Anthropomorphic + Futuristic = Fantastic Floating Homes

Futuristic, yet, but not the far-fetched science-fiction fantasy industrial design you might think – the Oculus by Schoepfer Yachts may not be for sale yet but it is already in pre-production mode with naval architects on board, so to speak. Hardly your typical houseboat, it is a virtual cruise ship for the rich and famous who can afford to buy it when it is fully planned and built.

The anthropomorphism of this luxury floating home is of course intentional – the front deck like the gaping mouth of a gigantic sea creature and the sleek curves mimicking streamlined oceanic animals.

Complete with a swimming pool on top and a futuristic interior design this is far more like a permanent mobile home than a cruising yacht.

The smaller and simpler (both adjectives applied relative to its bigger brother of course) version of this spectacular design is the Infinitas, with a more sleek and streamlined profile and a semi-enclosed on-board swimming pool in the center but underneath the shell.

MIT soft rocker - solar powered sun lounger

Soft rocker - solar powered recharging station

'Soft rocker' is a solar powered outdoor rocking lounger whereby you can relax and recharge your electronics.
 

Up close of the 'soft rocker'

Developed by architecture students at MIT, lead by professor sheila kennedy, the furniture piece uses the
human power of balance to create an interactive 1.5 axis, 35 watt solar tracking system.
 

The lounger utilizes a 12-ampere hour battery storing the solar energy harvested during sunlight hours
so you to charge your gadgets even after sunset. 

The loungers make for a good place to socialize and engage in group work

A number of 'soft rockers' are currently installed within MIT's killian court for use until the end of this weekend.

The solar powered charging station

The battery also allows you to turn on a strip of light tape that runs along the interior of the lounger

 Soft rocker - solar powered recharging station

Dubai to Build Underwater Hotel

Dubai’s thirst for crass civic projects and buildings cannot, it seems, be quenched. In the last decade, the emirate has cultivated an utterly strange landscape of isolated icons, each one more “spectacular”,”daring”, and “different” than the last.  From the vacuous iconicity of the Burj Khalifa to the ludicrous ambition of ”the World“, Dubai’s tolerance for an asinine and radically depoliticized architecture has yet to be exceeded. See the latest conceptual project, Deep Ocean Technology’s proposed Water Discus Underwater Hotel, another “diamond in the rough (waters)” scheme that envisions a partially submerged object of vage sci-fi origins. And, by vague, we mean Star Trek.

According to the sleek initial renderings, the hotel is to be stranded in a reef, with lodging above and below the waterline. The structure consists of a system of modular programmatic discs, anchored to the seafloor by steel legs capable of withstanding tsunami-scale conditions. The discs can be moved, replaced, and multiplied to alter the hotel’s composition and respond to the vagaries of sea life.

The skyward discs suspended above the waterline will be programmed with a helipad, spa, gardens, and terraces that reveal vast panoramas of the shore beyond, while the underwater accommodations will extend twenty-one stories down into the water to open up intimate views of the diverse marine habitat. The project presents an advancement for housing and tourism in coastal off-shore areas, according to the hotel’s investors, who also claim that the hotel’s modular structure can double as a “laboratory tool” with which to further oceanographic research in the region and work towards creating “new underwater ecosystems and activities on underwater world protection.”

11 Coolest Offices in the World

Being an office clerk is not exactly the most coveted job in world, not to mention that the concept of being pinned at a desk is something 90% of the people dread. What if you would be invited to work in an office that not only brings the concept into a whole new dimension but also makes the work be fun and relaxed? There are places out there where a job from 9 to 5 is a delight because of the cool looking environment and amenities. Here, the spectacular meets functional and important work gets done better because the people are feeling much better here than in an awful corporate cubicle.

1. McLaren Technology Center – Surrey

2. Williams Group Grand Rapids – Michigan

3. Canary Wharf – UK

4. Googleplex – California

5. Skype’s On Cloud Nine Office – Sweden

6. Etsy Office – New York

7. Cannon Design Regional Office – St. Louis

8. Horizon Media Office – New York

9. Vocon’s Headquarter Building – Cleveland

10. Macquarie Group Office – London

11. Red Bull Headquarters – Amsterdam

AQUADOM !!

