This ain’t no shaggin’ wagon, fellas. In fact, after a ride on this baby, you might not be in the mood for a light romp for a few days. The 53-foot-long Heart FXPod tractor holds five separate simulators, each using a special chair, a set of foot pedals and a pneumatic vest in order to help doctors better understand the symptoms of congestive heart failure.

As the doctors are strapped into their seats they are asked to watch an interactive video of a CHF patient taking a walk through a park. While they watch, they’re also pedaling away, simulating the walking of the patient. As the CHF patient starts becoming winded, the simulation kicks in, showing doctors just how it feels to have congestive heart failure.

Read the rest of this entry »

Summer’s the time to spend as much waking hours as possible outdoors, and what better way than to do it in style with the Hov Pod?

The New Hov Pod SPX hovercraft design is unique; Hov Pods are far stronger, more buoyant than glass fibre hovercraft models; very rugged and strong so suitable for commercial, patrol and rescue hovercraft use. New tooling and manufacturing processes have been necessary to keep up with growing demand for the Hov Pod; we now probably ship more small hovercraft than any other supplier; drive one and discover why. Customers literally get blown away by the Hov Pod! Great for family outings, hunting and fishing trips - experience the unique sensation of traveling on a cushion of air, over any flat surface at speeds up to 45 mph. Wow factor comes as standard, miles of smiles for folk of all ages.

I’m pretty sure these will cost you a bomb, no doubt about it. If you’re a working class citizen with very little extra income to spare each month, better start looking for cheaper summer fun alternatives.

We know all about fast, exotic cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but this piece of news really irks me. In an age where most people are working together to preserve what’s left of the earth by minimizing our carbon footprint, along comes a sheikh who has more money than sense to fly his Lamborghini all the way fro Qatar to Britain - for an oil change. Of course, he had the help of Qatar Airways in shipping his Murcielago LP640 for approximately a 6,500 mile round trip that cost him around $39,000, but that obscene waste of money is the least of his concerns - what about the environmental crater he left behind? Ironically, the servicing cost a “mere” $7,030.47. I know this isn’t really tech-related, but the next time we go out and buy our next gadget, let’s try to make an environmentally positive choice, why don’t we?

Source: Wired

It goes without saying that having some sort of car-based computer these days is the in-thing, as in-dash DVD players don’t just make the cut any more. KNGT of Korea has just launched a new multimedia-capable car PC known as icom MK1, and this will be powered by Windows XP. It will come with a 6.95″ wide touch screen display (why can’t they just use a 7″ display instead beats me) at 800 x 480 resolution, an on-screen keyboard, and Wi-Fi connectivity that is able to stay connected via telecommunication service providers such as SK, KT and Nespot. You ought not to get lost with the icom MK1 since it boasts an Internet map for you to get around.

Source: AVing

Okay, time for something that everybody wants to read about, the jet pack! Back when I was a kid, I longed for the day when everyone would have one of these. Considering that this is the new millennium, I am really disappointed that someone has not mass-marketed these by now.

I believe that we are well on our way to jet pack proliferation with designer Glenn Martin’s model. It isn’t really a jet pack, per se, because there are no jets involved. Martin uses two gasoline-fueled 200 horsepower fans, which make the jet pack louder than a jet plane.

I suppose the lack of flaming afterburners is why Martin says that his jetpack is the safest. Another reason is that it comes with a built-in parachute, which will hopefully be a standard safety feature for every jetpack.

Read the rest of this entry »

When AC/DC wrote their metal classic “Highway To Hell”, who could have ever predicted that the song would be taken so literally? Of course, what else are we supposed to do with all of those spare coffins we have lying around the house? I, for one, don’t plan on using them for anything productive anytime soon.

Get dressed in your finest suit and prepare for the ride of your life. This photo tutorial shows you how a simple coffin became much more than just a death trap. These Coffin Cars have all of the leg room you could ever need, not to mention it provides a nice place to sleep if you become stranded… forever. Muahahahah!

Read the rest of this entry »

Man, and I thought that bicycles are meant to make you break out in a sweat to help keep those pounds off as you attack uphills and slopes, but once again technology is here to make life easy with the Automatic Transmission Electric Bicycle.

This is the electric bicycle that uses automatic transmission to downshift into a lower gear when it senses a hill, upshifts for rapid acceleration up to 20 mph on flats, or allows you to pedal normally because the motor can be disengaged at your command. Powered by a 750-watt electric motor housed in the horizontal chain and motor assembly that provides 1 hp, the 8-speed automatic transmission is capable of four modes of operation, all controlled by a thumb toggle on the handlebars: a setting for rapid acceleration, a low gear setting for inclines (but slower acceleration), and a setting for manual gear shifting that disengages the motor to preserve battery life. Construction begins with a 12′ straight piece of 3/8-gauge, aircraft aluminum 6061 alloy that is roll-formed and annealed for uniform wall thickness into a complete 6′ diameter circular tube with a 4″ interior diameter (the NiMH batteries reside within the tube from the front fork to the seat), which is then bisected to make a 6′ long arc for the bicycles frame. The sturdy frame supports riders up to 300 lbs.

Of course, the Automatic Transmission Electric Bicycle might not burn a hole in the ozone layer but it will surely do a number on your pockets as it retails for a cool $5,500.

Last summer, we reported that Spider-man 3 broke the record for the most successful opening weekend. I’ve just heard that this record has been broken by The Dark Knight, which is on the verge of becoming the best superhero movie ever.

I’m sure a lot of you saw it over the weekend. Some of you might have been greatly impressed by the Batpod, director Christopher Nolan’s take on the classic bat-cycle, without the sidecar for Robin. The Batpod was designed by Nathan Crowley, the same man who designed the Tumbler from the Batman Begins.

Read the rest of this entry »