by: Tech-On! : tech news - straight from Asia., 2011-03-11 07:35:00 UTC
Suzuki Motor Corp's Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter, which is being tested in the UK, became the world's first fuel-cell electric vehicle to earn Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA).
According to Akihabara News, Panasonic recently unveiled a solar table at Tokyo’s Security Show that harnesses QI technology to wirelessly charge your gadgets whenever you place them on the countertop! The solar panels located at the center of the table power a system of wireless charging pads. QI’s technology supports Cell phones, mobile devices and PDAs, so users needn’t lug their heavy wall-wart chargers around anymore.
We’ve seen a lot of interesting and inexpensive green methods of cleaning wastewater: algae, sewage eating poo-gloos, and indoor wetlands, just to name a few. But a new method discovered by a group of scientists in Brazil takes the cake for innovation. The team found that minced banana peels quickly and effectively remove toxic metals from wastewater. In fact, the method works better than many leading chemical treatments, and the same batch of peels can be used up to 11 times!
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2011-03-12 04:37:52 UTC
It’s extraordinary what pops up in the in-box each week. Those with a keen eye for fashion will note that the picture is from the sixties – the Ford Comuta was a concept presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1967. It was all-electric, had a top speed of 40 mph and a range of 40 miles, and that was 40 years ago. The upcoming electric Ford Focus has more than double the range (160 km) and double the top speed of 84 mph (135 km/h), but surely the Comuta is worth digging out of the archives for a second look. With modern motors and advanced controllers and high density batteries, the Comuta might be quite suitable for European cities such as London where road speeds haven’t progressed much since the horse and cart. ..
Continue Reading Ford’s electric Comuta Concept – 43 years after its debut
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2011-03-12 04:57:56 UTC
The Yikebike is a miniature, electric penny farthing made of carbon fiber and now it's on sale, it is quickly gathering a cult early-adopter following thanks to its weight of 10.8 kilograms, that it folds so small it can fit in a backpack, and that it will run at 25km/h (15 mph). Until now, it has ticked all the boxes except one - its limited range of just 10 kilometers. Now it has released an extender battery pack so you can add additional 10 kilometer increments to the range of your YikeBike. Each battery costs US$195 and weighs 1.95kg and there's a special backpack to carry multiple batteries so it becomes a very practical solution that offers the Yikebike unsurpassed bang-per-kilogram and versatility as a commuting appliance. Though it's hard to equate the US$3600 price tag with primary transport, the addition of a Yikebike to any automobile storage compartment significantly extends the capabilities of both vehicles. The facility to carry secondary transportation inside cars has been explored many times in recent years by Honda and Ford in particular … and it makes a lot of sense...
Continue Reading Yikebike's ingenious range extender
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2011-03-09 17:41:48 UTC
Engineers from the Bristol wing of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) have announced the development of the first bicycle using Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technology. The manufacturing process involves "growing" the components from a fine nylon powder, similar in concept to 3D printing. Said to be as strong as steel, the end product is claimed to contain only a fraction of the source material used by traditional machining, and the process results in much less waste. It also has the potential to take manufacture to precisely where the component or product is needed, instead of being confined to factories often located a great distance away...
Continue Reading EADS Airbike made of steel-strength nylon
At the CeBIT electronics show in Germany, Samsung unveiled their latest television prototype and it's the coolest one yet. The 46-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution LCD TV is fully solar-powered and transparent!
The prototype was designed to use only a tiny amount of energy and it gets all it needs from solar panels running off ambient light in the room -- no need for back-up power sources. The screen is also transparent, so while you're seeing images on the screen, you're also seeing whatever is behind it. This means that it could be used in storefronts, as digital window blinds or even in car windshields.
In addtion to your favorite TV shows, it can also project photos or any other data and features ten-finger touchscreen technology.