The AquaDom in Berlin, Germany, is a 25 metre tall cylindrical acrylic glass aquarium with built-in transparent elevator. It is located at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin-Mitte.The DomAquarée complex also contains a hotel, offices, a restaurant, and the aquarium Sea Life Centre.

 

The AquaDom was opened in 2004.It cost about 12.8 million euros.The overall construction of the aquarium was designed and built by International Concept Management, Inc.. The acrylic cylinder was constructed by the U.S. company Reynolds Polymer Technology. It is now the main attraction of the Berlin Sea Life Centre. 

The outside cylinder was manufactured on-site from four pieces; the inside cylinder for the elevator was delivered in one piece.The Aquadom is the largest acrylic cylindrical aquarium in the world, with a diameter of about 11 metres, built on a 9 metres tall foundation.Filled with 1,000,000 litres of water, it contains over 1,500 fish of 50 species. The feeding of the fish and the cleaning of the fish tank is performed daily by 3-4 divers.The fish need 8 kg fish food.

B9 Shipping developing 100 percent fossil fuel-free cargo sailing ships

B9 Shipping's sailing cargo ships would feature a Dyna-rig sail system

Ireland-based B9 Shipping has started work on a full-scale demonstration vessel as part of its goal to design the modern world’s first 100 percent fossil fuel-free cargo sailing ships. Unlike most conventional large cargo vessels, which are powered by bunker fuel, B9 Shipping’s cargo ship would employ a Dyna-rig sail propulsion system combined with an off-the-shelf Rolls-Royce engine powered by liquid biomethane derived from municipal waste.

The company says all of the technologies that will be used in its cargo vessels are already proven and readily available. The Dyna-rig sail system was originally conceived in the 1960s by German hydraulics engineer Wilhelm Prolls and was first used by Italian shipbuilders Perini Navi in its 289 ft (88 m) clipper, The Maltese Falcon, which made its maiden voyage in 2006. The free standing and free rotating system has no rigging and comprises multiple relatively small sails that are operated electronically from the bridge. This allows them to be trimmed quickly to maximize wind power and turned out of the wind in the event of sudden squalls.

The Dyna-rig sail system is expected to provide around 60 percent of the vessel’s thrust, with the remainder coming from a biogas-powered Rolls Royce engine. The biogas will be produced by the anaerobic digestion (AD) of food waste and other commercial and industrial organic waste. B9 Shipping’s sister company, B9 Organic Energy, has recently sunk money into a 50,000 tonne per annum AD plant in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, to demonstrate the biofuel production technology.

To demonstrate the engineering and economic validity of its fossil fuel-free cargo ship design, B9 Shipping has started work on a full-scale demonstration vessel, wile a testing program, which is set to begin this month, is being conducted at the University of Southampton’s Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics (WUMTIA). This will involve tow tank and wind tunnel research using a scale model to identify a basic hull design and how it interacts with the Dyna-rig system.

The testing program will also examine the calibration of the thrust from the sailing rig with various hull shapes to ensure the maximum efficiencies in a wide range of wind and sea conditions, whilst conforming to the loading, unloading and port constraints of commercial cargo vessels. Once the towing tank and wind tunnel testing has been completed and the data validated, the company will undertake an economic analysis of the designs later in the year.

"We are designing B9 Ships holistically as super-efficient new builds transferring technology from offshore yacht racing combined with the most advanced commercial naval architecture,” says Diane Gilpin, Director of B9 Shipping. “We're combining proven technologies in a novel way to develop 'ready-to-go' future-proof and 100 per cent fossil fuel free ships.”

Here's a video from B9 Shipping outlining the technology they will use in their cargo sailing ship design.

Futuristic SeaOrbiter vessel set for October construction

Recent developments have rumored that the SeaOrbiter is set to start construction in October with possible completion in 2013. 

