August 2009 Archives

Startup Solar Roadways has received $100,000 to further investigate an energy generating solar panel meant to replace asphalt on roadways and in parking places. Nice.

Via inhabitat.com 

 

Needed: a camera-phone with GPS, compass and high bandwith internet. What it gets you: point your camera at a street, object or in a direction and the phone will tell you, through an overlay on the camera-image where the nearest ATM is or what the building is you are looking at. 'Terminator vision', it is called, relating to Governor Arnold's success-movies. Chetan Damani, one of the founders of Acrossair talks about these Augmented Reality application with O'Reilly. He explains that we will first see a lot of 'easy' applications, like finding the nearest ATM, metro station, etc. However, when developers will take a bit more time, we will see the really interesting stuff appear, like seing what's currently on sale in a certain shopping atreet or where the nearest good restaurant is with a table for four available. One of the drawbacks he notices is that the accuracy of GPS and compass are limited to 5-10 meters, so that your phone will be able to point you to the nearste clothing shop, but not tot the jeans department. Interesting developments to watch in the coming years.

Osaka, Japan, initiates several projects to revitalize rivers and waterfronts. One of the projects of the event 'Aqua metropolis Osaka' will be a giant floating water cleaner running on solar power.

"The disc-shaped machines -- called "Solar UFOs" -- weigh about 3.4 tons each and measure 1.6 meters (5 ft) tall and 5 meters (16 ft) across. During the day, an array of solar panels power the machine's filtration system, which pumps fresh oxygen into the water while removing impurities. At night, a 1.3-kilowatt solar battery provides juice to the LED lamps lining the edges of the floating craft.

The machines, which can purify about 9,000 liters (2,400 gallons) of water per day, spray the clean water out through a nozzle on top, like a fountain. In addition to keeping the surface clean of bird droppings and grime, the water spray keeps the solar panels cool, helping to maintain a high output efficiency. Plans are to keep one Solar UFO operating in the Dotonbori canal (in central Osaka) until mid-October. The one in Osaka Castle moat is scheduled to remain in operation until the end of March 2010."

I would like that in Amsterdam!

Via: Pink Tentacle

xkcd.com once more has a funny one: a tech-cheat sheet that shows how we usually help our (grand)parents, neighbours, co-workers and other 'non-computer people'. I find it to be very accurate!

via boingboing.net

In times where all we hear is 'going electric', it is sometimes good to read the summary of an overview article written by Australion professor Abbott on invitation of the IEEE. The article still has to appear, but the highlights have been published on physorg.com. Forget about the somehwat weird introduction on the burning fuel tank, but read on and see how Abbott comes to the conlusion that in the long run Solar Energy generating liquid hydrogen is the solution. In my opinion his strongest point is that it does not matter that this is inefficient, since there is an abundance of solar energy. A simple argument.

A while ago I wrote about electric pylons with an unusual design. In Austin, Texas solar flowers are used to generate shade during sunny days, power blue LED lights at night and the leftover power is sent to the grid.  The 15 flower like solar panel installations are designed by Harries/Heder, a firm for public art projects. According to Harries/Heder, the flowers are "an icon for the sustainable, LEED certified Mueller Development and a highly visible metaphor for the energy conscious City of Austin." Not all residents are convinced that this is an improvement of their town, but for me it is a nice example of various ways to use solar cells and to attract attention to the use of them.






















Via: Inhabitat, photo by David Newsom

Electric cars and bikes are on the rise, but are they cool yet? This must be a positive sign: the guys from Orange County Choppers have built an electric chopper, in cooperation with Siemens. The Smart Chopper will make a countrywide tour to promote sustainable and green technology next year. After that, it will be auctioned. The proceeds will go to an environmentally-focused charity.






















More information and source: Wired.com

Janine Benyus speaks in her TED talk about finding solutions by watching nature. How does a kingfisher dive without causing a splash in the water, how does a shark repel bacteria? Solutions, found in the organisms all around us, can be used for elegant and innovative designs in harmony with nature.

"JR West, makers of high-speed bullet trains, found that when they entered tunnels the train built up pressure and created the equivalent of a sonic boom. Engineers looked at how the kingfisher entered the water and redesigned the train. It solved the problem of the tunnel noise, made the train 10% faster and 15% more efficient.

How does nature repel bacteria? The Galapagos shark swims slowly, but a pattern on its skin prevents bacteria adhering to it. Sharklet Technologies studied and adapted the pattern and found that it was better at keeping surfaces bacteria free than using anti-bacterial washes. Resistance to such cleaners is a significant problem as hospital-acquired infections kill more people in the US than AIDs, cancer and car crashes combined.

Taking a page from coral reefs, Calera has developed a technology that sequesters a half a ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of cement produced." 

Janine Benyus created the website AskNature where biological strategies are described for everyone, to create sustainable solutions by looking at nature.

Their goal is "to connect innovative minds with life's best ideas, and in the process, inspire technologies that create conditions conducive to life".

Via: Guardian.co.uk

We take connectivity for granted in our daily lives. The point is driven home when it is absent, in a desert where only one oasis is available. 

We bike a lot in the Netherlands. To increase visibility people use strips at the sides of the wheels, little lights at the front and back of the bike, fluorescent stripes on coats and bags, and reflectors in the spokes of the wheels. None as beautiful and creative as the designs from MonkeyLectric though!



























(Hat tip Dirk)

Via: Wired.com