentrate on...you know...SURFING.

If you need all that crap built into your surfboard then maybe you should consider speedwalking or perhaps jigsaw puzzles?

[TheBigB @ Jul 23rd 2007 9:05AM]

Would kinda suck when you'd break you board...
btw, can it play doom?

[Rob @ Jul 23rd 2007 9:57AM]

Lenart Studios is good at 3-D design, but has no clue what surfers want. Lenart, stick to what you know.

[airpolgas @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:04PM]

It would be better if they put some sound emitting gadget there that will scare away the sharks... kinda like those sounds that annoy dogs but humans can't hear.

[Andrew @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:41PM]

Yeah, where is that?

[bmw @ Jul 23rd 2007 10:14PM]

http://outside.away.com/outside/gear/gear.tcl?gear=Lost-Aviso-Pro-Formance&gear_id=1203&action=showgear

Dollars better Spent