The amazing Oliver Goodhall (RCA page + We made that page) is making the model for the RCA show. Work in progress WATCH OUT ! WET PAINT !
1. proposing an aesthetic :
2. making a quick pre-model :
3. cutting the real bridge :
4. choosing the colors :
5. making the small moving parts (here the rudder):
6. the hulls :
7. all the hulls :
8. a section of the ballast bag :
9. ballast bag, flat :
10. Assembling the hull :
11. now wondering : shall we put this on a stand to keep it suspended and open? I would say yes, if you can fold it for transport! Amazing Oliver Goodhall !
The model will soon be on a shelf and in a suitecase! GRRREAT!
My wife frequently asks me to bring pet animal at home (i.e.: Fish) but I have some (maintenance) problem, especially who will feed my fish when we are out?
Now she got an answer to my dilemma - A Robotic Fish Feeder is the answer. (Designer: Ran Xiangfei) FIFER robot (Fish Feeder) does feeding job to Fish. Fish finally get the attention they deserve. One less item you need to worry about on your day to day tasks. (Related article: End of one more boring task - inflate your car tire)
Fish feeder not only feeds but feeds the fish in correct amount. First it calculates the density of Fish in water and dispenses the right amount of food at the pre-set times. If you are growing fish in fish pond then Robot moves to another area (based on pre-set path setting) of the pond calculate the fish density and dispenses. There is also a plant on top which grows to represent the health of your fish.
See more pictures here
Via [GearFuse.com and Designer: Ran XiangfeiGerard Rallo]
Via [http://www.technologymadness.com/?p=415]
So according to the prototype Paris nº 1 and its defects, we have changed :
- enhance capability of self-righting (more floatation on top on every side)
- reinforce overall structure with metal mesh rebar
- Addition of the flexible ballast (inspired by Givens invention)
- make the 3 hulls deeper and slightly curved to dive in the waves more smoothly.
- have 2 anchoring points for 2 kites attached to the main frame front
- have 2 lateral openings on each side for fishing and rowing (alternative emergency propulsion)
- main openings to have an doorstep higher to avoid too much water entering in at all times.
And lastly, the large inflatable life raft with a central pilar to hold the roof, pdf patent of Baughman 1989.
So this is our design, Open_Sailing_01, inspired by these inflatable liferaft technologies. We try to combine these technologies in something simple and efficient.
Under the photographic direction of Cereinyn, we had a very enjoyable photoshoot of the Open Sailing on a white backdrop, quite different aesthetic than the one, we had at the opening - more of a workshop! See flickr set.
Each of the module illustrate a function we were thinking about, I will now modify our all post (drawings of these systems) to link to the actual model. Prototype scale 1/1 coming soon!
It is beautiful how a modular system can follow the movement of the waves !
You need to watch their great corporate video as well.
The basic module is simple and good :
That's a cool docking system. But it is ... EXPENSIVE !!!!
Ok, maybe that's the good time to bring it up : a long time ago, last autumn we did some test of structures :
This one was pretty, the weight keep the moving parts together, but the tension on the cable made amplified unecessarily the movement of the structure.
The simple tripod behaved pretty well.
The star-shaped structure with long arms was a real catastrophy : the waves flipped it over, the arms folded on the structure, it landed miserably violently on the beach ...
The best structure was the platform + ballast. Simple, cheap, very, stable, reliable, at one with the sea.
For the nomadic eco-system is easy to think of semi-enclosed applications as well.
So, I would advocate a ballast system under the gardens too. Cheaper and more reliable than a solid ballast. Some sand can be added in the bag too anyway.
Our friends Aissa Logerot and Amandine Chhor are working on this theme between Cambodia and France, trying to invent new design inspired by ancient techniques and adressing environmental issues using the water hyacinth, an invasive specy from amazonia, check ou their blog surlesrivages.blogspot.com.