What once seemed science fiction may be becoming a reality. The futuristic SeaOrbiter ocean explorer, a concept conceived by French architect Jacques Rougerie, has been trying to reach fruition for the past twelve years. However recent developments suggest that the vessel is set to start construction this October, with possible completion in 2013.

The SeaOrbiter, if it goes ahead, will be the world’s first vertical ship to measure 51 meters (170 ft) in height. To realize this achievement more than 50 percent of the vessel will remain underwater. The project is expected to cost around US$52.7 million, with ambitions to observe and explore vast cross sections of oceanic life. Furthermore the SeaOrbiter hopes to implement a new standard of scientific communication that allows researchers to track and monitor marine life in real time. In doing so, a team of 18 marine scientists will live on board of the vessel. “This vertical vessel drifts in the currents hosting 18 oceanauts who will observe the life of the oceans on a permanent basis,” says Rougerie. “Marine life will naturally aggregate ... under its hull.”

The semi-submersible vessel will include an underwater chamber that delves 31 meters (102 ft) deep. Above deck is equipped with an open-air observation terrace, allowing the occupants to document migrating bird life, as well as enjoying some fresh air. The submerged sections will feature large portholes and panoramic windows, creating a state of the art underwater observatory.

The vessel will be installed with oceanographic observational and sonic equipment that will be linked to satellite facilities, while a multi-level atmospheric pressure module and a pressurized module will allow the “oceanauts” to live permanently in previously unexplored oceans. It is also anticipated that the vessel's design will include renewable energy initiatives such as solar, wind and wave power.

The SeaOrbiter project will be presenting a 1:20 scale model of the ship to the public this month during the 2012 International Expo in Yeosu, South Korea.

World's tallest building to be built in only 90 days

Chinese construction company Broad Group has announced ambitious plans to construct the world's tallest skyscraper in an implausibly swift 90 days. If the target is met, the 838-meter (2,750-ft) "Sky City One" will take only a twentieth of the time that the Burj Khalifa, the world's current tallest building, took to construct, and will stand 10 meters (33 feet) taller still upon completion. The secret to the rapid construction is prefabrication. Approximately 95 percent of the building will have been put together in modular form before work even commences on site.

 

 

Broad has form in the area of rapid prefab construction. The company, which primarily makes air conditioning, has already demonstrated its Broad Sustainable Building (BSB) concept, albeit at a much smaller scale. It built the 15-story New Ark Hotel prototype in one week and a 6-story demo pavilion in a single day. Broad is clearly confident that the SBS principle can be applied to the 220-story Sky City One, perhaps taking confidence from a 30-story prototype withstanding a simulated "magnitude 9 earthquake."

Broad has described Sky City One is a self-contained earthquake-resistant carless city which will not only accommodate approximately 100,000 people, but provide them with retail and leisure facilities too.

According to CNN the Sky City One will contain 1,000,000 sq m (10,800,000 sq ft) of usable floor space and its 220 floors will be connected by 104 separate elevators. Broad CEO Zhang Yue reportedly claims that the tower will consume only one fifth of the energy of a conventional building of its size (if you can call any building this tall conventional) due to sustainable design approaches built into the BSB concept including 15-cm (6-inch) thick exterior walls and quadruple glazing, both of which up Sky City's insulation.

CNN reports that the the Sky City One is projected to cost US$628 million: positively cheap when compared to the $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa. Work is due to commence on site in November 2012 with completion due the following January, though final approval from Chinese authorities is yet to be granted.

Radical railways: Top 10 transportation systems of the future

What will be pulling into the station in 50 years time?

Public transport systems offer many advantages over the personal alternatives when it comes to getting large numbers of people from A to B in style and safety - less congestion, less pollution and lower costs for starters. But while we certainly see plenty of impetus on the personal transport front here at Gizmag, fresh concepts for the future of mass transport don't seem to enjoy the same level of exposure, despite the fact that many cities around the world are still saddled with public transport infrastructure that's been in place for over a century. There are some radical plans in the works, however, and the 21st Century will undoubtedly bring with it a raft of people moving projects that redefine our notion of public transport. So just what will be pulling into the station in 50 years time? Read on for our pick of the most tantalizing concepts out there.

