The Private Islands Blog » Island Technology

Solar Powered Self Phone Charger

The Islomaniac® — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:01:44 +0000

On many private islands around the world the sun is plentiful but power is at a premium. This is why many island owners are turning to alternative energy sources to power their appliances and products.

One of the most efficient and economical of thse products is the solar powered phone charger. A new solar panel cell phone charging system by Nokero has recently been attracting a lot of attention. The Nokero system can fully charge a dead phone in about one and a half hours, using only the sun.

Nokero designed the panels initially to be used by impoverished villages around the globe that have little access to electricity (although they surprisingly have cell phones). However they would be ideal for anyone living in a remote locations.

Nokero chargers are currently available online in sample-only prices, at $29 and $49. A benefit to all eco-conscious cell phone users, the purchase of Nokero’s chargers by urban customers would increase demand, and potentially drive prices even lower for the intended off grid impoverished cell phone users.

The Octuri Wind Powered Yacht/Plane

The Islomaniac® — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 05:47:52 +0000

Put this on the list of things that every wealthy island owner should have. Designer Yelken Octuri has created a flying yacht for Omani princes Aziz, Dawood and Hashim. The flying yacht was designed to allow the princes to enjoy sailing along the Omani coastline. Four masts retract to become wings as the yacht turns into a plane.

The yacht plane is powered by four dual propeller Nissen & Brasseur powerhead engines. But when used as a yacht, the craft is essentially wind-powered, making it a super-efficient way to transition from sea to air transport and save energy while on the water.

In addition to being ideal for middle eastern royalty it would no doubt be great or island owners who could fly to their island then convert their plane into a pleasure craft to sail around the neighboring islands.

Portable Solar Powered Boat

The Islomaniac® — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 05:14:07 +0000

Solar Powered Catamaran

This could all be possible if the Solar Powered Catamaran pictured here is built. The boat which seats four is adorned with a sheet of solar cells that provide enough power to propel the boat through the water. In addition when done the boat can be folded up and stored into the average sized rooftop car container.

Although the catamaran has not been built yet it is another example of how technological development, particularly green technology is making island development easier and more accessible.

Source: Inhabitat

Floating eco-village for Haiti

The Islomaniac® — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:00:35 +0000

After the tragic earthquake in Haiti last year many engineers and designers are looking for ways to prevent this disaster from happening again. One amazing alternative housing concept that has been proposed comes from world famous architect Vincent Callebaut. His coral reef design is a floating housing concept designed to house up to 1,000 Haitian families. Built upon seismic piers off the coast of the mainland, the prefabricated, modular units can be fit into a wave-like matrix as space is needed. Each family would have a plot of land to grow their own food, and their passive home would minimize energy usage, while renewable energy sources would make the entire project carbon neutral.

Source: Inhabitat

Underwater Skyscrapers to Clean the Ocean

The Islomaniac® — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 05:18:52 +0000

If there is anything that iritates island dwellers more than privacy intrusions its water pollution! Fortunately new technology is being developed to help clean up the oceans and make the water safer for both islanders and mainlanders!

Serbian designers have recently proposed a series of giant underwater skyscrapers that would be tasked with cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that would collect and recycle the waste into a source of energy.

The underwater sky scraper was inspired by the Eiffel Tower and flipped upside down in the water. The lower portion of the tower collects and stores plastic waste until it can be recycled in the middle section of the tower. Above the skyscrapers are office space and then residential units that sticks out above the water creating floating man made islands.

Ballasts take in or release water to control the buoyancy of the tower depending on how much waste has been collected. Meanwhile the recycled trash is processed to create fuel for use to run the facility or elsewhere. The waste will be heated in the recycling chamber and converted into a gas that will be stored in massive battery like structures.
Read more: Underwater Skyscrapers Recycle Waste From Great Pacific Garbage Patch Lady Landfill Skyscraper – Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

The Ark: A Floating Hotel for an Uncertain Future

The Islomaniac® — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:34:19 +0000

With arable land becoming increasingly scarce and waters rising around the world, developers and engineers are looking at alternatives to finding places to lodge our ever growing population.

Russian architectural firm Remistudio has taken the concept of a man-made biosphere and gone to sea with its vision for the floating “Ark Hotel.” Designed to withstand floods, tidal waves and rising ocean levels as well as earthquakes and other natural disasters, the hotel concept would float and function independently on the surface of a body of water, providing a green, self-sustaining environment for guests who presumably, would never have to leave.

For more information on this unique development visit gizmag

Iceburg Cabin

The Islomaniac® — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:02:40 +0000

Part floating island and part floating home, architect Daniel Andersson has envisioned a nouveau lake house that lets guests sleep with the fish — where the living space sits directly below the water’s surface and from above emerges an expansive roof deck. Andersson’s design came about when he was approached by his client, Ålands Hotell & Restaurangskola, to create a fresh concept able to attract more guests to a resort located on the Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea. What resulted was this incredible iceberg like building that sits beautifully on the waterscape and provokes onlookers to consider new, unconventional forms for living.

People Powered Water Purification

The Islomaniac® — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:47:04 +0000

Say that five times fast!

New technology is making islands more accessible than they have ever been. One new technology that is particularly intriguing is portable water filtration. One of the newest devices on the market is SteriPEN’s new Sidewinder portable water filter. This ingenious produc utilizes a crank-powered bacteria-killing UV light to create a full liter of perfectly potable water. Simple, practical, and potentially a way to build some arm muscles, look for the Sidewinder to hit shelves this September.

Underwater Ocean Dwelling

The Islomaniac® — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:51:47 +0000

Although living on a private island is the ultimate way to live on the open seas, in the not too distant future people may be living on private islands but man made structures located below the water. One new proposal by UK-based designer Phil Pauley envisions a biosphere set in the ocean that would create a self-sustaining underwater habitat for aquanauts, tourists, and oceanographic life sciences. Made up of submersible spheres, the structure dubbed Sub Biosphere 2 would maintain and support life while acting as a secure underwater seed bank.

The large self-sustaining system can float on top of the water or submerge and travel along rails all the way to the ocean floor.

Futuristic Floating City

The Islomaniac® — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 05:32:19 +0000

If global warming continues and scientists predictions are correct are many of our children and great grand children may find themselves living on self-sustaining floating island cities.

One of the newest floating islands is a complex proposed by the Shimzu corporation. This completely self sufficient floating ecotopia that is covered in vegetation, generates its own power, grows food, manages waste, and provides clean water.

Designed for the equatorial pacific, presumably near Japan, the island is a concept for a series of floating islands with eco skyscraper cities, where people live and work. The islands are connected together to form modules and a number of modules grouped together form a “country” of roughly 1 million people.

A 1,000 m tower in the center of the island acts as both a vertical farm as well as a skyscraper with residential, commercial and office space. The green space, the beach, and the water terminal on the flat plane of the island are all within walking distance. Energy for the islands would be generated from renewable sources like solar, wind, and ocean thermal.
Read more: Futuristic Floating City is an Ecotopia at Sea | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World