Converted Shipping Containers as Mobile Tech Labs
Shipping containers are being converted into the high-tech, movable tech lab, says a report in CNN.
Raleigh-based Betabox's mobile labs are built inside refurbished shipping containers and have been retrofitted to include things like whiteboards, laptops and CNC milling machines.
The labs come in two models. One has wheels, battery power, solar panels on its roof and 200 square feet of space, which can hold 8 to 15 students comfortably.
"We can drive it to customers and set it up anywhere outside," said Sean Newman Maroni, 24, founder and CEO of Betabox, adding that he just needs about a week's notice.
There are currently three labs and Maroni plans to add two more by the end of the year. It also has a roster of 100 experts -- designers, engineers, educators -- who work with customers. In addition to the standard tech gadgets like printers and cutters, Maroni said he's adding food 3D printing, virtual reality and a wet lab as other options.
Shipping containers are also being converted into the high-tech, movable outposts for science.
They are being created through a multimillion-dollar project spearheaded by the Arctic Research Foundation, one of the non-government partners in the ongoing efforts to find and explore the 19th-century shipwrecks of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition.
Six shipping containers decked out with 15 solar panels each and equipped to support two wind turbines are arriving via water from southern Canada. Five will be in Cambridge Bay and one is bound for Gjoa Haven, on King William Island.
