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The Applied Physics Lab at the University of Washington has developed a small, free-swimming vehicle called SeaGlider, that can gather oceanographic data for months at a time and transmit it to shore in near-real time via satellite data telemetry. A Seaglider recently stayed at sea for over 5 months.

What is interesting is that the Seaglider has no external moving parts and uses very little energy.

This is a buoyancy-driven vehicle, as opposed to a propeller-driven one. Propulsion is achieved by buoyancy control effected by variation of vehicle-displaced volume. Wings provide hydrodynamic lift to propel the vehicle forward as it sinks or rises. In other words, the Seaglider expands or contracts slightly, causing it to rise or sink.

After each dive Seaglider raises its antenna out of the water. It determines its position via GPS, calls in via Iridium data telemetry satellite, uploads the oceanographic data it just collected, then downloads a file complete with any new instructions.

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ThinkOutside is about to release their long awaited Bluetooth Keyboard for Pocket PCs and Smartphones.

ThinkOutside Website

Compatability list is impressive:

Bluetooth:
iPAQ 1940, 1945, 2210, 2215, 4150, 4155, 4350 and 4355 series models, Series 5000 is being tested;
Dell Axim x3 series models; ASUS MyPal A620.
Any Pocket PC 2002 or Windows Mobile 2003 device with a Socket Bluetooth SD or CF card.

Smart Phones:
Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 or Symbian devices such as Orange, T-Mobile or O2 XDA, XDAII, MDAII
Nokia Series 60 (3600, 3620, 3650, 3660, 6600, 7600, 7610, 7700)
Siemens SX56, SX1
NEC E616
Sony Ericsson P800/P900
Panasonic X70, Qtek 1010 and 2020
Motorola A835, A935, A1000, Mpx
Sendo X (may require software download and/or Socket Bluetooth SD card)

Computers:
Most tablet, notebook or desktop computers running XP SP1 or Mac OS X with Bluetooth communications.
Works with Microsoft and Logitech Bluetooth keyboard systems.
Also compatible with Bluetooth software stacks from Widcomm for Windows version 1.4 or greater and Drakar (Socket) Bluetooth Stack version 1.4.3

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The first Bulgari hotel just opened (May 19) in Milan. Daily rates start at $700.

Bulgari has signed a JV agreement with Marriott International for the joint management of a worldwide hotel chain (called Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts). Bulgari will be in charge of the design, catering and interior design end of the deal, while Marriott will be in charge of the actual hotel management. JV financial details can be found at this site.

This seems to be part of a trend towards super-luxury designer hotels, with Armani, Ferragamo and Versace soon to participate in the leisure sector.

The first Armani property will open in Dubai in 2007. Emaar Properties will partner with Armani, and will eventually invest about $1 Billion.

Emaar is also planning to build the Burj Dubai, which will be the world’s tallest tower. Not many details are available, but the image is impressive. Cost is expected to be about 4Bn Dh or $1.1 Billion USD.

The forecourt and gardens of the Bulgari Hotel in Milan -

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The Toyota Personal Mobility (PM) vehicle will probably never get built, but it certainly looks interesting.

Toyota is not providing very many details. This 4wd vehicle holds 1 person only and is powered by a rear-mounted electric motor. The steering wheel, brakes and accelerator have been replaced by 2 joysticks. The passenger cabin tilts up to accomodate entry into the vehicle, and then reclines at speed to provide stability by lowering the center of gravity. A “wearable car”.

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The HMP-A1 is a new multi-media player from Sony. It supports MP3 and MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 playback as well as the JPEG format.

The 20GB disk holds about 9.5hrs of MPEG-2 video or 300hrs of MP3 audio.
The 3.5in display is at 320×240 resolution. Priced at $575 available June 26.

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Invented by 2 students at the Lausanne Hotel School in Switzerland, this plate promises to make eating spaghetti easier and cleaner. The plate has a raised hollow in the middle with which to wrap the strands around the tines of your fork, instead of using the bowl of a spoon. The plate won first prize at the Evian Inventors Fair, and has been patented.

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Logitec will soon release 3 new Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices for home and SMB use.
Hard drive sizes are 160GB, 250GB and 300GB. Model LHD-LAN160 (160GB) price is about $325. Comes with 100BASE TX fast ethernet, and 3 USB ports. Quiet and compact at about 8in high.

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The new Vaio Type-U Series boasts 20Gb HDD, 256Mb Memory, 167mmx108mmx26.8mm size…You can use stylus or foldable keyboard to write…

Sony Vaio Type-U

There are two models – Intel Celeron M 900 MHz and Intel Pentium M 1 GHz. Screen resolution is 800×600. Comes with built-in 802.11b/g, cf slot, memory stick slot, mini firewire, 4 USB 2.0 ports.

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Yamano Music is offering the “Hand Roll Piano”, which is a roll-it-up and take-it-with-you 4-octave 49key piano.

Very popular in Japan at $135. It measures 72×25x4cm; weight 1kg, including the carrying bag. Runs on 4 AA batteries.

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Here is an interesting use of technology … a compact flourescent bulb that also clears the air of odors.

The surface of the O-ZONELite bulb is coated with powdered titanium dioxide, which interacts with short-wavelength light (produced by the bulb itself) to produce a reaction with organic compounds in the air.

To quote from the Royal Society of Chemistry:

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a common photocatalyst for the air oxidation of organic compounds producing carbon dioxide and water. TiO2 is very stable, has high photocatalytic activity and is non toxic which makes is suitable for applications such as this. The anatase form of titanium dioxide can be activated by light to generate highly oxidising free radical species. These can both breakdown organic species and kill micro-organisms.

The effectiveness seems to vary depending on the type of organic compound. Acetaldehyde from cigarette smoke is reduced by 50% after 30min; ammonia by 90%.

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