Two new Golden Shellback items today. Above is a recent photo of Inventor Sid Martin with the equipment used to apply the coating and at the bottom of this post you’ll find a recent audio interview with the guys at Blackberry Cool. For those new to this blog, Golden Shellback is an amazing new technology created by Northeast Maritime Institute that protects electronics that are exposed to water. We first saw this technology when our parent company, Unofficial Networks, visited the Institute’s headquarters in Fairhaven Mass to build the school a new website. After convincing them to tape a video for gCaptain and subsiquently arranging a visit to the Today Show, UN was asked to help market and sell the product. It’s been a whirlwind of activity ever since.

If your interested in more information be sure to visit the website, watch the videos, subscribe to the Golden Shellback newsletter and follow Sid’s daily updates on Twitter. You can also listen to the recent podcast with Sid by clicking on the audio player below but be sure to visit Blackberry Cool for the show notes.

Our friend, Sid Martin of Golden Shellback fame was on the Today Show this morning dunking Matt Lauer’s blackberry in a fish tank full of water. I hear even Al Roker was impressed. here is the video.

Note of disclosure: gCaptain’s maritime consulting arm arranged the taping.

Last year Sid Martin, Director of Technology at Northeast Maritime Institute was faced with a dilemma. He had been hired to spearhead a project bringing the latest technology to the field of Maritime Security and test it in the field. Martin was the perfect candidate for this job. Prior to working at NMI he was a member of the project team responsible for the wheel bearings on the Mars Lander and in doing so became familiar with the obstacles faced in developing products for use in harsh environments. But the project was nearing completion and he needed to find new ways to use his experience at the institute.

Before developing Aerospace technology Martin worked for years in the manufacturing of semiconductors and during this time he gained both knowledge and experience coating objects at a molecular scale. With the sole directive of realizing the Institute’s mission to “honor the mariner” Sid diverted his focus from maritime security to a long stirring idea; Waterproofing Electronics.

With the backing of NMI President Eric Dawicki he began work on techniques he learned during the time he worked in the semiconductor industry, applied coatings to surfaces at the molecular level. Up to this point marine electronics were separated from the corrosive and conductive properties of salt water with the use of protective shells. A waterproof radio for example, combines a protective shell with plastic coating and gaskets to keep water away from sensitive electrical components. This works fairly well provided you maintain the watertight integrity of the unit but it’s expensive to manufacture and maintain not to mention the extra weight and bulk it adds to the device itself. Damage the shell or service the components in harsh conditions and that protection is useless.

Martin’s idea was different. By merging his experience in harsh weather design with his knowledge of semiconductors he developed a new coating that provides direct protection to both internal and external components of a device regardless of size. The process itself is a closely guarded secret but results in a ultra thin yet durable protection at the molecular level.

To test this claim we visited NMI’s workshop in Fairhaven Massachusetts and asked him for a personal demonstration. The results were simply astounding. Standing above a 5 gallon bucket of water Martin picks up a working Balckberry phone and drops it straight into the salt water. Minutes later he removes the device and makes a call with the water still pouring out of the keypad. As if this was not impressive enough he proceeds to pour what remains in the bucket onto his Dell laptop computer. He then remarks, “The possibilities are endless. Not only are the internal components protected but the CPU is actually being cooled by the water inside the case!”

The possibilities are exciting indeed and to help convince me (as if that was still required) he refills the bucket and begins dunking the other items he has coated. First in was a 372 year old letter sent to mariner from his wife, then he dunks an ipod touch and finally compares two sets of stainless steel bolt; one exposed to salt water and the other not. The difference was noticeable.

What’s next for Martin’s dunk tank? He replies with a wide grin, “ I’ve already tried this coating on sugar cubes, I think the next challenge will be to coat an ice cube!”

Regardless of the next product to be tested Martin is currently looking for companies wishing to employ this technology in the manufacturing process. Otherwise he hopes to team up with retailers and offer the coating as a service provided in-store. If all goes according to plan it won’t be long until you can take your new iPhone to the pool and drop it in just to witness the reaction of onlookers. Martin’s goals are slighltly higher, “I’m waiting for the day a mariner finds trouble in harsh conditions and a coated device provides a lifeline to help. That will turn my grin into a big smile”.

Expect NMI’s Golden Shellback coatings to be available on some of your favorite devices in the coming months. For our full Golden Shellback Coverage click HERE.

gCaptain just returned from a whirlwind tour of San Francisco with the Northeast Maritime Institute’s Golden Shellback development team. Highlighting the met with blogger Adrian Covert of Gizmodo to give a hands on demonstration of the miraculous weather resistant coating. The video can be found above and the full article can be read HERE.

Meanwhile, across town we met with Kara Tsuboi at CNET studios. Here is video of her interview with Inventor Sid Martin.

Stay tuned for gCaptain’s exclusive article in our Golden Sellback Section.

This is video of the Golden Shellback coating in action. We will be keeping you updated with more information on our Golden Shellback page, the product homepage and via twitter. Stay tuned for the details!

Notes:

• Media and blogs interested in covering this product should Contact Us.
• Consumers interested in having their gear shellbacked can sign up for email updates.
• Device manufacturers can find the inventors contact information on the product homepage.
• Everyone else: Stay tuned HERE for the details!

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The above video is just a preview of what’s to come later this week…. stay tuned for all the details on Golden Shellback coatings!

Many thanks to Patrick, Rodger and the crew at Revision 3 for inviting us in to tape this video.

(P.S. our part is about 21minutes into the video, check it out then subscribe to the full tekzilla via iTunes)