1. Superconducting vacuum trains

While fast, frictionless maglev train systems have been operational for decades, they haven't exactly become ubiquitous - perhaps because of the cost of the systems, or perhaps because there is no compelling need to replace the already widespread and workable conventional railway infrastructure. Either way, the idea is not about to fade from our collective imagination and several maglev of the future concepts have been floated.

The Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) system envisions superconducting maglev trains operating in evacuated tubes at speeds of up to 6,500 km/h (4,039 mph) on international trips - that's New York to Beijing in two hours! The proponents of this system say that ET3 could be 50 times more efficient than electric cars or trains.

Terraspan goes even further than ultra-efficient mass transport with its vision for a network of superconducting tunnels. As well as providing infrastructure for "Terraspan trains," this network would also facilitate zero loss transmission of electricity to our homes.

A 500 km/h (310 mph) vacuum train project has also been proposed for Switzerland, but as the Swissmetro site outs it: "So a far-advanced technology of and for the next generation remains in the drawer."

2. String theory

Another high-speed rail concept that aims to present an alternative to conventional systems without the astronomical price tag is Anatoly Unitsky's String Transport System. The concept is based on the use of what look like heavy-duty above ground electrical wires, but instead of carrying power, these high-tension wires become the support for carriages.

The proponents of the system see big advantages in terms of cost (somewhere between three and 10 times less expensive than a railway, maglev system, monorail system or motorway) and efficiency (an 80 kW (107hp) motor would take a 20-person passenger vehicle up to 155 mph (250 km/h)).

3. Reversing roles

Taking the above ground rail concept further (and then turning it on its head) is Robert C. Pulliam's Tubular Rails. In this system the trains themselves carry the tracks, while the wheels and motors are contained in elevated rings that the train passes through at speeds of up to 240 km/h (150 mph). Because the design would cause minimal disruption to existing infrastructure and the technology is readily available, Tubular Rail estimates that construction costs could be 60 percent less than conventional urban train networks.

4. Sharing the street

This is definitely one of the most interesting public transportation concepts we've encountered over the years when it comes to reducing urban congestion, while making use of existing infrastructure. The "straddling bus" would roll on stilts above traffic using small tracks positioned between lanes of traffic while passengers get on and off at elevated bus stops. The result: additional people carrying capacity for urban roads, no disruption to traffic and no need to build completely independent track systems. Seems like a win/win, but at this stage we're not aware of any progress on the expected pilot program.

5. Human-powered mass transport

Another outside-the-box approach to transport that deserves a place in our top 10 is the Shweeb. This human powered monorail system uses bicycle pods suspended from tracks to create a very efficient option for getting from A to B.

Currently you can ride the Shweeb at the Agroventures in New Zealand where you can reach speeds of up to 45 km/h (28 mph) under your own steam. The idea is not limited to adventure parks though. Shweeb picked up a US$1 million investment from Google in 2010 as part of Project 10^100 and the company says it will soon be announcing the planned location of the first Shweeb built for public use.

6. High-speed, alternative energy

The quest for more efficient transport systems doesn't necessarily have to come at the cost of speed. The SolarBullet project is a campaign aiming to bring high-speed (we're talking 220 mph (354 km/h)) trains to Arizona using tracks equipped with solar panel carrying canopies that would provide the 110 megawatts of electricity that the system needs to run. The project is currently in the R&D phase but faces several hurdles (not the least of which is an estimated US$27 billion pricetag) before construction of the planned Tucson to Phoenix line can get underway.

While on the subject, solar isn't the only alternative energy being considered for powering train networks. The T-Box envisions turbines incorporated into tracks that could be used to harness wind energy from the train as it whooshes overhead.

