Shelley’s Blurb#2 – Where’s your gadget?

[display_podcast]

Hi Welcome to Shelley’s show on 102.5 Exotic FM. Last time we talked about the meaning of art. Today we are going to talk about an event called Gadgetoff that I volunteered for on Friday, September 25th, 2009.
Gadgetoff is an invitation-only event that takes place every year around New York City. This year it took place at Snug Harbor in Staten Island. This event is basically a celebration of technical and artistic innovation—and, of course, gadgets. It also gives an inside look into the future. Guests are inventors, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, creators, visionaries and geniuses.
When I first arrived at the Pier 78 in Manhattan, the volunteer coordinator asked me to wear a uniform – once I saw the uniform I was shocked; thinking this is definitely going to be a special experience. The “uniform” looked like a jumpsuit. It is actually a HAZMAT suit.
After helping everyone check-in, we guided the guests onto the private ship that brought us to Snug Harbor. On the boat, many people came up to us and asked to take pictures of or with us because of our unique uniforms.
Gadgetoff is a whole day event. It is divided into presentations, outdoor exhibits and indoor exhibits. During presentation time, presenters have about three minutes to show and explain their “gadget” to the audience.
A really cool “gadget” that I saw was the robotic arm called the Heroic. Basically, a man came up onto the stage with a robotic arm. The robotic arm can function almost like a regular arm. It can catch a ball and it can hold a mug. This development would be very beneficial to our society to help veterans and others who had lost their arms in combats and accidents.
At the outdoor exhibit, there were cool gadgets like a combustion-propelled carousel. It was very cool because people actually rode on the carousel. It holds two people. It allowed us to see a more intense version of carousel, made for adults
There were robots from the iRobot company. These robots are sturdy and may be used in combats to detect the location of enemies. This will decrease the number of soldiers dying during combats
Another gadget is the Regurgitator. This machine spins people at as much as 5 Gs and runs for 30 to 45 seconds. About 20% of people who rode on this ride reported that they got dizzy after riding on it. There was also a water-based musical instrument called hydraulophone.
The gadget at the outside exhibit that interested me the most was the Spider Machine. It is a mechanical machine that is operated by the person who sits on the inside. It’s shaped like a spider and it walks like one too.
On top of directing people to where they should go for next set of events with our G signs, we also acted as security guards when they were launching pumpkins with the trebuchet. We had to clear the area to make sure no one would get hurt.
And that was it for the outdoor exhibit.
Later that night while we were eating dinner, we saw the tesla coil. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, and high frequency alternating current electricity.
This was definitely an experience that I will never forget.
Stay tune for some clips of my hexbug and Mechanical Ladybug. Sample toys they gave out at GadgetOff.
Ok guys so that’s it for this week. Logging out!