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Atlantic launches waterproof EGO floating speaker system for iPod
Considering your mind is probably more focused on that upcoming trip to the slopes than your thoroughly frozen outdoor pool, you probably aren't in any dire need of a floating iPod speaker system in the midst of January, but nevertheless, Atlantic's bringing it to you. Aside from always staying on the sunny side of whatever liquid it's in, the plastic shell also touts a pair of (presumably weak) stereo speakers and the ability to house your dock-connecting iPod. Reportedly, the device is waterproof enough to withstand pool parties and showers, and can supposedly operate for 30 hours on just four AA batteries. While the EGO has been floating around (ahem) briefly, the firm plans to officially launch it during next week's CES, but those eager to get their swim trunks on in the middle of winter can find one now for around $115.[Via TGDaily]
New vortex generators could mean better underwater travel
Scientists from the University of Colorado, Boulder have just presented a new design for "vortex generators" that they say can make it easier to maneuver slow-moving underwater vehicles. This new setup, which is inspired by the motions of squid and jellyfish, would make long and sleek submarine vessels able to hover and turn better, which traditionally have been somewhat tricky. The team, lead by Dr. Kamran Mohseni, apparently was able to design an unmanned underwater vehicle that can parallel park (really), although we're not sure what he's worried about, given that as far as we know, meter-mermaids don't exist.[Via PhysOrg]
Forever Blue strikes a chord with divers [update 1]
It's rare that we get tipped off about a title by a scuba diving site, but it looks like there's a first time for everything after all. Forever Blue, a diving game set for the end of 2007 (for now, at least), was first announced during the Japanese Nintendo event last month, but there was so much going on that we hope you'll forgive us for losing it in the shuffle. Developer Arika has some experience in the creation of underwater environments, as they were responsible for the PS2's Ever Blue and Ever Blue 2. A shift to the Wii for a game like this just makes sense. And you won't be swimming solitary in the deep, either; WiFi support is planned, so you can explore with your friends.It's interesting to note that a diving site not only picked up the story, but presented it with such enthusiasm, while at the same time having to explain the Wii to their nongamer audience. Though this is certainly not the first game of its type -- see above -- the immersion of the Wiimote makes it a unique and exciting title, and one that we have high hopes for.[Update 1: Somehow, the link to the original story disappeared ... fixed!]
High-def cams used to capture haunting images of a huge sunken 1935 airship
High definition isn't all about pretty girls and flashy images, there can be some practical scientific purposes. Northern California scientists reciently spent 40 hours with a deep-diving robot and a high-def camera exploring the wreckage of the USS Macon airship. The massive rigid frame airship (97 feet shorter then the Titanic) sunk off Big Sur more the 71 years ago during a storm after a high-altitude transcontinental flight damaged her tail section. The high-def cams allowed researches to spot everything from the Sparrowhawk biplanes (pictured) she was carrying to aluminum chairs and now some of the images and video has been released to the public. Hopefully, Discovery HD Theater or National Geographic HD will snatch up this coverage so we can see the images in their full high-def glory.
Scientists to launch underwater autonomous robot fleets
You might want to watch where you wade while at Montego Bay, California this month, as a fleet of sea-searching robots will be on the prowl collecting all sorts of data. The Adaptive Sampling and Prediction (ASAP) team, led by Naomi Ehrich Leonard of Princeton University and Steven Ramp of the Naval Postgraduate School, is using two types of water-repelling robots that rely on algorithms to make maneuvering decisions without human input (which is a common theme of late) so as to collect information that will hopefully explain the cold water upwelling that occurs at Point Año Nuevo this time of year. The bots, known as gliders, look strangely like homing missiles, but they have some fairly important non-destructive duties ahead of them: collecting temperature, salinity, and other aspects of the currents are all in the job description. This field experiment is hopefully just the beginning of sending these independent machines out to quench our thirst for exploration; the team envisions these self-motivated creatures combing the floors of deserts, rain forests, and even other planets where humans aren't exactly primed to visit. Presumably all systems are go on this deep-sea endeavor, but we still wonder if there's an override command should these aquatic dwellers get smart and decide they'd rather just swim with the fishes than work all day.
