A team from the University of Newcastle is perfecting a method of capturing carbon emissions and transforming them into carbonate rock bricks. They’re just part of a wave of efforts by scientists who hope to tame carbon in order to shape a greener future.
     |
Sometime in the next few months, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System will flip the switch on the largest solar plant of its kind in the world: A 377-megawatt, 3,500-acre solar thermal energy system. It’s located in California’s Mojave Desert near the Nevada border and it’s ridiculously big. I would suggest going to check it out in person during your next Vegas binge weekend, but from the 15 freeway it’s little more than a silvery blur—a rippling, mirage-like, silvery blur that feels like it might sear your retinas if you look at it too long. So it’s a good thing they’ve just posted this incredible virtual tour.
| |
Most energy drinks and supplements only set you up for the inevitable crash. If you’re looking for an instant burst of energy without the usual disadvantages, then you might want to check out Sprayable Energy.
It’s a spray that gives you a dose of caffeine that’s absorbed through your skin so you can get that much-needed boost. According to the spray’s creators, it’s the world’s first topical energy spray and it’s a whole lot better than most other energy products because it doesn’t require you to ingest drinks filled with ingredients other than caffeine.
Its makers claim that since the caffeine is sprayed on, it enters your system gradually so you won’t get the usual energy shock (and crash) that come with using energy products.
Sprayable Energy is currently up for funding on Indiegogo, where a minimum pledge of $15(USD) will get you a single container that should last about 2 to 3 weeks. Just don’t mix it up with your pepper spray.
[via Laughing Squid]
While this R/C car technically doesn’t run solely on water, it’s still a pretty interesting scientific toy to have around. This new revision of the hydrogen-powered R/C car is more energy efficient and cheaper than the 2008 original.
Water is poured into the i-H2GO car’s refueling station, then it is electrolyzed. The process splits H2O into hydrogen and oxygen using the power of a solar panel. The hydrogen is then directed into the car, and the car basically runs off hydrogen by converting it into electricity. On cloudy days, you can use a USB cable to electrolyze the water.
The i-H2GO is controlled by an iOS app at the moment. An Android app is forthcoming.
You can get the whole setup for $180(USD) from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. It will ship on August 15.
[via Werd]
The streets are often empty in the dead of night, but they’re all still well-lit anyway. That makes sense, because I’d want it to be well-lit in case I find myself walking home in the wee hours of the morning. It’s definitely a huge waste of energy though, because no one’s around to actually make use of that light.
A neat concept that aims to solve this problem is Tvilight. Basically, these streetlamps will only light up when someone is around. If its wireless sensors can’t detect any people or vehicles nearby, then the lamps will switch to its dim light mode. The sensors are able to detect how fast a person or object is approaching, so it can flick the lights on quickly as needed.
The Tvilight is expected to cut typical carbon dioxide emissions by 80% and reduce maintenance costs by half. It’s definitely got huge potential for use in streets all over the world. What do you think?
[via Dvice]
We’ve all got that record, the one we discovered early on that completely changed the way we look at music. Mine was Operation Ivy’s 1989 effort Energy, and I’m proud to say that—I think—it still holds up.
| |
So you’re doing your groceries or are out for a run, when you suddenly get a call – and then your phone dies because it’s out of power. What’s a desperate person supposed to do at that point, especially when the call is an important one?
Consider yourself lucky if you’re in New York, though, since you could probably just set off for the nearest Street Charging station to give your phone some much-needed power.
These solar-powered charging stations are thanks to the collaboration between AT&T, portable solar power systems developer Goal Zero, and Brooklyn design studio Pensa. The Street Charge stations were rolled out in various areas of New York.
Each station has PV panels installed on top and an internal battery that stores power gathered from the sun. Just plug your phone in and wait a few minutes to give your phone enough power to make that call or to charge it up because you have nothing better to do but stand and enjoy a sunny day. And also because you want to knock a couple of bucks off of your electric bill.
The concept for the Street Charge charging stations were done in early 2012 by Pensa. Marco Perry, one of the members of the studio’s team, described it as “an elegant all-in-one community solution for solar charging of mobile devices.”
From the looks of it, we agree.
[via Gizmag]
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.
Summer is finally upon us, and polluting companies are feeling the heat as President Barack Obama announced a groundbreaking climate action plan this week that calls for cutting CO2 emissions and building more resilient communities in the face of climate change. Meanwhile, innovators around the world are continuing to tackle some of our biggest challenges. Rust-Oleum launched NeverWet – an incredible new spray that can completely waterproof any surface or object. IKEA unveiled a new solar-powered flat-pack shelter that could be easily deployed as emergency housing. Cardboard Technologies announced plans to mass-produce a $10 bicycle made almost entirely from recycled cardboard. And in one of the week’s most exciting green transportation developments, England’s Drayson Racing set a new land speed record for electric cars this week, shattering the previous mark by nearly 30 MPH.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation, Science
The first signs of trouble at Fukushima were quickly followed by expectations of an action-ready ASIMO leaping to the rescue. Honda’s humanoid remains far from able, but their new High-Access Survey Robot is on the job, and of some consolation: it’s got ASIMO parts.
