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Wearable Computer Expedition Reaches South Pole

Posted by michael on from the takes-a-licking-keeps-on-pinging dept.

henrym writes: "Tom and Tina Sjogren have reached the South Pole after skiing in for two months wearing portable computers. Their web site hasn't been updated to reflect this fact, but our station manager has just come back from greeting them as they reached the pole. Details of their expedition can be found at thepoles.com. Henry Malmgren, South Pole Station Network Engineer" It's not every day we get a story submission from the South Pole.

4 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. The website has now been updated by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 5, Informative
    The most recent entry now tells about their arrival at the Pole.

    S90 00 T08.30AM(Chile) Alt 3000m
    TT 12,0 h D 26,3 km TD 1133,1km/63days
    DSP 0 km (1100) sleds w 82 kg
    -37C/5kts, Sun As 2/3

    The last day turned every bit as hard as the previous. Chill of -70C and twelve hours travel. Already 24 km before the pole we spotted a building. It blew our mind and we started to run. But one hour and no breath later we slowed and watched the South Pole station grow before our eyes. We wrote frequent messages in the snow to each other and grand thoughts raced our brains interrupted only by the occasional roast turkey flying by.
    The polar station was backlit by the sun and it was like something from Waterworld. Or a base station on another planet. So unreal and so entirely awe-inspiring. Sounds of engines and mechanics, fumes and smell of industrial fuel, weird buildings and machines all lay deserted in the pale light. The station is on NZ time and we took it that everyone was to bed it being their midnight. It was like leaving the world of adventure and entering the world of science, although it is the same thing really.
    Except we couldn't find the stick marking the pole. We thought of knocking on the door of a hut and ask for the SP, but just then we noticed a crowd of perhaps 20 people in the distance. They waived and filmed. Cold and desperately tired we hurried over. It was the station guys up and waiting for us! We skied to the mark and they cheered us on. CNN was there for another coverage and so they got us too. There were flags everywhere and we watched each other like beings from different planets. We must have made some sight, frozen solid. After 60 days of isolation this was a very warm welcome. Well, we are in tent now, very tired and immensely happy. Hey guys, we made it!

    mark
    --

    If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
  2. Wow. some gear. by Triv · · Score: 3, Informative

    From the site:

    The technology

    High energy Solar Panels
    Wearable computing
    PDA
    Finger mouse
    Wrist key board
    Head mounted display
    Flat panel display
    Customized technology west's
    Shoulder mounted web camera
    Lithium-Ion batteries
    Satellite phone
    Power converters

    I was wondering how they powered all that stuff, and now I feel like an idiot. I was thinking fuel cells, batteries (which, granted, they did have) wind power and the rest, but completely missed THE SUN.

    Funny what you don't think about when you live in a metropolis. I miss the country. :)

    Triv

  3. another live south pole camera by ehackathorn · · Score: 3, Informative
    We set this camera up a couple months ago and it shows the construction of the new South Pole station. I think the camera on this guy's web site is broken. If it is the same camera I am thinking about, the picture looks pretty nasty a few weeks ago. We had to replace our old camera since it just froze to death...


    South Pole Live Camera.


    or check out our South Pole Web Page.

  4. Re: Power sources in Antarctica... by dargaud · · Score: 2, Informative

    So how do we get power down there ?

    Yeah the stations on the high Antarctic plateau may not have too much power requirements but they use mainly diesel generators.

    The Americans used a nuclear generator taken from a Sub years ago but they kept having problems with it and it's now been removed because the Antarctic Treaty forbids it.

    In summer there's plenty of sun, so solar panels are used, but in winter there's none. In the center of Antarctica there's not too much wind (I studied at Dome C where most winds are 'born' and there's not enough to power a fan. On the other hand, on the coast you get demented winds that will break anything.

    The French experimented with a heat transfer system that had it's highest efficiency in cold winds. The colder and faster the better. But it wasn't too conclusive.

    And if you just want power for your palmtop, take L91 Lithium Energizer batteries, the only ones that work below -50C...

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?