I am talking about the Docking and Storage Base docking station concept in the pictures here. As you can see, the dock is every Apple fanboy’s dream. It can house all the iOS mobile devices you might have, the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and non-iOS iPods too.

The special dock goes right underneath your display and can house three devices at any time and thus you’ll be able to sync and charge them at the same time. Of course, if you have a laptop as your main computer then the whole design isn’t as magical. All you need is a large display on your desk in order to replicate the magic in the pictures here.

For the best effects you’ll either need an iMac in the background or a Cinema Display monitor tied to your desktop or laptop and your fanboysm will be taken to the max when adding the missing piece of the puzzle, the docking station.

Unfortunately we have no pricing details or arrival dates for this Docking and Storage Base docking station. It’s just a concept for now, but unlike other futuristic concept gadgets we’ve shown you recently, this gigantic dock could actually be made in the very near future.

Before you start wondering how much you’d be willing to pay for this dock I’ll also tell you that it offers fast access to USB ports, hides all the wires it uses and offers two storage cabinets for everything else you’d want to have close by when working. So, any takers for this Docking and Storage Base?

Proving that fashion and tech go hand in hand especially when inspired by gadgets, the iPants with their very large pocket in the back are exactly what you need when Apple’s tablet hits. “The iPad is a game changer. That’s why you’ll need a change of pants … with a big ass pocket,” they say in their advertisement.

For quite a few reasons I can’t say for sure I see myself wearing something like that, one of them being the fact that your device may not be safe from either thieves, or too much beans at lunch, but they do look cool in their very own special way.

Would you wear the iGotaBigAssPocket pants if you were to take the iPad with you?

I am actually surprised we don’t have smarter credit cards and debit cards already. After all, we can check our bank accounts from our computers or our smartphones but a credit card that could actually tell you more details about your current balance would be more than welcomed.

The credit card in the picture here is called the Live Checking Card and it’s a concept card designed by Jin-young Yoon, Wook-sun Oh, Young-ho Lee & Jun-kyo Lee. We might not see this smart credit card in action very soon but hopefully banking institutions around the world will get inspired by such concepts and start working on similar products.

As you can easily see, the credit card in the picture is not just another dumb piece of plastic. It’s more than that. The device has an E-ink display which will let you check your payment history and bank account transactions through RFID. Every time you make a purchase, the display will show the remaining balance so you’ll always know how much money you have left in your account. And that’s definitely something I’d want to know whenever I find myself ready to go into an unstoppable shopping spree.

Furthermore the edge of the card turns blue when you’re within your spending limit and it goes red whenever you pass that limit.

With such features in place not only are you in better control of your budget but you’ll also save the environment. Having access to instant detailed bank accounts means that you won’t have to print out bank statements to monitor your recent shopping sprees. The device uses solar power which means you don’t have to deal with batteries. And since we’re talking about a digital device here, you won’t have to replace it as often as you replace your plastic cards.

Will banks launch such a product soon? Well that remains to be seen. We haven’t talked about the safety measures employed by such a Live Checking Card. Losing or having one stolen sounds a lot more dangerous than having your regular plastic card stolen. We will certainly get back to you once such a concept credit card gets made. In the mean time you can consider getting a smartphone to help you manage your budget while on the go.

Do you trust your delivery guy with your sensible packages? I know I always wonder if the stuff I send or I am about to receive will travel safely and I’d definitely try one of those drop-in sensors that FedEx has announced. The Senseaware is a cool gadget which will be able to deliver constant online updates related to the package you have sent or are about to receive.

So how does Senseaware works? The device comes with specific sensors that can figure out for you the temperature or the exact location of the package. It will also tell you whether the package has been opened, exposed to light or dropped. The accelerometer is something I’d certainly appreciate as it will be able to tell me if the package has been damaged in any way by unwanted drops during transition.

The Senseaware is about the size of a BlackBerry and comes with temperature and light meters, accelerometer, GPS and a cellular antenna. That’s how the device communicates with the web interface in order to deliver accurate information about the progress of the package in question.

