Control Centre
But the most amazing bit about this concept solar powered tent is its central wireless control hub which lets you see the amount of energy being generated and used, as well as sending out a wireless internet signal for anyone who needs to surf the internet. This is displayed on a gadget geeks dream… a touchscreen LCD display screen, an awesome camping gadget!
The control hub also has a wireless charging pouch which powers mobile phones and other portable devices without the need for messy wires and multiple chargers. The ‘magnetic induction’ technology passes an electric current through a coil embedded in the charging pouch and this in turn generates a magnetic field which creates a charge and powers the battery. For non-tecky people like us out there… this means it’s one extremely clever solar tent!
Central Heating
Also controlled by the central hub is the most amazing bonus for the ultimate posh camping experience… an internal heating system. This takes the form of a heating element that’s embedded within the tent’s groundsheet giving under floor heating that can be triggered automatically once the temperature falls below a set level.
Glo-Tec
Finally, to avoid festival-goers ever losing their tent (uh huh…we know all about that!), the Concept Tent is designed to have “glo-cation” technology. This works by enabling the lost camper to find their cool tent by sending out a text message that triggers a distinctive glow in the tent helping them see it from a distance.
But before you throw out your old tents, solar panels and thermal underwear you’d better note that this Concept Tent is just that… a concept. It was designed to celebrate Orange’s 11th year at Glastonbury Festival and – lets face it – a bit of a PR stunt. However we’d like to be optimistic and think it’s a glimpse of earth friendly cool camping for 2012 and beyond.
If you have any good ideas or know something about eco-friendly camping equipment of the future then we’d really like to hear from you, and don’t forget to enter your email in the free updates box so you don’t miss out on future articles on this from us.