Suck It And See!!

Being of military background myself (3 years as a pilot in Her Majesty's Royal Air Force) I am always interested in new inventions that will make anybody who defends their Country's life easier and safer.

Grappling hooks have been conventionally used to help you scale a vertical obstacle, however U.S. Special Forces are looking for something a little different. "These teams are often required to carry hundreds of pounds of gear, making traditional climbing methods strenuous and dangerous," stated Lt. Col. David Shahady of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

In August 2011, 17 universities and three military academies were each given $20,000 and set the challenge of creating a "superior vertical ascender" in the Air Force Research Laboratory's annual challenge. After nearly nine months of hidden, secretive work behind closed doors, the teams came together this spring to have their inventions put through their paces. The aim was simple: "get four special operations personnel over a 90 foot vertical concrete face with innovative climbing equipment." The winner was Utah State University and its suction solution, behold, "The Personnel Vacuum Assisted Climber!", or PVAC in military lingo.

The contraption is made from hand pads that literally stick you to the wall using battery powered suction. The PVAC can hold a soldier weighing up to 200 pounds complete with 100 pounds of kit vertically or even horizontally on a wall or rock face.

Twin electric motors worn as part of the kit produce 3.5 pounds per square inch of sucking power, "eat your  heart out Dyson!" Footrests attached to the pads with cables support the soldier's weight while her or she releases and moves the pads, one at a time to scale the obstacle. The rechargeable batteries keep the motors spinning for up to half an hour - sufficient time to scale even the most treacherous of walls.

Weighing in at around 45 pounds, the system is a little on the heavy side however it more than compensates with sucking power.

Design
www.sovibrant.co.uk

Renault Twizy in a dizzy

Renault have launched their 100% electric powered tandem 2-seater micro car, firmly aimed at the commuter market. But don't be fooled this is another Smart look-a-like - it's more the size of a flea (2.34m long and 1.23m wide).

The passenger seat is behind the driver, so the legs must go either side in a slightly less-than-dignified way, but it's a fun vehicle so owners are unlikely to care.

The Twizy comes without windows, so it really is a covered quad bike, but with gull-wing doors as an option it might just catch on.

The cost is less than £6,690 plus £45/month battery rental, but at £1 to recharge (in 3.5 hours), a range of over 50 miles and a top speed of 50mph, I think the Twizy might just be ideal for our congested cities.

Madcap design at SoVibrant www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Images stolen borrowed from the Renault web site

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Aquaria Grande, Mumbai - Another level of balcony!

A project currently undergoing construction in Borivali, Mumbai is taking apartment balconies to a whole new level!

Say goodbye to a 37 storey trip down to the swimming pool, the new Aquaria Grande residential towers is transforming “standard balconies” into luxury swimming pools!

The 37 storey tower doesn’t stop at luxury pools, it consists of energy efficient glass facades, an in-house club with gymnasium and sauna and three levels of car parking space!

Check out the amazing images below...

Images courtesy of Google images

Architecture

Interior Design

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Blade Runner - Architecture, Design and Film

For our second spot in this regular film blog I have chosen 'Blade Runner', another one of my top 10 movies of all time.

Blade Runner was directed by Ridley Scott, a master of the sci-fi blockbuster who has just released his latest Alien movie, Prometheus.

As mentioned before, Ridley Scott was hugely influenced by the work of Stanley Kubrick on 2001 A Space Odyssey.

This can be seen in his set designs, where he worked alongside Syd Mead. Syd was employed as “futurist consultant” and his drawings of  the “spinners” (flying cars) shaped the 25 models utilized on the movie.

The Architectural landscape is dark and moody and is beautifully complemented by the soundtrack composed by Vangelis. The atmospheric music definitely deserves a mention, as it plays a fundamental role in the understanding of this futuristic version of Los Angeles.

Not only is it one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time, it has one of the coolest character names in "Rick Deckard", a  "blade runner" or a hunter of replicants, played by Harrison Ford, who was definitely a cooler actor in the 80’s than he is now.

Images Courtesy of Google images

Architecture - Design - Film - Blade Runner

 www.sovibrant.co.uk

Charlotte Mann

Charlotte Mann studied at Central Saint Martins in London and has become known for her signature works, the creation of intricate, life-sized illustrations:

Great.

More of Charlotte's work can be seen here

art and design at SoVibrant

Olympic torch reaches the home of SoVibrant!

At 2pm today the Olympic torch, which started on 19^th May in Lands End, finally reached Harrogate!  The torch was serenaded by busses blaring with music and energetic street dancers ... not to mention a huge crowd which had to be in the region of 5,000 people!  The atmosphere was incredible, hundreds of tourists and local businesses lined the streets with flags, horns and streamers.  A sight that certainly isn’t an every day affair in North Yorkshire!



 Above photographs taken in Harrogate

The flame has been working its way around some of our local areas today such as Boston Spa, Harewood (to be greeted by Princess Beatrice) and to Ripon.  It will later make it’s way through to York where the flame will take a train ride! It is due to board the Scots Guardsman at the National Railway Museum in York at the end of the day, ready for the final leg of its journey through the county on Wednesday.

Above photograph taken in Boston Spa

Above photograph taken in Knaresborough

Above photograph taken in Harrogate

Although I only saw the flame for a few seconds, it was definitely worth being a part of a historic moment, not just nationally but worldwide. 

Above photograph taken in Harrogate

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Olympic Torch 2012

Luminous - Real Time engine

Hi everyone,

Just a quick blog to let you all know about the new Luminous Real Time games engine that is in development.

Below is the link to a tech demo that Square-Enix (my favourite games company) have created to show off the capabilities of the new engine.

Enjoy


Click here to watch the tech demo



3D & Media
www.SoVibrant.co.uk

Let's Go Pro

Good afternoon readers. Today we bring you an amazing gallery of photos taken by many people from around the world using one of our all time favourite gadgets, the Go Pro Camera. If you are wanting to capture extraordinary moments from your own point of view this is definitely the toy for you. 

Check out some of these amazing images..

Sovibrant / Photography