Sure since we’re talking about a new technology that’s about to be made available, you can expect bigger prices at first. The Senseaware costs $120 a month right now but the price is expected to go down as FedEx sells more and more sensors. The current price will be out of reach for regular customers that don’t send and receive that many packages. But companies that ship lots of products will start buying those devices in order to closely monitor the integrity of the shipped goods. The more sensitive the contents of those packages, the more interested will customers be in acquiring such a gadget.

The official trial of this Senseaware technology is expected to take place in Spring 2010 and if everything goes well we might see FedEx roll out the product worldwide very soon after the trial runs. In the mean time the competition should start working on similar products, wouldn’t you agree?

You probably haven’t heard of a company called Kopin Corporation. This could be because they spend most of their time crafting micro-displays for the likes of the military and other highly-secretive, if-you-know-too-much-I’ll-have-to-kill-you type organizations. Either that or you really need to get out from under your rock more often. Anyway, Kopin have announced today that they plan to unveil their new Golden-i™ Wearable Computer at Microsoft’s booth # 400 at the Embedded Systems Conference in Boston on September 22 & 23, 2009. Wearable computers a thing of science fiction you say? I beg of you to read on.

Geeky headgear aside, the Golden-i is a pretty stacked piece of technological cranium fashion. The crux of the unit is a combination three-ounce Bluetooth headset and 15-in virtual PC display. It also features a hands-free natural speech recognition interface capable of controlling just about every feature of your mobile device while it’s tucked away safely in your pocket. Kopin is promising that the Golden-i will serve us with hands-free spontaneous access to digital information, broadcast programming and Internet services all using the industry standard Bluetooth 2.0.

Interested to learn more about the behind-the-scenes action of the Golden-i? Thought so. The Golden-i is powered by Microsoft’s Windows® Embedded CE 6.0 R2 operating system along with a Texas Instruments OMAP3530 processor featuring an ARM Cortex-A8, high performance DSP and a graphics accelerator. Now that was a screenful. As for the communications portion of our tour, the Golden-i sports Nuance Communications VoCon3200 speech recognition and Vocalizer text-to-speech software platforms. Still need more? How about Micron Semiconductor’s ultra-fast, low-power, multi-bit node DDR2 RAM / NAND FLASH Package-on-Package (POP) OMAP mobile memories and MicroSD cards. I thought that’d do it for you.

You might be thinking that you need to carry an unlicensed proton accelerator pack on your back to power the thing, right? Well, according to Kopin, current testing suggests Golden-i’s OMAP dual processor platform can achieve over eight hours of typical use with a single 1200 mA/hr Li-ion battery. Boo-yah.

While the Golden-i may not quite be ready for prime time, Kopin plans to begin shipping Gen 3 Golden-i Eval SDK units for customer field trials in December 2009. Once they’ve worked out all the kinks, you might be able to purchase one of the production units sometime in 2010. There was such an overwhelming amount of info provided in the full press release that I didn’t want you to miss anything. You can click here for the rest of the story.

We have always been particularly open to design concepts here at TFTS so its always a joy to hear directly from a design team who are not only happy to speak about their work (why is it that so few designers are?) but who are doing their bit to define ‘the future of things’ and, in this case, we’re talking about MBM, or Made by Makers – a young, Danish design agency who, in their own words, ‘assist companies conducting design processes for complex solutions’.

In this, an introduction to an exciting design agency we will no doubt be following very closely from here on in, we have the absolute pleasure of passing the rest of this post over to Made Makers who offer an exclusive insight into their inspiration, work and design processes with specific reference to no less than six concept speaker designs complete with detail concerning each directly from the designer themselves.

We’ll leave Made by Makers to take things over from here…

There’s a tendency among design companies to hide and protect unused ideas and process material. Often this makes great sense. However, whenever it’s possible, Made by Makers believe that sharing stuff from our processes will allow us to build new knowledge and help us reflect on the ideas we have visited. At least we know that there’s no new insights and no inspiration for others in hiding our sketches in a drawer.

