sQuba, world's first swimming car

Three decades ago James Bond (then enacted by British star Roger Moore) wowed the world with a car that could 'fly' under water in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. Only, it was animation and not an actual scene.

But Frank M Rinderknecht, the 52-year-old automobile visionary and boss of Swiss automaker Rinspeed, has turned a dream into reality with his 'sQuba.' Rinspeed sQuba is the most exciting thing at this year's Geneva Motor Show and is creating many a ripple.

sQuba is the world's first real submersible car that can 'move like a fish underwater'. It can dive up to 32.8 feet (10 mt) below the surface of the water and can move at a sedate 1.8 miles per hour.

The sQuba has an open cockpit for 'safety reasons' (so that people can get out easily anytime in case of an emergency). The occupants of the car have to breathe compressed air through built-in scuba masks.

sQuba is an electric car that uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and 3 electric motors for propulsion. It is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions.

The 'sQuba's' filling station is the water reservoir.? It is no surprise that the vehicle features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology.

The first car that could drive underwater was Quandt's Amphibicar, built in 1968. Only 3,878 were produced but many are still being driven on roads.

Then Gibbs Technologies came up with Gibbs Aquada in 2004 which Virgin boss Richard Branson used to break the speed record for crossing the English Channel.
However, the sQuba seems to be the most exciting of them all.

To drive on the roads, the sQuba 'relies on a stainless coil-over suspension from KW automotive and large Pirelli tires mounted on custom-made forged light-weight wheels from AEZ with 17- and 18-inch diameters.'


Technical data

Measurements

Length ----- 3'785 mm
Width ----- 1''940 mm
Height ----- 1'117 mm
Wheelbase ----- 2?300 mm
Track front ----- 1?470 mm
Track rear ----- 1?520 mm
Ground clearance ----- 130 mm
Empty weight ----- approx. 920kg


Performances

Top speed ----- > 120 km/h
Acceleration 0-80 km/h ----- 7.1 sec
Water speed ----- > 6 km/h
Under water speed ----- > 3 km/h
Dive depth ----- 10 m

Engines

Street ----- Electric
Power output ----- max. 54 kW at 4'500 /min
Torque ----- 160 NM at 1'500 /min
Water - Stern propellers ----- Electric
Power output ----- 2 x 800 W
Diving - bow jet drives ----- Electric
Power output ----- 2 x 3.6 kW Rotinor
Batteries ----- Lithium-Ionen
Voltage ----- 6 x 48 Volt

Propulsion

Power train ----- Rear wheel drive
Gearbox ----- R - N - F
Suspension
Chassis ----- Steel
Body panels ----- Carbon Nano Tubes
Seating capacity ----- 2
Front suspension ----- Double wishbone
Rear suspension ----- Double wishbone
Dampers/springs ----- KW automotive
Steering ----- Rack & pinion

Tyres

Front tyres ----- Pirelli P Zero 205/40 R17
Front wheels ----- AEZ 7.5 x 17"
Rear tyres ----- Pirelli P Zero 225/40 R18
Rear wheels ----- AEZ 8 x 18"
Miscellaneous
Air supply ----- 1 x 15 liter + 1 x 18 liter ScubaPro
Laser scanner ----- Ibeo
Lubricants ----- Motorex

Pictures
You can enjoy the pictures here :































Video In Action
While picture is worth 1000 words, Video is 1000 times better than picture. You can enjoy live sQuba in action here:

blog.ahfr.org : Making animated GIFs with GIMP and mplayer

I come across very good tutorial on
blog.ahfr.org - Making Animated GIFs With Free Software in Four Steps. It covers steps of creation of animated GIFs in crisp language. Also it shows how to use free open source tool. Excellent tutorial.

Thanks to Noha to allow me to showcase the work = HowTo. :D)

Thought these Downloads would be useful supplement

• MPlayer related:


Mplayer Downloads

The Mplayer Frontend for Windows (MPUI)

MPlayer FreshMeat Project

MuldeR's Homepage has Some cool projects on MPlayer For Windows and MPlayer engine based tools.

MakeInstantPlayer is a tool for converting video files into self-running executables. This is very useful for distributing videos, as the user doesn't need any additional software for playback.


• GIMP for windows:


Installers for GIMP for windows

GIMP for the windows

c4lpt : Top Tools for Learning : Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies

You may be wondering what is C4LPT. It is a "Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies".

The Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies provides a number of resources, consultancy services and workshops to help you understand more about how Web 2.0 technologies and tools are creating a new approach to learning (in both in education and the workplace learning) known as Learning 2.0 or Social Learning.

Well, I have missed an opportunity to uncover this resource to contribute ( to vote) for Top 100 Tools for Learning Spring 2008. The deadline is passed on March 31st. The contribution is welcome throughout the year ...By the way :)

But anyway the list will be sent as a pdf file if you like to get the results. Please visit Center for Learning and performance technologies and give your email id.

While you are around you can take a chance to send your top 10 tools to Jane Hart : Head of the Centre. You would need to provide some information about yourself, about your favorite tools plus you get to clarify guidelines about the tools in Share section.

You can take a pick at contributors in Top 10s tab. There is a good chance that you may appear on the website for your choice of tools. To get showcase on the site, you may send a note to Jane Hart with your top 10 tools.

There are lots of educational tools listed here in tools directory. The tools in this Directory are both freeware/open source and commercial. I am glad to see some of my favorite tools like del.icio.us, blogger, Google Docs, PidGin, FireFox etc has been listed as top tools.

Could you please let know your favorite top learning and productivity tools...???

Cheers...