• • •
After more than two years of research and development, in collaboration with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and with input and direction from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Honda has finally made good on its commitment to assist with recovery and repair at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
High-Access Survey Robot is as High-Access Survey Robot Does
“High-Access Survey” isn’t super creative in the naming department, but it really does nail what this technically two-piece robot is all about: 1. movement via tracked chassis with a variable-height platform allowing operators to peer into hard to see, difficult to access places up to 23ft/7m high (that’s AIST’s tech); 2. providing a comprehensive visual survey from the camera-equipped arm and automatic 3D mapping of the robot’s immediate location (thanks, ASIMO!); 3. a new control system that increases dexterity by allowing operators to manipulate several robotic joints at once (more ASIMO-tech); and 4. shock-resistant arms, e.g., within a reasonable range, the robot’s arms will remain steady and on-task even when other parts or the entire machine gets jostled around (that’s the big present from ASIMO, detailed below).
The robot’s advancements and benefits are pretty clear:
AIST’s sturdy, low center of gravity, tracked base keeps things moving over potentially rough terrain, and when the arm platform is fully extended it’s probably the tallest stand-alone robot out there (at least among robots that actually like, you know, do stuff).
The first two gifts from ASIMO are visually subtle, but operationally quite significant. Performing extremely important jobs through a single camera lens is the status quo drudgery for current recovery & repair robotics, so this system’s 3D view of the robot’s surroundings combined with increased dexterity are welcome enhancements (presumably, a number of different tools could make their way onto the business end of Honda’s arm). The last gift from ASIMO, the gift of stability, well there’s a bit of history to all that, and we’ll get to it below – first, here’s how the job will be done:
So there you go – it’s certainly an achievement, and along with several other machines already at work or heading to Fukushima (see: Japan’s Robot Renaissance: Fukushima’s Silver Lining), Honda’s new robot is a unique and valuable contribution to the recovery & repair effort. Okay – great, happy day!
But wait…
So, Honda’s very highly accomplished robotics division (our coverage: Honda Robots for the Home • Honda Robots You Wear) has spent two years at this? Even casual tech observers know that we’ve had durable, effective crawler robots with cameras and nimble, powerful arms for well over a decade (see: iRobot), and those with a slightly higher level of robo-geekery know Honda’s been working on bipedal humanoid robots for almost 30 years.
Honda’s résumé reasonably amplifies everyone’s expectations; as such, both when things went bad at Fukushima, and even NOW, it’s not unreasonable to wonder why they’ve reinvented the tracked robot wheel, so to speak, and why there are still no practical, deployable results from all the time, money, and brains put into ASIMO. Can’t that robot at least do… something!?
Presents from ASIMO: the Humanoid has Indeed Contributed
ASIMO is often billed as the world’s most advanced humanoid robot (that’s recently become debatable), and it does have some autonomous capabilities, but what’s brought to the public eye is largely choreographed to a specific environment. The very robo-dorky among us knew it was entirely unreasonable to expect anything of ASIMO as a stand alone robot, but we did know that ASIMO is and has always been a research platform with wild potential. Honda, openly apologetic and conciliatory of its inability to immediately assist with Fukushima recovery & repair, got straight to work:
(see the derived-from-ASIMO self-steadying arm/leg tech in action, jump to 14:50 in this NHK documentary)
The self-steadying, self-balancing arm Honda engineers created, obviously, is the predecessor to the limb mounted on the new High-Access Survey Robot. So the work kinda paid off. The prototype provided design cues, inspiration, and data – and then was put away in Honda’s warehouse of lost robotic toys or whatever.
Or was it? Now, speculation is at best speculative, but what if maybe, maybe that arm isn’t on a shelf somewhere? What if, big if, but what if there’s also a body… and it’s not ASIMO?
Because Fool Honda Once, Shame on You…
Naively, but with hope inspired by Honda’s technological achievements, the world called for ASIMO to help at Fukushima, but Honda could do nothing. Now, pressure is building from the very exciting, fueled by international competition for prizes and prestige, Fukushima-inspired DARPA Robotics Challenge (our coverage). And, looming off in the future is the possibility that Japan’s best robots might once again get upstaged by something from the U.S., or Korea, Poland, Germany, etc. That’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also a ton of motivation.
Honda engineers extracted a polished, self-steadying/balancing arm from ASIMO’s leg in 8 months. In the 18 since, would they really have only managed to attach some eyes and bolt it to a crawler with a really long neck?
Akihabara News’ robotics coverage will keep you hip to developments – and you’ll wanna stay tuned in – because unless Honda’s hoping to get fooled again, it’s both safe to assume they’ve remained busy, and safe to assume that the image below is more than just a rendering; it might be something awesome.
• • •
Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.
VIA: IT Media (Japanese/日本語); Honda Robotics (Japanese/日本語)
Images: Honda Robotics; NHK
While solar power promises a lot, it’s only ever going to help satisfy our energy needs if it becomes efficient enough. Fortunately, Sharp has just made the world’s most efficient solar cell, which converts a staggering 44.4 percent of incident light into electricity. Take that, fossil fuels.
| |
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