Recently Made by Makers had a workshop in which three designers had to come up with twenty original speaker designs in just three days. Each design should be modelled and rendered and also be easily communicated in one image. These goals and the tight timeframe forced non-critical idea generation methods and high-speed 3d-visualisation to be used. Individual ideas that often don’t make it to presentation level were allowed to bloom and show off the inherent potential.

The three days were structured by one team member (the facilitator – the facilitators preparation is not included in the three day time frame). First a one hour kick-off meeting too place. The facilitator first presented the main theme being ’loudspeaker design’. Alongside the theme presentation a wall covered with speakers from other companies, examples of nice details, materials and technical illustrations was presented. Both to provide concrete inspirational material but also to allow the facilitator explain technical issues related to loudspeaker technology.

After the theme and tech presentation three abstract themes were presented using moodboards. One theme – one moodboard. The abstract themes were “Brands” (moodboard with four brand names with logo), “Personalities” (four pictures of persons) and “Architecture” (pictures of buildings). After a question round, coffee and candy each team member set off to produce as many ideas as possible and visualise and present the best ones. The rest of the three days was semi-structured meaning that individual idea generation was encouraged but at the end of each day a common meeting took place to ensure everyone had gained momentum and to track the progress as the twenty ideas was a common goal. Hence everyone had to ensure that the others had continuous progress else the goal would be missed.

The Wall Sticker Speaker Concept

Designer’s comment: The idea is to allow a little DIY into the user’s speaker configuration without ruining the aesthetics. Each speaker-unit should be sold separately and connecting the units in different setups should be hassle free. Hence, “click-swap” fittings in which the cords are mounted are chosen for wall mounting. I especially like how it’s possible to make a hovering speaker. However, if someone chooses to buy only treble units we’d definitely have to design a subwoofer for the system. I’d love to do this…

The Board Speaker Concept

Designer’s comment: This could be a highly decorative variant of an electrostatic speaker. My primary source for inspiration for this concept is snowboards. I like the potential in letting the user place speakers more freely than today. The speaker could lie on the floor (it’s robust and there’s no problem in letting people stand on the speakers) or hang on the wall either in the cord or specialized racks could be made. The decorative surface elements and the selected materials allow several variants to be constructed – just like snowboards.

The PowerTool Speaker Concept

Designer’s comment: If someone wants building site aesthetics to enter the living room this is the chance. The rigid frame allows flexible positioning and changes the speaker’s perception as a static object to something that can and should be moved around to accommodate different use situations.

The JamJar Speaker Concept

Designer’s comment: How would you like to reuse your glass jars as small speakers for your computer? Just replace the lid with the screw top speaker and bingo. There it is! Feel free to experiment with different jar shapes to obtain the sound that suits your ear. However, some sort of damping cushion should be inserted I guess. These should be available in a lot of different shapes and colours to further allow your speaker to be YOUR SPEAKER.

The Audi Logo Speakers Concept

Designer’s comment: Actually, I used Audi’s logo as inspiration and actually it’s a very direct interpretation for these doughnut speakers. The wireless speakers come with charging stations that also serve as the primary stand for positioning. By making the speakers detachable from the stand it becomes easy to setup different listening scenarios. Also one could imagine that the user would bring a speaker along if – for some reason – the user would go to another room. One “main speaker” has a volume control for individual adjustment if the remote control or stereo set isn’t reachable.

The Body Speaker Concept

Designer’s comment: Clearly, inspiration has been drawn from the female body. I love the idea of a hovering human size speaker suspended in wires. Both a top and bottom wire will be needed. The organic shape is emphasized by the red parting line. Also the red line divides the large surfaces whereby a more interesting overall aesthetic is reached making the speaker a pleasure to see from both front and back.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Made by Design (and particularly Mikkel Schmidt) for offering TFTS an intriguing insight into their work. Should you wish to view more of their designs or would like to verse yourself more fully with their design agency we would urge you to take a look at their (pretty cool, flash based)website as linked below and/or their blog (also linked)

Alternatively, if you are a designer or are part of a design agency that would like to be featured on TFTS we would warmly welcome your contact (you can get in touch via our contact form linked in the main, top of page menu)

Made by Makers / MBM Blog

Hmmm … it’s not often I start a review with those words but then this invention is making me ponder somewhat into the mind of the designer/inventor, like … is he on drugs??? The “Hitch” is an object that was borne in the mind of someone nuts or simply sporting a grand sense of humour.