7. Power from the road

While contactless systems that allow personal electric vehicles to recharge on the go are gathering momentum, these systems also hold potential for making mass transportation greener and more efficient. A real-world example of this technology has already been demonstrated in the form of a trackless "train" developed by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The pilot project in Seoul’s Grand Park in Gwacheon City involved running an engine and three passenger cars using power supply infrastructure buried under the ground in sections of a 2.2 km (1.36 mile) long track.

So why not just charge the electric train at the socket? The advantage here is that the vehicle can operate with a battery that's one-fifth of the the size of batteries installed in electric vehicles currently on the market. While this means gains in efficiency, this needs to be weighed against the loss in efficiency caused by contactless charging, which in the KAIST experiment peaked at 74 percent. KAIST hopes to commercialize this technology within the next few years.

8. Ditching the driver

 
These days we think of road and rail transport as completely different things, but this distinction is set to become a little muddy as technology marches towards 2050. One of the benefits of public transport in general is that it avoids the inherent chaos of personal transport where the decisions are made by individual drivers. "Follow-the-leader" systems are looking to solve this problem by using a lead vehicle that's wirelessly linked to a series of other cars or "carriages" which follow its path autonomously. The system retains the flexibility of purely private transport (i.e. vehicles can leave the train so that you don't all have to end up at the same destination), the only additional infrastructure required is the computers that link the vehicles and the benefits for road safety, decreasing congestion and reducing vehicle fuel consumption are obvious.

This best of both world's idea sits in the "very near future" category - a European project dubbed SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project has been in progress since 2009 and was recently successfully demonstrated on public roads for the first time.

9. Orbital Maglev

 Some future transport concepts have loftier goals that just getting us to the station on time. While space tourism based on more conventional rocket ships is a fast growing infant, there are also plans afoot to use "space trains" to launch passengers into orbit.

Like the EET discussed above, the Startram system would use a superconducting, magnetically levitating train capsule in a vacuum tube. The difference here is that the final 12 miles (20 km) of the 1,000 mile (1,609 km) long track would point upwards, launching the "carriage" into low earth orbit. If that's not futuristic enough, the plan sees the skywards pointing launch tube itself being held in place by magnetic levitation!
Conceived by Dr. George Maise along with one of the inventors of superconducting maglev, Dr. James Powell, the potential of this system to significantly reduce the costs of putting commercial cargo (and space tourists) into orbit is attracting serious discussion.

10. Space Elevator

 Another long standing and noteworthy concept that aims to democratize the process of getting off the planet is the space elevator. First theorized over 100 years ago, the idea of the space elevator is to use a cable tethered to a base station to send "climbers" into orbit at a fraction of the cost of rocket-based launch systems.

While there are a variety of designs, the key component of a working space elevator would be a thin tether made from lightweight material (carbon nanotubes are the prime candidate) that stretches from an anchor point or base station on or near the Earth's equator to a point some 60,000 miles (96,560 km) into space. The Earth's rotation and a counterweight on the upper end of the cable would keep the line taught and climbers (likely powered by solar energy) traveling at fast train pace would be sent up this futuristic beanstalk to deliver cargo and people into orbit and back.

According to the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC), the cost of transporting cargo in this way "will be significantly reduced in price to the realm of dollars per kilogram compared with over $20,000 per kilogram today."

This is an idea that could well become reality before the curtains are drawn on the 21st Century - in fact, Tokyo-based construction company Obayashi Corp. has stated plans to have a 96,000 kilometer (59,652 mile) space elevator capable of carrying 30 passengers at a time operational by 2050.

Have we missed something? If you know of any mass transport concepts we've overlooked that have the potential to reinvent our urban and intercity journeys in the future, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Czech engineers set to build six-prop Flying Bike

A team of enthusiasts from a number of Czech companies has designed a flying bicycle with six propellers for lift and stability, and is about to start building the FBike ahead of scheduled test flights in August

From the Jetsons to Back To The Future, hopping onto or into a personal flying vehicle has been on the engineering "To Do" list for a good many years. We've seen a number of noteworthy attempts at defying gravity and taking to the skies here at Gizmag (many of which are featured in this roundup from 2010) and now another possible addition to that growing collection has landed on our desk. Known simply as the Flying Bike (or FBike), this collaborative effort from a bunch of Czech companies and enthusiasts is still very much in the early stages of development, but the proposal is to fit a number of electrically-driven propellers to the custom frame of a two-wheeler that will allow the pilot to rise above the traffic for as long as the batteries hold out.