Go Pro's Digital Hero waterproof wrist camera
When given your choice of aquatic wrist-wear this summer, why opt for the nerdy-but-possibly-lifesaving SenTAG, when Go Pro's Digital Hero shock-proof polycarbonate sport wrist camera is so much more interesting? Sure, it's gigantic and unwieldy, but it weighs less than 3-ounces and is waterproof up to a depth of 30-feet. Plus, it goes around your wrist! What else could you want? Specs? Oh, right. With 32MB of internal memory, you can expect to get VGA photos and QVGA videos, with the latter giving a frame-rate less like Step Into Liquid and more like an old movie of Babe Ruth running the bases. We admit, it doesn't quite live up to legitimate underwater cams like Pentax's Optio WPi, but for $80, including the necessary AAA battery, what can you expect? Just think of the totally rad footage you'll get when you combine it with your Tony Hawk helmet cam.[Via Travelizmo]
U-Boat Worx set to release CQ1 personal submarine
With all the great underwater nature documentaries available in high definition these days, we have no real interest in actually getting out of our chairs to go exploring among sharks, fish, and seaweed, but it's nice to know that there will soon be a non-self-powered personal submarine on the market in case we ever do decide to take the plunge. After three years of furious design, development, and testing, a Dutch company called U-Boat Worx is finally ready to release its battery-powered C-Quester 1 to aquatic enthusiasts worldwide, which will allow them to cruise down to depths of 50 meters at a maximum speed of 3 knots for up to two-and-a-half hours. The main advantage of this craft over traditional scuba diving is the fact that its cabin maintains a constant pressure of one atmosphere, meaning that you can surface immediately without having to sit through those boring decompression periods -- and if for some reason you can't surface, the on-board oxygen tanks and CO2 scrubbers will keep you alive for 36 hours or until help arrives, whichever comes first. Scheduled to ship sometime this month, the CQ1 is conspicuously missing a pricetag on the company's website; you have to call or write if you're interested, which probably means that pricing falls somewhere between a Sea-doo and a 7-series BMW.[Thanks, Sytse S.]
Seabobbing: swimming for the lazy
Hanging out at the beach is always a lot of fun, but swimming in the ocean is, like, really tiring, so when our friends all decide to go in the water, we usually cop-out by making up some lame excuse about a leg cramp. Thanks to a new product on the market called the Seabob, however, we may soon be able to enjoy the surf as much as we enjoy sitting on our towel drinking daiquiris, as the German-engineered device promises to do for swimming what the Segway has done for walking, Seabob is able to propel its rider along the surface of the water at 12-miles-per-hour, and then dive down to nine feet with only light pressure applied to its controls, although overriding the electronic depth-limiter lets experienced divers cruise as low as 130 feet. Power comes from a 3.6-kilowatt electric motor delivering 570-newtons of thrust, and a handy LCD display keeps you informed of water temperature, diving depth, and the 60-minute battery's remaining capacity. As we learned from Segway, leading a sedentary lifestyle doesn't come cheap, so until they initiate a loan program, don't be surprised if you end up shelling out over ten grand for one of these models after taxes, shipping, etc.[Via Stuff]
Korean tourist submarines get cellphone service
You should take most of the facts in this post with a grain of salt, as they were all gleaned from a garbled machine translation, but it seems that South Korea Telecom has actually installed cellular repeaters on coastal ocean buoys to allow tourists on submarines to continue gabbing even underwater. Apparently half a million people per year take trips on the Cheju-Do sightseeing submarine, which had previously forced people to pass the time by watching the sealife go about their mundane lives instead of the much more exciting activity of ordering ringtones from Jamster. Actually, from what we can tell, the new service seems to have been implemented to increase cellphone-dependent passengers' peace of mind, some of whom would apparently freak out at being 45-meters underwater with no emergency lifeline. Now, thanks to modern technology and a few whiners, what may have once been a soothing underwater journey will probably turn into a cacophony of 60-odd people screaming into their phones about the cool octopus or coral reef they just saw.
