| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (26 min. 52 sec.) ; 162579503 bytes |
| Summary |
Featuring new ideas on how to snowboard any day of the year; bring cameras into line with the human eye; give dry drains a break.Hosted by James O'Loghlin, The New Inventors brings you the latest from the world of Australian invention. As we go through life encountering problems great and small, the inventors of Australia are thinking to themselves, "there must be a better way". Deciding the winner of these three inventions are: engineer James Bradfield Moody, inventor and journalist Christine Kininmonth and woodworker and teacher Richard Vaughan. Inventions featured on the program:THE SNOW TUNNEL by inventor Darren Visser from VIC. Australia is known as the land of surf and sun, but if snowboarding is your sport the opportunities are much more limited. Inventor Darren Visser loves combining sports with speed. In his spare time he enjoys snowboarding, jet skiing and motorbike riding, and currently holds the world tractor land speed record, at 55.8mph. He was first inspired to invent while on a trip to a theme park auction. His friend was playing in a kids' ride that worked like a human hamster wheel. He realised that if he could make a powered version it could be used for snowboarding. Darren set himself the ultimate scrap heap challenge, building the Snow Tunnel over five years with things he had collected from junk yards.The Snow Tunnel allows people to snowboard in a controlled environment at any time of the year, regardless of weather and at a fraction of the cost. The experience is like a cross between snowboarding and surfing. The invention is made from a corrugated steel cylinder that is 7m long and 4.8m in diameter. The barrel rotates on rollers by a frequency controller from 1-50km per hour. The speed is variable to suit anyone from beginners to expert snowboarders. The inside of the barrel is lined with 3km of piping that refrigerated glycol is pumped through at minus 10 degrees to create the effect of a snow field.LIVE LENS - by inventor Roland Butcher from WA. High contrast levels, where there is a big range between the brightest and darkest sections of an image, is one of the most frequent problems faced by video and stills photographers. Live Lens is an 'active' electro-optical filter that eliminates detail loss and allows the image to be recorded at the correct exposure level. The invention uses an optical chip that senses and instantly reacts to brightness levels. DRAINWAVE - by inventors David Fisher and Quintin Davenport from TAS. Australians have achieved significant reductions in water consumption through the widespread adoption of low flush toilets. However, this has created a problem in itself, with a sewer system designed for large flushes now struggling to cope with reduced water flows. The Drainwave collects grey water from sinks and washing machines, and combines this outside the house with black water from the toilet. When the water reaches 11 L, the Drainwave self-activates to release a batch of water, which surges through the pipe network to the main sewer line to minimise blockages |
| Event |
Broadcast 2009-11-18 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Inventions.
|
|
Photographic lenses.
|
|
Sewage disposal plants -- Environmental aspects.
|
|
Snowboarding -- Equipment and supplies.
|
|
Technological innovations.
|
|
Australia.
|
| Form |
Streaming video
|
| Author |
Butcher, Roland, contributor
|
|
Davenport, Quintin, contributor
|
|
Fisher, David, contributor
|
|
Kininmonth, Christine, contributor
|
|
Moody, James Bradfield, contributor
|
|
O'loghlin, James, host
|
|
Vaughan, Richard, contributor
|
|
Visser, Darren, contributor
|
|