The FBike project began in the autumn of 2011 with a proposal to create an e-bike, but enthusiasts from Czech companies Technodat, Evektor and Duratec set their sights on loftier designs instead. Inspired by the stories of Jules Verne and Czech author Jaroslav Foglar (who penned a trilogy of works featuring a flying bike invented by a young apprentice locksmith), project members Jan Cinert, Jindrich Vítu, Martin Dršticka, Michal Krivan, Filip Plešinger, Milan Duchek and Jozef Lajda have been using 3D modeling tools from Dassault Systèmes to create a number of concept renderings of a multicopter bicycle (think somewhere between Chris Malloy's Hoverbike, the Gamera human-powered helicopter and Larry Neal's Super Sky Cycle). It would operate exactly like a normal bike while on the ground, but would also be capable of vertical take-off and landing - and of course, flight.

An early design featured eight propellers mounted to the bike, but two of the stabilizing propellers have been sacrificed to cut down the weight of vehicle. Calculations by FBike engineers have shown that four 10kW compact brushless electric motors for the 1300 mm (51-inch) diameter front and back twin propellers surrounded by composite casing and two 3.5kW stabilized motors for the 650 mm (25.5-inch) blades at the side should be enough for vertical lift-off (which will be performed from a static position rather than while on the move) and flight.

"Theoretical power needed to lift a weight of 5-grams (0.17 ounces) is about 1-watt," explained Vítu. "We have in total 47kW of power (and the motor can be overloaded for a short time), so theoretically the maximum lifting force is 2350N (235kg/518 pounds). The flight weight has been determined as 170kg (374 pounds), including the pilot, the difference being the losses (efficiencies of the components) and some for a power backup."

The current design features 50Ah Lithium-polymer batteries positioned below the crossbar of the roughly mountain bike-shaped light alloy frame. They're arranged in ten accumulator blocks positioned one above another, each containing 14 cells connected in series, and will weigh more than 20 kg (44 pounds).

When on the ground, the FBike will have all of the features commonly seen on everyday pedal bikes. The side props and telescopic stabilizer, though, can be rotated 90 degrees to provide the rider with a boost if needed. According to Vítu, the four main motors will be disconnected from the batteries in this mode. When the rider pulls over to prepare for take-off, the side props are returned to the horizontal position to ensure maximum force is applied to lift the bike off the ground, and telescopic dampers are extended for balance. The rider's feet will be placed on supports during the flight.

Vítu also told us that gyroscopes and accelerometers housed in an onboard control unit will keep stability in check, automatically adjusting the speed of each propeller for a smooth and steady flight. As there are to be no mechanical parts for controlling the flight, he says that forward motion of the vehicle while in the air would be achieved as with a helicopter. It's expected that the FBike will be capable of a flight time of three to five minutes, or an assisted ride time on terra firma of between 30 and 50 minutes per charge.

"We have completed the final design and are about to start with the production," Vítu told us. "The very last thing to be done is to select LiPol batteries manufacturer. So we are expecting the production will start this or next week. It follows the 3D model presented at the press conference held on 24th May."

A special composite seat has been designed to cater for the rider, to be strapped into the vehicle for safety and comfort. Work on the control unit and related elements is still being considered, with options including the installation of a third-party box unit integrating the main unit and sensors or an in-house, tailor-made solution.

The following video offers a closer look at the design rendered in the 3D modeling software:

The FBike team states that the vehicle is not expected to ever go into production, it's just being created for marketing purposes. Vítu has revealed that the first flight tests are expected to take place in mid-August, so we'll bring you more on this project then.