The Hitch, designed by Robert Nightingale, is a concept that would like to see that all people can “hitch a ride” so to speak, using triple load vacuum suction cups as a means of “sticking” yourself to a host vehicle and zipping away. He believes that transport and “hitching” in particular ought to be freelly accessible and this is his thought on how to establish this as the norm.

The designer had this to say:
“For best results position yourself at traffic lights, railway stations or air hangers. Subtly wait for the opportune moment (which is precisely 7 seconds before the initial point of acceleration) and attach the product as firmly as possible to the host vehicle (a brief run up usually does the trick), paying attention to ground clearance for ones feet and enjoy the ride…”

Robert Nightingale has obviously not considered that this is all fine and dandy as long as people learn to drive safely, but seeing as though this is impossible to establish i foresee people getting squished against walls and other vehicles in the near future. Let’s also not forget dilly teens and their ludicrous ideas! This will become the next adrenalin rushing-die-to-do sport!

Needless to say. I’m no fan! Despite desperately wanting a velcro wall in my home, I cannot fathom throwing myself at a moving vehicle in the hope that I’ll get from point A to point B safely!

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So I went house hunting this past week and what shocked me more than the prices were how small everything was. I was trying to imagine my furniture sitting in a room the size of a postage stamp? Well, it seems John Nouanesing has come up with a bright idea (yet again); Fix-It-On-The-Wall furniture artwork!

Despite it only being a concept, the designers of the well renowned, and previously featured “Geekini” have come up with a space saving solution for all those young starters who are forced to squish their hand-me-down furniture into a room somewhat resembling a hamster cage. The Fix-It-On-The-Wall furniture artwork acts as a modern piece of abstract artwork (3 Dimensional of course) which doubles up as a D.I.Y table and 4 cushions for that surprise dinner party you were having.

The concept Fix-It-On-The-Wall furniture artwork is 1600 x 1600 x 150 mm and fits snugly up against any wall. It is made of ABS plastic, leather and fitted carpet and will also come in a range of customisable prints and colours – perfect for your own unique style and vibe.

So next time you have a dinner party planned (for four) simply pop the table top, legs and 4 cushions from the “frame” and snap it all together in a jiffy for a great conversation piece and a delightful space-saving idea from John Nouanesing.

P.S. Although we are not sure, there’s a rumour that John Nouenesing will be manufacturing some of their concepts come December ’08 so keep an eye peeled for some exciting news!!!

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We all know that according to rumours paper is out and electronic reading is in. I’m still not sure as I love the idea of the crisp paper between my finger tips. However if rumours are correct then this electronic newspaper by Plastic Logic will be the way of the future.

Plastic Logic’s electronic newspaper is said to be an electronic tablet type design that will incorporate e-ink technology and be able to download news (via wireless internet capabilities) to it’s surface where it can be read. Colour photographs are not in the cards as yet due to e-ink only functioning in black, however, as technology marches on, this may become a thing of the past.
The 21.5 x 28 cm electronic newspaper will be able to read Pdf’s, word, excel and powerpoint presentations as well which will make it much easier to share information on this big screen, so to speak.

Unlike other conceptual designs that never make it past the drawing board, this particular concept will be in prototype stage by the CES exhibition in January, 2009. This is good news for all those news and info freaks out there …

So who knows? Maybe by this time next year you’ll be reading TFTS from the electronic paper via an RSS feeder!

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Concept week is definitely here to stay apparently what with the new “Spark” being announced. The Spark is a UMPC and considered more portable than a laptop due to its compact design.

Project Inkwell and Ideo designers have come up with this concept that is said to be designed with a brightly coloured, wide screen display, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, full qwerty keyboard and wireless mouse.

