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Wearable Computer Expedition Reaches South Pole 104

Posted by michael 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.
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Wearable Computer Expedition Reaches South Pole More

Wearable Computer Expedition Reaches South Pole

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  • Why the South Pole (Score:4, Funny)

    by Britney ( 264065 ) on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:50AM (#2937429)
    And not the North Pole?

    Is it because they wanted some Penguins?

    • Re:Why the South Pole (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ackthpt ( 218170 )
      Because it's summer down there.
    • Because theres too many Canadians up there. ;)

    • Re:Why the South Pole (Score:4, Interesting)

      by KjetilK ( 186133 ) <kjetil@@@kjernsmo...net> on Friday February 01, 2002 @12:43PM (#2937736) Homepage Journal
      The North Pole is a lot more dangerous hike than the South Pole. When you go to the North Pole, you will not have solid ground under your feet, you'll walk on ocean ice. Sometimes it breaks up, often it floats southwards, so you may well wake up one morning, finding you have drifted further away from the pole than when you went to sleep the previous evening. You must count on falling in the icy water, or you may want top walk a long way around open ocean. However, Børge Ousland, who did the first solo crossing of the ice cap (he failed to do it unsupported, though), had a suite that he used to swim across open fields between the ice flakes. Then, there are Polar Bears. You have to be on the alert, because they are probably the only species on earth that looks upon you as their natural pray. Penguins are definitately preferable, yes... :-) Sometimes, the ice builds up to immense towers. OTOH, in Antarctica, there is colder, and the sastrugi that you may encounter can be rather vicious.

      Actually, there is something about Antartica that is just very appealing to me. Not necessarily the South Pole (there are many expeditions there. If you want to do something big, though, you could try skiing there in the Winter, that would be something). But while Antarctica is appeal, the northern polar icecap seems just very, very scary. But, I guess I might change my mind about that too.

      • Um Polar Bear don't eat Penguins...Why..Because Peguins live in the southern hemisphere, Polar Bears live in the Northern. Thus making it quite impossiable for a predator/prey relationship.
        • Actually I think KjetilK was pointing out that as a person trekking across the land meeting penguins would be preferable to meeting Polar Bears.

          It depends on how you read it a bit.
      • You're missing the point. The author means that penguins (South Pole) are preferable to polar bears (North Pole).

        I rather agree.
      • The south pole is also on one giant glacier. It's not exactly safe either.
        • Well, there is still a huge difference. While it is a glacier, there are no crevasses up on the plateau, only in the glaciers arms going down valleys to the cost or the ice shelves (like Shackleton's glacier). You might want to rope up in those, but you don't up on the plateau. True, there may be exceptions, weird formations here and there, they may be dangerous in white-outs, but generally, you're pretty safe from that kind of dangers once you're up on the plateau.

          (disclaimer: I'm a certified glacier guide, and I've been in lots of crevasses, but don't take this is legal advice... :-) )

    • Because it's a tad inconvenient to wander in darkness around the clock? Remember that a the poles you've got midnight sun and polar night taken to the extremes. The sun is up for six months in a row then down the rest of the year.

      Regards / ushac

    • Because there's a base at the south pole?
    • ... they're going to the North Pole too. In March.

      http://www.thepoles.com/guide/schedule.htm

      Luis, who isn't surprised that the times shown in the page are in Chilean Time. :)
  • I hope if they're in the South Pole they're wearing more than just a computer.

    • Re:Wearable computers (Score:3, Interesting)

      by hughk ( 248126 )
      There is a special club amongst people working at the South Pole. When conditions are good, they heat up a sauna and then run naked from the sauna (except for footware) run once around the pole and back again. I believe the club is called something like the two-hundred below club, the two hundred referring to the temperature difference between the Sauna and outside in Farenheit.

      Not a wearable computer in sight!!!!!!

      • Actually, it's the 300 degree club. When the temp drops to = -100 F, we heat the sauna up to 200 F, and sit in there as long as we can stand it. Then, we run out the dome, around the pole, and back to the dome wearing only boots for foot protection, and a neck gaiter to prevent your lungs from getting frostbitten. I haven't done it yet, but it usually happens around June or July.
  • Some nerds can be that obsessed with penguins?!
    That, or they were desperate overclockers looking for the ultimate cooling solution.

  • Am I the only one who read (Score:4, Funny)

    by epsalon ( 518482 ) <slash@alon.wox.org> on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:53AM (#2937454) Homepage Journal
    "expidition" as "exhibition"...

    Imagine this: The 2020 wearables exhibition: Now at the South Pole ...
    And then they wonder why so few people came...

  • Imagine That? (Score:3, Funny)

    by TenPin22 ( 213106 ) on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:53AM (#2937457) Homepage
    They went to all that trouble to serve up a webpage from the south pole. They surely can't have that much bandwidth at the south pole then they go and get slashdotted.

    Well at least their systems wont need any cooling.

  • The website has now been updated (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dephex Twin ( 416238 ) on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:54AM (#2937468) Homepage
    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
    • "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."

      Apparently, they have gone insane...

  • the website data at a glance... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Em Emalb ( 452530 ) <ememalb.gmail@com> on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:54AM (#2937474) Homepage Journal
    It's cold. We are tired. Be glad when we get there. Wish you were here.

