ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Team Geared Up) - Ah, electricity.  One of those natural and fundamentally important parts of our everyday life. The greatest achievement of man could arguably be our ability to harness it and in an increasingly electronic focused society it hard to get away from, even in the great outdoors. However the following gadgets I’ve come across are probably not what you were expecting to read about.

The first one, pictured above, is the UDAP Bear Shock Electric Fence, now if Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins had one of these in The Edge, it would have been a whole different kind of movie. Designed for those who decide to ignore all the clearly labeled warning signs along the trail on their Alaskan hiking expedition and eventually pitch tent in the thick of the middle of Grizzly territory and not have to worry about have their arm bitten off.

The Bear Shock ultra-lightweight and battery-powered electric fence system lets you sleep soundly in the backcountry by securing your 30-by-30-ft. camping area in which to set up your tent and gear. The Bear Shock electric fence delivers a 6,000-volt shock when touched – that’s enough to scare off any bears that wander a little too close for your comfort. Great for backpacking and camping, the Bear Shock electric fence weighs just 3.7 pounds with its two D-cell batteries, which will provide enough juice for approximately five weeks of continuous use, and it packs up in a small 5-by-20-inch storage bag. Don’t leave your safety to chance, buy the Bear Shock electric fence for $299.95

Next up we have something a little more conventional. A power generator. But this is no normal generator (what did you expect? its techie tuesday after all…). This is the Millennium Cell and Horizon Fuel Cell HydroPak Power Generator and its a generator like no other. Co-developed by Singapore company Horizon Fuel Cell and American firm Millennium Cell this tiny 8.6 x 8.2 x 3.9 inch 2.6kg device is small and light enough to even fit in a big rucksack. The device uses a refillable hydrogen cartridge, water activated system to create clean green energy. Energy output peaks at 50W and can generate a maximum 270watt hours per cartridge and has a 110v AC power supply and two 5v USB ports. The best part is that they are claiming it will give you enough power for 30 days after activation! Production starts second half of this year and the unit runs for about $400 and each cartridge costs $20. Check out the video below to learn more.

Having lived in topical areas for most of my childhood I know what kind of danger lighting storms can be. Getting hit by lighting is rare but not as rare as some of us think. Its also very hard to tell on out own how electrified the air is and how prone we are to getting hit by lighting. This little device is called the SkyScan Lightning Detector/Storm Warning Device and it does exactly what it says on the box.

The Lightning Detector/ Storm Warning Device is designed to recognize distinct electromagnetic charges from lightning to tell you how far away it is and the direction it’s moving. The Lightning Detector features four LED alert lights that signal you when the lightning is at ranges of 0-3, 3-8, 8-20 and 20-40 miles, giving campers plenty of time to seek shelter from the storm. The 9-Volt batteries will give you up to 70 hours of use. The Lightning Detector/Storm Earning Device retails for $225.

-Alx-

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Team Geared Up) - This first one is probably one of the strangest hybrid devices I’ve ever seen. It’s called the SkidScooter and its an “amphibious scooter”. The idea is that its a device that can help you get across two different environments. It is a kick scooter that will get you acros (paved) land and has built in motors and propellers in the wheels to propell you through the water. Could you imagine this thing being pitched, I’m sure it would have gone a little like this: “Have you ever been in a situation where you were scooting along a road but were suddenly stopped by a large body of water and only wish you had someway of getting across it? That is where the SkidScooter comes in!” Other than people who live near beaches where they might find use for this, don’t expect this to ever leave concept.