You’re wondering how you can eventually get one? Well, you might not … this Spark forms part of an educational project which has been set out to educate children under the age of 12. It will also hopefully be used to educate children in poorer areas (Africa etc) as it should be cheaper and easier to use than laptops and desktops.

This is most definitely the biggest rival of the OLPC XO-1 (priced around 100-150 dollars) which was also made with the same purpose in mind … Now it is simply a case of who makes this dream a reality first. The benefits will be gift enough once we have a world filled with educated children, adults and everyone in between!

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Another concept design you say? Yes. Today is all about the future and what we can hope to be seeing in the next few weeks or years. This concept is an IDSA 2008 finalist; Kuan-Sheng’s Matching Tree for libraries.

Kuan-Sheng, inspired by natural and organic designs, chose the tree as a basis for his final work of art. The concept behind this shelving system is to utilize the “tree” to extend between floor and ceiling by means of round disks. The ingenious “V” shape allows for equalized weight distribution as well as to protect it from falling during an earthquake.

The Matching Tree houses books on shelves suspended by a tree looking frame, the frame comes equipped with an in-built ladder that can easily be adjusted higher or lower from the frame in order to reach books on various shelves without the aid of external ladders, systems or random perching library helpers.

Initially I looked at this wacky design and wondered just how it would fit into my perfect ideal library and after a few ticks, realized it was actually very modern and yet quite organic – interior designers will be having a blast!

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So it’s concept day at TFTS and I have another offering to titivate your eyeballs with. The OLED laptop is a concept scroll type laptop designed for Nokia by Rodrigo Mercado.

The scroll-like design may look somewhat bizarre and incredibly futuristic but one thing is for sure, this is a definate reality in years to come – shifting ideas in design through technological advancement.

The OLED design will offer bright and exceptional colour images within a wide angle frame. It will also have lower power usage and a higher contrast ratio which is good news as we will be able to utilize all these goodies when using functions such as skype etc.

This concept OLED laptop will also be voice activated so forget about those typing lessons and get ready for the future and while you’re at it, get excited because OLEDS require no backing light and the fast response times will make movie streaming a breeze.

I’m sure as time goes by, more and more specs will be put to paper but for the interim, just drool at the pretty pictures like I did!

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It’s always difficult assuming and wondering what the next future tech release will encompass but we feel that we have done just enough research to discuss the theories surrounding Microsoft’s Xbox 720.

According to recent speculations and various articles, we can safely assume that Microsoft’s newest offering, namely the Xbox 720, will be released in 2011. We believe also, that not only will Xbox be arriving as soon as this, but Playstation 4 will be hot on the heels and desperately aiming for a similar launch date (if not sooner in 2011). This speculation comes from the Crytek President and CEO, Cevat Yerli.

We would like to think that Xbox wont be trying to follow in the footsteps of the Nintendo Wii and so expect the following with regard to Xbox 720; 16 or 32 processing cores (including onboard graphics), 8GB of DDR memory, broadband connectivity and a hard disk that delivers terabytes rather than gigabytes of storage space.

Terabytes, you ask? Well let’s just say that the biggest issue in the Xbox is the fact that 60GB just doesn’t cut it anymore! Playstation 3 already released a 160GB hard drive which is more in line with what consumers need. We should be seeing a trend to being able to download bigger games, movies and the like straight from the downloadable source, without having to worry about storage (or the lack thereof more likely) …

We’re also assuming that what with all this space and power we’ll be needing to make our lives fun, game and download friendly, something such as an intel processor should be on the cards.

If all these speculations are correct, then 2011 roll on up … I need my new console baby!

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Who thought cameras could get any more sci-fi than they already are? Well, the LUPE, designed by Seoghwan Choi, is a new concept touchscreen camera about to rock our world of flimsy misconceptions.

The Lupe has been created in such a way that it involves a series of quality glass lenses in conjunction with a succession of translucent touchscreens which will work hand-in-hand to capture magnified images both near and far (in a stunning macro-like fashion)

This gorgeous window-like camera allows you to simply touch the image (on screen) that you wish to photograph and the camera will automatically focus in on it as if you were peering through a window at it (very Alice in Wonderland, you’ll have to agree!)

