Yi - important again
The other idea I just thought of (reminded of, from a recent talk I went to) follows these lines:
Wind powered land transport vehicle to cross Antarctica (say to lead the way to cheaper tourism, or something like that)
Antarctica is not purely flat, but has these random areas with lots of bumps, which would require good suspension and steering systems.
(eg bumps
here , which upset motorised ski-doos)
Pete is even more interested in this idea than the landspeed record vehicle.
Using sails you can actually go upwind, so we might be able to automate control somehow of the parachute (this is actually a thesis project in aero as well - autonomous control of a parachute for military airdrops), so the user doesn't need to continuously control it, which is where you may come in.
The first time I saw this concept is here:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sailing-the-frozen-sea-on-a-blustery-journey-to-the-south-pole/2005/07/22/1121539154821.html?from=moreStories I actually sort of know Ben Deacon (also went to his presentation on this IceBird), well I know his good friend who came into my store a few times and knows me, and they're working on it together.
We'd sort of further develop, design and build a more advanced version of the thing.
Anyway, this could work well, I just love the thought of operating in entirely adverse conditions (like Mars, the Moon, Antarctica) because fundamental assumptions we make on a daily basis (such as a decent temperature) go out the window with this stuff.
This is a very feasible project and a prototype would be no problem, since it's a raw guts type of project, no need for a shiny body/frame and all that fancy stuff cars, boats and planes normally have.
Think about it