A team from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hexi University in China believe that by studying the superhydrophobicity of the water boatman’s hind wings, they can design a submarine that is not only capable of operating underwater, but also of maneuvering on the surface! Their research focuses on superhydrophobicity — the interaction between solids and liquids which gives water boatmen the amazing ability to swim, breathe, balance and ‘skate’ over the surface of lakes and ponds.  

Read the rest of Water Boatman Bug Inspires New Submarine Design That Could Skate On Top of the Ocean!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bio mimicry, biomimicry, corixidae, hexi university, submarine, submarine design, water boatmen, water vehicle design

Read the rest of Submarine Transformed into World’s First Deep Sea Bar

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: adaptive reuse, Baltic Sea, Branding, eco design, green design, Guinness, LED lights, Nicholas Alexander, Stockholm Archipelago, submarine, sustainable design, Sweden

The US Navy is currently testing a microbial fuel cell powered underwater device that, instead of harvesting electricity from microbial cell growth like most microbial fuel cell devices, harvests gas and heat to provide buoyancy and a small amount of energy for its low-power sensors. The device is called the Zero Power Ballast Control (ZPBC) and the Navy hopes to eventually use it to visually monitor the ocean’s depths and to monitor ocean temperatures over long periods of time.

Read the rest of US Navy Tests Bacteria-Powered Fuel Cell Underwater Monitoring Device

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "clean energy", "sustainable energy", green energy, microbial electricity, microbial energy, microbial energy harvesting, microbial fuel cell, military research, navy research, self powered, self propelling underwater device, submarine, underwater sensor, unmanned submarine

First there was the bicycle, then the pedalo boat, then the pedal-powered aircraft — and now, thanks to a team of French engineers, the world has the pedal-powered submarine. The mini-sub, nicknamed the ‘Scubster’ is entirely human-powered and is designed so that the ‘driver’ only has to pedal to propel it underwater. The craft features a pedal belt connected to a twin-propeller system that, depending on the fitness of the driver, can reach speeds of up to 8km an hour (5mph). The mini-sub can currently reach a depth of 6 meters (20 ft), making it perfect for peddling through rivers, and shallow ocean excursions.

Read the rest of French Engineers Design a Pedal-Powered Submarine

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: france, french pedal powered submarine, pedal-powered submarine, scubster, scubster french submarine, scubster pedal power, submarine, yellow submarine