The clarity of images produced by this camera are like nothing we will have ever seen before and will  change our perceptions on macro photography and the requirements for producing such high definition images in years to come.

Beside this of course, this is one HOT little design and would look incredible in anyone’s hands. Yes, I want one!

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You may have realised by now that my tastes are somewhat varied and eccentric so it will come as no surprise as to why I have picked this next item – The Ying Yang Camera, designed by the Polish designer Kubasek Krzysztof.

The Ying Yang concept camera is not only unique in its design but also impressive in its layout; one half of the camera houses the storage and USB connection, while the other half boasts the LCD screen and camera. Pretty nifty and definitely gets my 10 out of 10 for out of the box thinking.

The idea behind this impressive design is that the storage/USB part of the ying-yang can be removed effortlessly and then placed directly into your computer, thereby taking the hassle and fuss away by finding cables to connect the camera to the pc for image swapping and synchronisation.

This all sounds marvellous but we must remember that this is still in the conceptual stage of its creation and although we (I of course mean “I”) want it now, we will just have to keep our eyes and ears peeled for the next sneak preview into the future of this camera.

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It seems like every new invention gets whopped with an “I” in front of it and it’s no different with this gadget either. The iBasket Laundry Basket is a new concept in household technology that is set to change the way you view dirty laundry.

The iBasket laundry basket is said to ensure dirty odours are removed from your laundry as it circulates fresh air, throughout the bundle, while it stands waiting for its wash. Of course we wouldn’t be THAT impressed unless it had some more offerings to tantalise our quench for absolutely fabulous gadgets, which is why we are thrilled to announce its sms/text ability. Apparently, this concept design by Guopeng Liang, will instant message you via Wi-Fi as to the current status of your basket. You’ll agree that this is impressive by any standard.

Apparently Guopeng Liang’s idea was to take the common day-to-day hassle out of washing by creating a system whereby everything could be done all in one, so to speak. In theory, while your hamper is being filled, clean air will filtrate throughout the clothes, allowing them to breathe and combat odours. Once your hamper is full, you will be notified via a text message and the iBasket Laundry Basket will begin washing your clothes for you (ignore all preconceptions and images involving a basket with arms and washer-woman hands) The iBasket is theoretically a hamper and washing machine all-in-one!

FANTASTIC news for lazy students and busy working parents!

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Coming from a well known third world country, and being rather sensitive to these issues as a caring soul, the theory behind the designboom.com Shelter Cart competition struck me as very interesting.

The concept of the competition was to create a shelter cart to benefit those homeless who needed something that could benefit them during their daily lives.

Although this competition is quite old; one design, in particular, has stood out among the rest. Gregor Timlin with the help of Barry Sheehan of Sharc Design came up with this nifty invention that not only houses the homeless but makes their travelling and “collections” that much easier to handle.

It is not that uncommon to see homeless people struggling along, collecting bottles, cardboard and other various knick-knacks to help earn a few cents here and there; particularly here in Africa where millions of people are jobless and without even the basic day to day necessities that we take for granted, such as running water and proper sanitation.

While, Gregor Timlin has categorically stated that “the project is not seen as a solution to the social problem of the homeless but instead as a method of raising awareness about the issue,” one can only hope that such a great idea and concept will be put to good use in the future, perhaps as an advertising tool for companies, and in turn a fabulous way to protect the many homeless who need a place to call home.

Besides, these unsung heroes deserve something special as a thank you for their never-ending work on cleaning, clearing and general recycling in my opinion.

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! TFTS EXCLUSIVE !

By way of introduction to this new category, as regular readers of Thoughts from the Sidelines will know we have a great deal of time for concepts as they offer a tantalising insight as to what our future may hold as envisaged by those who are ultimately shaping the world around us.