It's not easy to design a home energy monitoring device that people actually want to use and pay for. As evidenced by Tendril's recent decision to nix its IDEO-designed dashboard, not even slick devices that look like they came straight from the Apple store will necessarily make it to market (the $200 price tag was deemed too expensive). Enter EnergyHub, a consumer-facing energy management company that thinks it has a solution to the energy monitoring device quandary.
The company has been selling the EnergyHub dashboard (now known as Home Base), a touchscreen dashboard that combines temperature control and home-energy management, since 2009. The device connects to power strips, sockets, thermostats, and smart meters when available to provide users information about and control over their energy use.
Now, with the help of Smart Design, EnergyHub has designed an updated Home Base dashboard that it thinks will appeal to a broader set of users. The old dashboard is pictured below, while the new one is above.
"After a year of experience in utility trials and with testers, we had a sense of what we liked and what we didn't like. It was time to put a professional level of polish on it," says EnergyHub CEO and co-founder Seth Frader-Thompson. So EnergyHub turned to Smart Design, a company that has worked with everyone from OXO and Nike to HP and Microsoft.
"It was important to do something a little less utilitarian and more distinctive. We had seen people placing the dashboard in the kitchen or by the front door of the house," explains Tucker Fort, Director of Industrial Design at Smart Design. "We wanted to come up with a shape and set of materials and finishes that fit well in
those two settings." Smart Design also noticed that people wanted to pick up the dashboard, so the company changed the shape--it's now more bowl-like--to be appropriate for that kind of use.
While the EnergyHub is most attractive to technological early adopters at this stage, that doesn't mean other, less tech-savvy members of the household won't want to use it. That's why Smart Design and EnergyHub opted to add three new buttons: "Home," "Away" and "Goodnight." The buttons are linked to thermostat heating and cooling functions, and can quickly turn individual appliances on and off.
But the question remains: Will people want to pay $200 (the approximate cost) for this kind of device if they already own an iPad, laptop, and smart phone? Wouldn't they rather control home energy use from those other devices? "Energy is complicated for people to understand. As people start to think
about these new platforms, having a physical product can help with
adoption," says Frader-Thompson. "The profile of an early adopter for energy management isn't the profile of someone
who would buy an Android tablet. The system is popular among middle-aged users because they're
interested in tinkering with their homes, they're price-conscious."
The new Home Base is set to go into public-private beta in homes selected by EnergyHub's utility customers after this week's SXSW conference.
[vimeo 20882933]
Follow Fast Company on Twitter. Ariel Schwartz can be reached by email.
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-29 08:38:10 UTC
The World Community Grid, powered by IBM, is designed to harness the unused computing power of the world's PCs and laptops for research on critical ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-25 02:29:30 UTC
Shortlisted for the James Dyson Award
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by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-25 01:36:32 UTC
Chief Financial Officers typical expect energy saving projects to have an average internal rate of return of investment of about 20%. A recent research ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-21 01:01:36 UTC
Energy AWARE Clock is wirelessly connected to an energy meter.Energy AWARE Clock is an electricity meter that resembles an ordinary kitchen clock. ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-17 01:08:57 UTC
The Zeno Lamp brings natural sunlight indoors through a system of light collectors and fiber-optic cables. The beauty of the Zeno lamp lies in its ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-14 00:58:14 UTC
*How has the brand developed since 1975 when it was first created?*
Camper has moved one step at a time, which is the only way to do things properly. ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-12 01:03:16 UTC
While crossing the African continent, twin brothers Arjan and Alfred Koop, became aware of the true meaning of sanitation or the lack thereof in especially ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-10 11:08:43 UTC
The Environ biocomposite® product line is made from recycled newsprint, a soy-based resin and color additives. Environ biocomposite® is sold in 3'x6 ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-09 11:34:47 UTC
The c,mm,nity is a growing community, with over 800 people involved at present and about 80 of those making active contributions.
latest developments ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-03-09 06:04:42 UTC
Named after a Danish candy – colourful, sugarcoated licorice balls – Pinocchio is a carpet that makes you smile. Pinocchio is handmade in Nepal where ...
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