The developers of ‘Alto’s Adventure’ are building a skateboarding game

Snowman, the creator of ultra-chill snowboarding game Alto's Adventure, is keeping busy lately. In addition to the sequel Alto's Odyssey, it is also working with studio The Game Band for Where Cards Fall and partnering with Australian studio Slingsho...

Tony Hawk Pro Skater: Zero Gravity Edition

I don’t have the skill or the agility to even get on a skateboard. Forget doing tricks. So I’m impressed the stuff Tony Hawk just does here on Earth. Now he’s skateboarding in zero gravity on a good old “vomit comet”.

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In this fun video, both Tony Hawk and Aaron “Jaws” Homoki have a great time testing their zero g skills. It’s nice to see that as cool as these guys are here on Earth, they have trouble skateboarding in a zero g environment. Now you know how I feel. It’s not so easy is it?

Despite the obvious difficulty at first, they actually do pretty good once they figure out which way is up. As far as I know, neither of them vomited either, which is a nice bonus.

[via Sploid via Geekologie]

ICYMI: 7-D heart MRI, astronaut cups and tech tats

Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA just shipped the astronauts on the International Space Station a cup that will let them almost drink like earthlings. GE announced scanning tech that would reveal the intricacies of the heart far quicker than conv...

Playdate: Grinding through ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5’

The reviews are in and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is... not looking good. When I played the game in Chicago earlier this year, it was fine. There were a few glitches here and there, sure, but it was an early version of the game and that's to be expec...

Aftermarket Trucks Add Suspension To Your Skateboards

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Putting suspension systems on your skateboards is the kind of feature you never really knew you wanted. It’s not like most skateboarders are ever complaining about how rough their ride is. But now that we’ve come across the Avenue Trucks, we’re left wondering what took so long.

Unlike some other suspension skateboard trucks (such as those made by Seismic), Avenue Trucks don’t incorporate coil-type shock absorbers. Instead, they utilize a simpler leaf spring-like design, where the magnesium main body of the truck is mounted on a folded-over metal baseplate that can flex by up to half an inch (12.7 mm).

The body is able to pivot relative to that plate and unlike traditional trucks, it features a “floating” pivot point that reportedly results in smoother turns and more control.

Considering a very reasonable $45 pledge will net you a pair of these trucks, we think it’s a great idea, assuming of course that it results in a more comfortable ride with no drawbacks. It’ll be interesting to see the feedback from the skateboarding community once these hit the market, which should happen in September, assuming they reach their funding goals.

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[ Project Page ] VIA [ Gizmag ]

E-GO Cruiser is Totally Gnar Gnar

The E-GO Electric Cruiser makes use of the Yuneec brand’s decade long expertise in the aviation field, featuring an aviation-grade aircraft electric drive system. With a riding range of a whopping 30km or over 3 hours, users can commute to work and back with plenty of charge to spare! For optimum performance, the system communicates wirelessly with the user’s smartphone for real-time data relating to remaining charge, distance, speed and more. Usable with the power off, you can also hone your skating skills, or enjoy the ride while it does the work!

Designer: s.point

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
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(E-GO Cruiser is Totally Gnar Gnar was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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Z-Boy Skating Legend Jay Adams Dies From Heart Attack


Jay Adams, known as the legendary skater who was an original member of the Z-Boys skate team was reported to have died from a heart attack in Mexico, TMZ reported on Friday.Adams, age 53, was known...

Skatehack Ramps Add Sound Effects While You Skate: Disco Flip

The sound effect that triggers when you pull off a special trick in Tony Hawk Pro Skater is burned into my brain. That and Suicide Machines’ New Girl. If you’d love to augment your real world skating with sound, check out Skatehack. It’s an urban art and research collective that designed sound-emitting ramps.

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Skatehack’s Augmented Ramp is a half-pipe that has piezoelectric sensors on its flat and transition surfaces, as well as contact microphones on its lips.

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The mic and the sensors turn the impact or vibration that you cause when you skate on the ramp into triggers. An application then uses these triggers to generate sound.

Skatehack also designed Bauxite, a smaller and self-contained version of the Augmented Ramp.

Here’s a primer on Skatehack and its makers:

Grind to Skatehack’s YouTube page to see more demos of its ramps. You can reach Skatehack’s creators by emailing them at info@skatehack.org, as well as via Facebook and Twitter.

[via Hack A Day]

Protective Patterns

Skateboarding is cool, but, unfortunately, protective gear like knee pads and helmets just aren’t! They lack aesthetic appeal and are often too difficult and time consuming to put on… causing many to avoid protecting their body at all. The PLEXUS collection of gear finds safety, flexibility, ventilation, performance and cool looks in an intricate voronoi web that adapts to the wearers movement. Who would’ve guessed that the application of this simple pattern would be such a huge improvement!

Designer: Subinay Malhotra

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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Protective Patterns was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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It Turns Out That The Wheel, Re-Invented, Is Square

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Shark Wheels are a “new” kind of wheel for your skateboards. They’re still sort of round, but they’re made from a complex shape that sort of forms a cube. Kind of. We’re not too clear on the geometry, and clearly there’s still some roundness here or there wouldn’t be much rolling. But the point is that Shark Wheels are supposed to be better than traditional wheels.

It has less surface area touching the ground on hard surfaces, allowing for low rolling resistance. The alternating path can bite into soft terrain, meaning it can roll seamlessly in soft surfaces. The alternating center of gravity allows for superior high-speed stability, eliminating speed-wobble that occurs from the geometry of normal wheels.

When used on hard surfaces, the Shark Wheel produces a low friction profile similar to a high performance, low rolling resistance tire. This allows for less energy to be used as the contact patch is very small.

We’re not entirely convinced we aren’t just looking at regular wheels with wobbly sides and treads, but if this translates into a better ride for anyone, then great. They’re on Kickstarter right now where $50 will get you a set of 4 longboard wheels.

You decide if any of this makes any sense. We’ve included a video after the jump, so feel free to check that out.

[ Project Page ] VIA [ TheAwesomer ]