Digital Brilliance Spotlight
Digital Brilliance is being inspired by people with exciting
new ideas for products and applications that illuminate
the imagination through the fusion of advanced technologies
and intelligent design. Here we highlight the stories
and achievements of these Digital Brilliance pioneers.
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The Wind in Your Hair, the Sun
at Your Back and the Wide, Open Road...
Vespa riders have had a long and historic love affair
with their vehicles. Vespa enthusiasts for more than
half a century have taken their wasp-shaped scooters
on the road en-masse for sightseeing excursions, sharing
their passion and love of the Vespa. The Italians even
have a word for it, vespaizzari, which means to get
somewhere on a Vespa.
  
Today, the tradition of the Vespa clubs is alive and
well thanks in part to a 21st century update from the
VIA EPIA Mini-ITX and Luca Barzelogna, the president
of the Italian Vespaonline Association, who has equipped
his vintage Vespa scooter with the VIA EPIA MII12000
mainboard, transforming his scooter into the ultimate
VESPA-PUTER.
The small form factor and extensive connectivity of
the VIA EPIA MII12000 make it ideal for use on a moving
scooter. Its slim design allowed Luca to integrate the
mini mainboard along with dual hard drives on the step
board, reducing the amount of space taken up by the
system. Because it's wirelessly connected, the VESPA-PUTER
can function as a GPS navigational system as well as
provide access to the Internet to locate the nearest
gas station or motel wherever he happens to be.
Luca fitted an 8" touch screen monitor and a USB
web cam on the handlebar, allowing him to upload photos
to his ftp server in Italy, providing his friends back
home with a first hand view of his trip. For areas too
remote to access wireless networks, Luca has enabled
the system to use a satellite phone.
 Through
Luca's imagination and the versatility of the VIA EPIA
Mini-ITX, the VESPA-PUTER opens up a whole new avenue
for mobile applications. Small and rugged enough to
be used on a motorbike and wirelessly enabled to be
connected from virtually anywhere, the VESPA-PUTER has
the ability to dramatically change our concept of the
road trip. Paper maps and 25 cent postcards have now
become things of the past, thanks to the digital brilliance
of Luca Barzelogna and VIA EPIA Mini-ITX!
The Italian Vespaonline Association was founded in 1997
as a way for Italian Vespa lovers to meet over the Internet.
Since then, they have taken their Vespas on over 15 different
sightseeing tours, or "Raids" throughout Italy.
The next rally takes the concept a big step further in
distance and endurance: the Raid of the Desert.  VIA
is proud to sponsor the October "Raid of the Desert
" across the American Southwest, where 24 members
from the Vespaonline Association will travel through
California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, a trip of over
3,500 miles.
From the Mojave Desert to the Grand Canyon and Zion
National Park, Luca is taking his VESPA-PUTER through
some of the most inhospitable and inaccessible terrains
of the world. During their trip, VIA plans on hosting
live images from the event on our website, as well as
commentary from the members along the way. So, stay
tuned in October and see VIA EPIA Mini-ITX conquer the
desert!
Update:
And they're off!! The Raid of the Desert is underway.
Take a look at some pictures and commentary uploaded
from the VESPA-PUTER as the Italian Vespaonline Association
make their way through the American Southwest at VIAArena.com.
For the complete schedule of events for the Vespa Raid
of the Deserts, please contact Colin
Brix
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