  • In the other news... (Score:4, Funny)

    by epsalon ( 518482 ) <slash@alon.wox.org> on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:57AM (#2937491) Homepage Journal
    AMD has produced video footage of an AMD-based PC that keep on working even when the heat sink is removed. When questioned about the results, AMD Spokesman just mentioned something about a "secret laboratory down south"...

    Ain't that a good idea?
  • I guess they maybe went a little far for to solve overheating problems...

  • A note (Score:5, Funny)

    by NiftyNews ( 537829 ) on Friday February 01, 2002 @11:59AM (#2937507) Homepage
    Fingers freezing. Palm pilot stuck to chest. Must run cpu-heavy routines for warmth. So cold.

  • Wow. some gear. (Score:3, Informative)

    by Triv ( 181010 ) on Friday February 01, 2002 @12:01PM (#2937520) Journal
    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

    • 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 [nsf.gov] 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 [colostate.edu] 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 [colostate.edu] 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...

  • I want a wearable computer (Score:4, Funny)

    by TheDick ( 453572 ) <dickNO@SPAMaskadick.com> on Friday February 01, 2002 @12:04PM (#2937536) Homepage
    For MY South Pole....

    Damn. Bad Pun.

  • as a pioneer of wearable computers.

    back in 1989 I was in the first year of highschool here in brasil and my stepfather gave me an HP-15C, a very cool calculator.

    Well, the desks at the school were too damn small to fit notepads, pens AND the calculator so I tied it to wristband and started using it in my left wrist. one of the first wearable puters ever.

    now everyone is copying my ideas and I don't see money flowing to my pockets. not fair.
  • Just finished a fascinating book about the great English polar explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton. His main philosophy was to Explore and Serve which might be translated in this case to Explore and Surf

    Book: Shackletons Way [amazon.com]
    • It is interesting how noticeably different conclusions can be reached by different books on a subject. Although I'll certainly go out and read this book for the varied perspective (thanks for pointing it out), considering Shackelton's whole life, as Roland Huntford's "Shackleton" does, is probably a better way of understanding Shackleton's philosophy.

      From Huntford's biography, it is apparent that while Shackleton might have superficially believed in "Explore and Serve," his principal motivation consisted simply of the quest for quintessential Edwardian glory. His polar adventures were simply the most ambitious and publicized instances of his reach for fame and fortune; he formulated numerous ill-fated get-rich-quick schemes throughout Europe.

      Several times, I have read of the glorification of Shackleton's desires when the facts present him as an opportunist. Granted, he was a superb leader of men and optimist, but his motivations are somewhat plain and not particularly praiseworthy.
  • Almost like a flight data recorder in case they happen to encounter some kind of catastrophic event down there, we could recover their wearable computer gear and hopefully find out what went wrong.

    So long as their wearable computers aren't running windows (otherwise that probably would be what went wrong)!

  • URL (Score:1)

    by rbk ( 527224 )
    Oh, BTW, their official URL is here [spole.gov].

    DISCLAIMER: Do not click there [spole.gov]. It's a weak sattelite link. Under any circumstance, do not click [spole.gov].

    Hi Mar"c", hi Tom. ;-)

  • CNN manager talking to a reporter: Now Jones, it was a bad, bad thing when you drove up to that crime scene and ran over the body. The police were very angry with us. Very angry indeed. Now, now, I know it was an accident.

    Fire you? No, no, everyone makes mistakes, Jones. Why, when I was a young cub like yourself, I made a few in my day, too.

    In fact, I have little assignment for you, Jones. Right up your alley. Let me show you this map...

  • Looks like they're using Iridium phones.

  • URL? (Score:3, Funny)

    by GeorgeH ( 5469 ) on Friday February 01, 2002 @01:25PM (#2937985) Homepage Journal
    http://www.thepoles.com/? Shouldn't it have been http://www.thepoles.aq/ [iana.org]?
  • When I saw this story, my first thought was "how did they design robots which could travel across Antarctic terrain?".

    The idea that the "wearable computer expedition" actually included people somehow didn't occur to me.
  • 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 [noaa.gov].


    or check out our South Pole Web Page [noaa.gov].

  • Tom and Tina Sjorgen

    That would be Sjögren, and it's Swedish. It's not THAT hard to spell, is it? Ericsson is a Swedish surname too, but in this case it's the name of the company sponsoring the expedition, if I'm not mistaking.
    Strange thing is that the submitter is a swede...

    Next place I want to bring my computer is deep underwater while diving.
  • Taco...

    With the posting of this news bit, have you now posted stories from every corner of the world?

    Just curious...
  • I worked KC4AAA [qrz.com] the other night on 20 Meters (Around 14.238Mhz) The station operator's name is Skip. You can hear them on the air almost every night.
  • I remember seeing some TV program about some travelling to the North pole(I think it was) and on their way seeing abandoned stations. Big metal buildings looking like metal containers. The most expensive stuff was removed but old cans of food etc, could still be found there, creepy. I wish I could remember more, and I'll bet there's a page or two on the net about it. Oh well, time to think of a clever query on Google.

  • hmmm (Score:2)

    by Peyna ( 14792 )
    You know, in a few hundred years, it won't be so near the south pole anymore. Heh. I also find it amusing that the "south pole" (as in an actual pole stuck in the ice/snow) has to be readjusted constantly. I guess that's what you get for building stuff on a glacier =]

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