People all over the world are taking their own initiative in what the protection of the environment is concerned and try to come up with their own “green” ideas. Take Stephan Boyer for example, an inventive MIT student who has built “The Bullet”: an electric unicycle, semi self-balanced and reaching up to 15 miles per hour.
Highway blowouts and Fix-A-Flat could soon be things of the past. Following the trend started by Michelin with the Tweel, Bridgestone recently unveiled an airless tire of its own at the Tokyo Motor Show. Bridgestone’s air-free concept is supported by a mesh of spokes that are made of thermoplastic resin. The material is flexible and durable, and best of all, it’s 100-percent recyclable!
The WindFlip barge concept was designed to simplify the installation of offshore wind turbines and in the process has managed to be a solution that also cuts cost. Installing offshore wind turbines can be an expensive task — the process requires skilled technicians to assemble turbines at sea, and to anchor them at great depths. Alternatively, the WindFlip barge allows turbines to be assembled completely on shore, towed to their location, and then simply tipped into place — thus minimizing the need for expensive work at sea. Check out a video of the WindFlip in action after the jump.
Every now and then when we post on how solar power is bringing the internet to rural Africa, or enabling the charging of mobile phones in poor communities, I’ll hear concerns from naysayers who wonder what these technologies might mean for traditional social structures in these remote areas.
Let’s leave aside the morally questionable issue of internet-connected critics worrying about access to the internet for others for a moment, and look at the core question—does internet connectivity threaten rural communities? Actually, if UK-based charity Computer Aid is anything to go by, the reverse is true.
The current scenario
Transportation technologies have got a new form over all these years and have made traveling comfortable and convenient. There are a variety of transportation modes that help us travel all around the globe in no time. But, the saddest part being that the world is still ruled by gas-guzzling beasts that are threat to the environment. Efforts are being made to give the world environmentally-friendly vehicles that will be effective, energy efficient as well as clean. Public transportation systems, like buses, trains, airplanes, etc. are also getting an eco friendly streak as they run using solar energy and electricity. Such vehicles not only save precious resources but are also superior to gasoline driven vehicles as they are harmless for the surroundings.
Keyboards and mice may seem like clunky artifacts of the past within the next five years, pushed aside in favor of the ultimate user interface: the human mind.
That’s according to IBM, which just published its “5 in 5″ forecast: a prediction about five innovations that will fundamentally change our world within the next five years. The most head-turning prediction: we’ll be able to use the power of our minds to operate machines.
This isn’t telepathy, so those hoping to get a real-time stream of thoughts from an individual had best look to shows like Heroes or Bablylon 5. What IBM envisions is using a simple brain-machine interface (BMI) that can detect different kinds of brainwaves and tell a computer to respond a certain way.
When we talk about renewable energy sources, wind power is considered the most effective resource. There have been so many technological advances in the utilization of wind power resulting in a clean, renewable, cost-effective means of generating electricity. In order to obtain optimal efficiency from the smart grid, advancements in power system is essential.
Newer technologies used in connecting the turbines to the grid can enable us to get better energy production and face the electric disturbances smoothly. Here is a list of 2011’s best technological advances in wind power technology.
Fans of the sci-fi film Minority Report will no doubt recall the autonomous insect-like searcher robots deployed to find Tom Cruise’s character mid-way through the flick. While not as elegant (or sinister) as its film counterparts, the Asterisk robot being developed by the Arai Robotics Lab at Osaka University in Japan does an excellent job of resembling a big, mechanical bug with some interesting skills. After over six years of development, this unusual “limb-mechanism” robot now boasts an impressive array of functions that may soon find it performing vital tasks in numerous areas of society, including search and rescue and building maintenance.
Wind-power has rapidly evolved over the last decade to become a key part of the alternative energy mix with towering rows of turbines now dotting horizons all over the globe. One of the drawbacks to the conventional windmill approach is that they are still low to the ground, so why not go to where the winds are stronger and more consistent – up. Like the Magenn Air Rotor System, KiteGen technology is aiming to do just that. The system generates energy by guiding tethered kites over a predefined flight path in order to rotate a ground based turbine and, while only in the testing and planning phases, it looks to be a promising solution. The large wings (or kites) in the KiteGen system are driven by avionic sensors located in a dome base that also houses an electric generator. The control system is designed to automatically guide the kites in order to rotate the turbine and maximize torque. As altitude increases, average wind speeds increase as well. This is a factor that traditional wind turbines cannot compete against, since they are stationary and are generally only able to reach heights of 100m.
Estonian auto company Dartz Kombat is known for making the Prombron — basically a bulletproof Hummer on steriods – however they recently announced plans to go ‘green’ by launching a bulletproof all-electric roadster called the Jo-Mojo. Set to debut in Monaco at the Top Marques show in April, the vehicle will feature a solar roof and muscular chassis. Check out a video slideshow of of the Jo-Mojo and its chameleon paint job — it actually changes colors — after the jump.
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