Apple products are no longer green, at least according to the world’s leading green electronics certifier. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), a government-sponsored green electronics certification system, announced that Apple has withdrawn all 39 of its certified desktop computers, laptops and monitors from the list of green electronics, and the company will no longer be submitting its products for environmental rating. The irony is that Apple was one of the companies that helped create the standard in the first place.
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-07-10 04:44:00 UTC
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have taken advantage of the triboelectric effect, which sees an electric charge generated through friction between two different materials, to develop a generator that could supplement power produced by piezoelectric nanogenerators previously developed at Georgia Tech. The triboelectric generator could be used to produce electricity from activities such as walking and even has the potential to create touchscreens that generate their own power... Continue Reading Triboelectric generator could allow electricity-generating touchscreens
You remember the commercial. There was that envelope sitting on a white counter. That quirky Yael Naim song played. A hand gently untwined the string and--holy--there was a laptop in there! Now, imagine your shock if the exact same thing happened, but instead of a thin laptop, that hand pulled a whole table from the envelope.
Postable is a new table by Studio Toer. And rather than distinguishing itself through wood grain or tall legs, it’s been designed for one purpose: to pack super thin. It’s thin enough to slide into an envelope--an envelope that can fit in a mailbox rather than on a doorstep--yet it folds out large enough to feed a family of four.
“Today’s products are designed to sell themselves online,” co-founder and designer Wouter Widdershoven writes. “However the delivery of these objects is not designed for today. It’s still difficult to actually receive your ordered goods. You need to wait at home. If you miss the delivery, you still need to pick it up yourself somewhere.”
So Toer designed a series of tables out of 1mm stainless steel. They’re not so different from the traditional card table, except they fold a few extra times and begin with much thinner base materials. It’s really somewhat ironic, that while Postable has an industrial look and feel, it’s actually the most consumer-friendly table I’ve ever seen--designed at its core to make the trip into one’s house as simple as possible. (Because who hasn’t had to get a couch delivered, or some major piece of furniture “installed”?)
I asked Widdershoven if it was a difficult table to design--after all, no one else was making furniture that fit into envelopes. “Yes it was a challenge, but then again it was the only challenge,” Widdershoven responded. “To make a table is relatively easy.”
It’s almost shocking that an Amazon hasn’t come along to design a few pieces of furniture specifically for the mail-order customer. Then again, they’re a company unafraid to pack a single cartridge of razors into a room-sized box, so maybe the incentive simply isn’t there. But should you be interested, Postable is available in sizes up to about six feet long. Prices range from $230 to $850. Obviously, they’re shippable.
A deeper look into the flexible, transparent triboelectric generator.
(Credit:
Zhong Lin Wang/Georgia Tech)
Researchers at Georgia Tech today revealed a triboelectric generator that creates energy when two specific plastic materials rub against one another.
Zhong Lin Wang, a professor at Georgia Tech, created this new spin on an old concept by harnessing the power of rubbing together textured transparent sheets of polyester and polydimethysiloxane. When given an electrical load, a tiny current of electricity flows between the two materials during friction and separation. Repeating the action of grinding and separating creates an alternating current, also known as everyday electrical energy.
The possibilities for a transparent triboelectric generator seem compelling, perhaps opening the door to a future where our endless finger taps on smartphones and tablets no longer affect battery life. "Transparent generators can be fabricated on virtually any surface," said Wang. "This technique could be used to create very sensitive transparent sensors that would not require power from a device's battery."
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-07-07 19:07:22 UTC
The inclusion of a floating lamp, bed or just about any appropriately-sized household object in a room is almost certain to be received with open-mouthed wonder and demand closer inspection from the curious minds of young and old alike. Add the wireless transfer of power into the mix and you're guaranteed to have a winner. Such is the case with 18 year-old Chris Rieger's LevLight. It's not exactly huge, doesn't break any new ground in a technical sense and is more functional than flashy. Nevertheless, the floating LED is quite the visual feast... Continue Reading 18 year-old electrical engineering student wows with levitating light
by: TreeHugger Design, 2012-07-06 12:30:00 UTC
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by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-07-05 09:02:10 UTC
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by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-07-02 14:20:51 UTC
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Traditional artisan crafts are re-adapted into this colorful collection of woven furnishings which uses recycled packaging.
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