One could argue that concepts are, on a base level, mere flights of fancy that result in little more than glossy renderings that offer little in the way of credibility but, in the vast majority of cases nothing could be further from the truth as, behind the imagery invariably lays a considerable amount of research, development and feasibility studies and a seemingly endless amount of tweaks and revisions.

Our aim, in this new category, is to offer a deeper insight into some of the concepts that have caught our attention here at TFTS by contacting the designer and asking them to offer a little background into their work and we are overjoyed to start off with a designer by the name of Guillermo Sureda-Burgos whose magnificent submersible concepts have seen us salivating over our keyboards for many an hour.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Guillermo for taking his time to talk with TFTS and for providing us with a wealth of exclusive imagery concerning his concept work. (Needless to say that if you are a designer who would like to have your work featured here please feel more than free to contact us via our contact form).

Guillermo Sureda-Burgos’s XS100 Trio Alpha & XS100 Duo Beta Personal Submersible Concepts

XS100 Duo Beta Personal Submersible

As of now there are three concept vehicles; XS100 Trio Alpha, XS100 Duo Beta, and the XS100 Duo Delta. Trio Alpha was the first and although it’s center of flotation, buoyancy, and pressure vessels etc. were all calculated correctly as required to get close to ABS (America Bureau of Shipping) requirements, it was a “rushed” design, and lacks a serious structure, realistic bulkheads, or other finishing details that were included on the Duo Beta.

On Beta’s model even the bolts and the fiberglass resin were taken into account. This is very important in this particular type of submarine, as it dives dynamically, developing negative lift with forward movement. There are no ballast or trim tanks, this simplifies operation dramatically and ensures some safety in the form of an always present positive buoyancy; but requires very careful attention to weight distribution during design.

XS100 Duo Beta Personal Submersible

These machines are designed to operate with exactly the same dry/wet weight on every dive. Included on the spreadsheet is a fixed per passenger weight of 250lbs (97.5 percentile male, and great incentive to loose weight!) plus 20lbs for additional equipment/water/ etc.. To compensating for different passenger & equipment loading, when boarding the sub, each person must be weighted with any extra objects carried; the combined weight must not exceed the 270lbs, if it is less, lead ballast is added to the PVHO (Pressure Vessel for Human Occupancy) until the design weight is reached.

The third model, Delta I am working on my free time(no renderings yet, only screen captures), it is also a 2 person vehicle but it’s shape follows more modern thoughts on hull design, a more efficient structure and power source improvements, this last one possibly the most critical since it is the heaviest component and the fastest changing with new technologies.

Since the original market was luxury yacht owners, I am figuring out ways to reduce weight, and simplify operation as much as possible. For this target sector performance is not as much related to depth or speed as it is to reliability or comfort and of course safety; although the fact that each passenger sits in it’s own Pressure Vessel allows easy reinforcement for grater depth, and more powerful propulsion systems can be added too (Increasing weight and battery consumption too). Similar sized crafts with less attention to hydrodynamics archive 4-6 knots, I have not performed Fluid Dynamics test yet so anything on this regard is just a “guestimate” but maneuverability and speed should be much better for the attention to paid to dynamics alone.

The dead weight of flotation tanks full of water when under way takes toll, but large flotation tanks are needed to achieve one of the toughest ABS requirements for this kind of craft; a freeboard of 35 inches. The best example of the importance of this can be seen on the Subeo’s website images of their Gemini personal sub. If you play close attention you can see a photographs of their craft after the addition of flotation-not ballast tanks to achieve the freeboard necessary for certification, even for a conventional negative buoyancy submarine like theirs, achieving the freeboard must have been very hard and an expensive retro-fit. I placed the flotation tanks inside the hull for performance but on a frontal view you can see how wide the subs are.

Once again we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Guillermo Sureda-Burgos for taking the time offer TFTS readers a great insight into his work and for the imagery provided above which we feature here with permission.

If you are interested in reading more concerning Guillermo Sureda-Burgos’s fabulous personal submersible concepts or you would like to see his entire online portfolio or if you would simply like to make contact with Guillermo, we would urge you to do so by visiting his official website.