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Here's Paul Gierow's "big ball of connectivity" - satellite communications anywhere, anytime, via a blow-up antenna -
No, it's not a giant beach ball. It's an ultralight, ultraportable antenna tucked inside an inflatable shell that can pull down a superfast broadband satellite connection at any location. The GATR-Com is designed for disaster-relief responders, far-flung video producers and front-line troops--anyone whose job (or life) depends on getting digital information--video, Internet, calls--in and out of remote places.INVENTION AWARDS A Big Ball of Connectivity - Popular Science Link.
Very cool! Plus they look like the death star.
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I'm not sure how fast you'd need to deploy these things in real life but the inflation phase of the game seemed painfully slow (hard to really be sure given the time compressed nature of the video). They need something like a forge blower - lots more cfm and can be hand cranked if you have to rely on batteries.
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Wow. This is a variation on an idea I gave to NASA some years back for using inflatable antennae on interplanetary spacecraft (after they lost the Mars lander before Opportunity). I was sure my idea was viable, even though the droobs at NASA didn't, so I feel both vindicated and robbed. (Oh well, it's not like it hasn't happened hundreds of times before.)
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Hmm. I see the guy worked at NASA that explains a lot. The guy's done a lot of work on this, but that doesn't excuse intellectual property theft. Since this was my idea and I communicated via email with NASA about it, shouldn't I get a small royalty? Please contact me. I think $1000.00 per unit would be fair. TogetherinParis@gmail.com
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Anyone can have an idea, if you're ideas are so great you should patent them otherwise you don't have any right to royalties.
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Please someone tell me what the material is for this inflatable, how heavy is it and can my students make one?!
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