Hasta La Gadget!

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

Incredible green architecture projects lifted off to the stars and charted the seas this week as Inhabitat showcased a solar-powered space pod hotel that could launch in 2016 and PayPal founder Peter Thiel invested $1.25 million to create a chain of floating micro-countries. Meanwhile, Apple unveiled new images of its spaceship-shaped headquarters and its Grand Central Terminal store, and OPEN Architecture floated plans to transform a Zeppelin hangar into a green-roofed extreme sports center. Living green building projects also got a boost as Mexico unveiled plans to develop the world’s largest urban park and an incredible crop of grass-covered cubicles sprung up in downtown Denver.

It was also an epic week for electric vehicles as Germany’s “Schluckspecht” car set a world record for driving over 1,000 miles on a single charge, Lightning Motorcycles broke the 200 MPH electric bike speed record, and Stanford unveiled what could very well be the fastest solar car ever built. We also watched the world’s largest solar-powered boat arrive in Hong Kong as it continues its trip around the world, while Google Street View began mapping the Amazon using cameras set on canoes and trikes. Solar Roadways also received a $750,000 grant to develop a large-scale installation and Zero2Infinity proposed a cheaper way to travel to space via an immense helium-filled balloon.

In other news, the past week was charged with renewable energy developments as a 13-year-old kid harnessed the Fibonacci sequence to make a solar power breakthrough and researchers developed an energy-harvesting LCD screen that could one day power our gadgets. We also learned that deep-sea mussels can convert hydrogen into energy, we were shocked to see another shiny slick of oil turn up near a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico, and we saw Australia outfit its soldiers with photovoltaic systems. Finally, on the home front we brought you a set of fun LEGO LED lamps perfect for illuminating any room, and we shared five tips for greening your finances.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: space pod hotel, Lego LED lamps and the world’s largest solar-powered boat originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading BMW’s Ultimate Drive app lets you share your favorite routes, crowdsources day tripping

BMW’s Ultimate Drive app lets you share your favorite routes, crowdsources day tripping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We might not know how much Ford’s expecting for the Focus Electric, but it’s already put a hefty $10,000 price tag on one of its accessories. The company announced today that it has teamed with SunPower to offer purchasers of the upcoming Focus Electric and C-MAX Energi a 2.5-kilowatt rooftop solar system. That setup will apparently provide “enough renewable energy production to offset the energy used for charging” cars that log 1,000 miles per month (about 30 miles per day) or less. If $10,000 is just a little too rich for your blood, there’s always Best Buy’s $1,500 budget-friendly charging station. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Ford teams with SunPower, offers EV owners $10,000 solar charging system

Ford teams with SunPower, offers EV owners $10,000 solar charging system originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paying for parking isn’t exactly a fun experience, but Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute is doing its best to make it slightly less painful, with Viatag — an NFC system that allows you shell out your hard earned cash without even reaching for your wallet. The setup is relatively simple, consisting of a small RFID tag, compatible transceivers and a centralized database. Once attached to your car’s windshield, the tag communicates with the transceivers installed within a given parking lot, alerting the system whenever your vehicle enters or leaves. An application running on the central server, meanwhile, keeps track of how much time you spend in the lot, and charges your debit card accordingly. Researchers have already installed Viatag at car parks in Essen, Duisburg and Munich, and are hoping to expand it to other locations. It might not be as sophisticated as some of the other automotive communications systems we’ve seen, but it could come in handy during those moments when you really don’t feel like swearing at a parking meter. Cruise past the break for the full PR.

Continue reading Viatag NFC system pays parking lot fees with an RFID tag, saves lives

Viatag NFC system pays parking lot fees with an RFID tag, saves lives originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen a short bit of footage of a single Model S on the road, and now Tesla has released an even briefer video of not one, not two, but three vehicles on the track for some alpha-level testing. No, they’re not racing (at least not on the video), but it certainly looks like they’re ready for one. See for yourself after the break, and look for things to improve further from here — Tesla says it’s now already applying what it’s learned from the testing to its forthcoming beta vehicles.

Continue reading Gone in 43 seconds: Tesla’s Model S gets teased on the track (video)

Gone in 43 seconds: Tesla’s Model S gets teased on the track (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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