All bikers when biking on streets have one common fear. Cars. One thing that drivers hate and bikers have a hard time protraiting is the direction the biker is going to turn. We’ve all been taught when we learned how to ride that we put our arm out to signal the direction we are going.
However that often leaves us unstable and prone to a possible accident as our control of the bike may become hindered when we only have one hand on the handles. This is where this clever device comes in. Designed by Leah Buechley, the jacket has blinking LED lights on the back to show which direction you are turning. Although only a conceptual project now I can see this becoming a reality sometime in the future. The real product will most likely be a thin vest that can go over ones jacket and have a small bluetooth enabled control that sits on the handle bar. Ideally I cool function would be some kinda of modual that could detect when the bike was slowing down and then a red LED will flash on the back to signal the biker is slowing down or stopping. Plus this would be an awesome accessory at raves! (via DVice)

In the comments of a post I did on the Cube foldable bike Robin gripped about the fact that we have amazing colapsable bikes but no colapsable wheels. Reader pointed us to this video. Its a prototype design for a wheel that can be fitted on any bike or wheelchair that pretty much folds in on itself. This along with a Cube bike and you’ll pretty much be able to carry a bike in a backpack in the future.
Last I have the “The Ride” by Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles. This is quite a stylish looking bike with a sleek aluminum frame and suspension. But is most exciting about this bike is the NuVinci CVP gear system. Its both a gearless and multigeared system. It is silent, will not skip and allows for a much more fluid change in intensity when pedaling. Check out the video to see what I’m talking about, its really quite amazing!

-Alx-

LONDON, UK, (Team Geared Up) - This one wins all the prizes. Forget ascending Everest blind, as an amputee or even running the A-Z of Marathons, this is way cooler. Having tried to climb Mont Blanc myself (and getting white washed off in a snow storm) I have ultimate respect for them lobbing these gas cylinders up there.

These guys lugged a full jaccuzzi to the summit of Mont Blanc, re-constructed it, and then heated it at 4810m.

Check out all their photos on their site jaccuzzi.ch. Well worth seeing what they carried up.

Credit to GoBlog for the tip.

-Robin-

ÖREBRO, SWEDEN  (Team Geared Up) - The future has arrived! Forget waiting in traffic in the mornings, jet-packs have become a reality once again. (Altho they have made apparences before)

For the low price of $250,000 you can have a go for a 3 minute ride ($1,388/sec) but free training is included! But wait! They are working on a new version for the cheaper price of $200,000 for a 19 minute ride ($175/sec)!

Click Play to Watch

Link: Jet Pack International
via & image credit: Cool Business Ideas

-Darran-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Who’ll be the first to make it to the North Pole on a Segway? Ok, granted you’ll need some whopping solar panels to re-charge, but it’s becoming a reality!

Segway have launched an Offroad/Adventure Transporter version of their popular San Francisco sci-fi commuter device. For those wondering, you lean forward to accelerate!

In a strange way - I want one!

During the game they are running around the streets and alleyways of the city - whatever the weather. All the features you see in the virtual world reflect those of the real city.

I was listening to one of the organisers on Spin 103.8 who was trying to explain the concept.

Blast Theory is renowned internationally as one of the most adventurous artists groups using interactive media. Led by Matt Adams, Ju Row Farr and Nick Tandavanitj the group has a team of six and is based in London. The group’s work explores interactivity and the relationship between real and virtual space with a particular focus on the social and political aspects of technology.

-Aisling-

After 30 minutes… Arrested! Shocking.

-Robin-

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - This Irish university project “Improving Armies” video is a little surreal with the Irish accent! Improving Armies is an infomercial spoof for “Marine Enterprises”. Worth a watch.

Credit to a mate Paul & group for creating the footage and sending it on.

-Robin-

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Geared Up Blog) Fire! Who would have thought that bringing a condom and a water on a trail could give you fire. So who’s gonna be the first to try it?

-eoinod-

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian rescuers were on Friday trying to solve the “Mary Celeste” style mystery of a yacht found floating off the coast with its engine running, food on its table ready to eat, but no crew.

The 12-metre (36 feet) catamaran was found 80 nautical miles off Townsville on the northeast coast, but there was no sign of the three crewmen who had set sail from Queensland state bound for Australia’s west coast on Sunday.

“What they found was a bit strange in that everything was normal, there was just no sign of the crew,” Jon Hall from emergency management in Queensland told local radio on Friday.

Hall said the yacht’s sails were up but one was badly shredded. He said the engine was running, there was food on the table, a laptop was turned on, and the radio and global positioning satellite (GPS) were working.

Three life jackets and survival equipment, including an emergency beacon, were found on board, but no life rafts.