U.S.T.A.’s Top 3 Innovations in Technology

• 1. Morphing tire concept adapts to suit driving conditions

Kuhmo's Maxplo is designed to adapt to the road conditions, for ideal grip all-year round as the point of contact between a vehicle and the road, tires are one of the most important parts of a car. Unfortunately, there's no one size fits all, or rather, one tire fits all surfaces or weather conditions, tire and swapping them over when encountering changing conditions isn't exactly feasible. Kumho has come up with a concept tire that would avoid this problem by changing its tread to suit the conditions. Taking out a Platinum award in the Futuristic class on the Italian A’ Design Awards, Kumho's Maxplo tire takes the airless tire concept and takes things a few futuristic steps further. Rather than a fixed tread, it is designed to switch between a number of different surface configurations to deal with everything from dry to snow-covered roads. To pump water away from the contact patch between vehicle and road in wet conditions to prevent hydroplaning, the surface and circumference of the tire features specially-designed three-dimensional grooves. The placement of the grooves isn't just random or for show, with the design team using computer simulations to check the pattern's performance. If heading off road, the large intersectional tread blocks that make up the surface of the tire move apart, broadening the tire's footprint to increase traction. For snow and ice, the tire has one more trick up its sleeve in the form of spikes that remain hidden beneath the tread blocks in other conditions. To finish their futuristic concept off, the designers added a hydrogen fuel-powered electric hub motor. The tires would measure 700 x 700 x 250 mm (27.5 x 27.5 x 9.8 in) and weigh 12 kg (26.4 lb.)."While Maxplo may not be hitting our roads in the near future, many of its concepts will flow into tire design over the next few years, and the overall concept will continue to be refined with a view to one-day offering tires such as this to consumers," says David Basha, Kumho Tyre Australia manager of marketing and training.

Source: Kumho, A’ Design Awards

2. Nipi cooler stays icey for a week, powers your gadgets

The nipi cooler's solar panels deliver 6 W of peak power each and are used in pairs to provide power for electronic devices, such as smartphones or speakers (Credit: Francesca Emma)Above all else, it's important that any device does its bread-and-butter functionality well. The nipi cooler, which is currently the subject of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, is said to keep ice frozen for six full days, and comes packed with what its makers are calling "21st century survival features. “Like Solar Cool Technologies' Solar Cooler, the nipi has its own photovoltaic panels, but unlike the Solar Cooler these aren't used for cooling. The contents of the nipi are kept cool using a double-insulated lid and thick walls. It has 50 quarts (47 l) of cold storage space, which can accommodate around 70 cans. The solar panels deliver 6 W of peak power each and are used in pairs to provide power for 1,000 lumen internal and external LED lighting and electronic devices, such as smartphones or speakers. The panels can be mounted on the cooler's outer lid or set up away from the nipi cooler. It's also possible to attach additional panels to increase power provision. The cooler also comes with a 14,000 mAh lithium polymer battery, with a second being made available as an optional extra. We asked nipi's developers how its battery pack is charged up."nipi is expandable so it does vary depending if you have purchased extra batteries etc," they told us. "However to give an approximate guide based on the basic version with one panel and one 14,000 mAh battery, it takes about 7 hours with mains and the same with optimal conditions for solar. ‎Our solar panels use SunPower cells which are the highest efficiency in the world. "There are two USB ports on the cooler's exterior for charging mobile devices or powering Bluetooth speakers, for example, and a further two inside its dry lockable storage space, where valuables can be kept. A fully juiced up single battery is claimed capable of fully charging a smartphone seven times over. The developers also say that it will take less than an hour to charge a smartphone using a single PV panel.

3. NOMAD 7 SOLAR PANEL

Features

• Solar Capacity: 7W

• Power Output: USB, 12V

• Ideal for: Guide 10, Switch 8, Smartphone, GPS, Headlamp

• Weight: 0.8 lbs.

• Chainable: Yes

• Cell Type: Monocrystalline

Ultra lightweight and portable, weather-resistant solar panel enables you to charge handheld USB/12V gear directly from the sun. Use a Goal Zero portable power pack and store power for your gear day or night.