Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

A-170 Video Lightsign Airship Brings Blade Runner Blimp To Sky Near You

The Lightship Group, working with Hi-Tech Electronic Displays, has announced the A-170 Video Lightsign Airship. The airship's amazing 2,100-square-foot sign (that's 30x70 feet) is mounted on the side of an A-170 airship.


(A-170 Video lightsign airship in ad mode)

The sign can display full color still images, as well as live video, at night. Hi-Tech Electronic Displays president Ralph Paonessa states that, during recent tests, the A-170 Lightsign Airship sign could be seen from two miles away. Similar sized signs, seen in many sports venues, typically weigh about six tons; the Hi-Tech LED display weighs just 900 pounds and is 1.5 inches thick, boasting 128x240 resolution.


(A-170 Video lightsign airship blank screen)

According to Toby Page, marketing director of The Lightship Group, "we have changed the traditional blimp media platform into a technologically advanced tool for the 21st century." And if you think that this thing would look impressive over a football game, just think how it would look flying at about fifth floor level through a city.


(Advertising blimp from Bladerunner)

That's just what director Ridley Scott thought during Blade Runner, his 1982 movie based on science fiction writer Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In the film, enormous airships fly close overhead, with both video and audio advertising.

"A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure...

A new life awaits you in the Off-World Colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure. Lets go to the Colonies!"

No word yet from The Lightship Group about an audio capability; however, it is waterproof, and so could withstand advertising off-world colonies in 2019 Los Angeles, where the ruined climate offered what seemed like 24x7 rain over the city. Also, the A-170 Video Lightsign airship may be used with GPS tracking, text messaging individual customers within range.

If you are interested in adverts overhead, see this article on Sky Billboards. Read about these creative technovelgies from the movie and/or the novel; the Voight-Kampff empathy test, electric sheep and one of my personal favorites, the mood organ. Take a look at the A-170 Video Lightsign press release and the website for The Lightship Group. Thanks to Armchair Anarchist for the tip on this story.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/4/2006)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )

Related News Stories - (" Media ")

'Facetime Facelift' Beautifies Video Chats
Always look your best - on Facetime.

Meeting Wendy Of Wendy's
Wendy of Wendys meet Rondald of McDonald's.

Narrative Science And Phil Dick's Homeostatic Newspaper
'The structure... was once a great homeostatic newspaper, the New York Times.'

BookTrack Adds Sound To Books
I really don't think this is a very good idea. Readers?

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol
'Forest Lawn.'

Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Phto
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'

Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'

Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
'Call 'em Winter Mute," said the other, making it two words.'

Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'

SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'

Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'

NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'

Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'

Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.

Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'

No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'

Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'

Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'

Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'

Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.