Hasta La Gadget!

Ah, wireless power. One of those mythical mysteries that are far more likely to remain “something to strive for” rather than “the next big thing.” Oh sure, we’ve got Palm’s Touchstone and the Powermat, but until we can hang a 50-inch plasma from our bedroom ceiling and power it up without a single wire, we’ll remain firmly unsatisfied. Thankfully for those of us in that camp, MIT exists, and a few of the school’s best and brightest are toiling around the clock in order to develop a technology that would power not one, but multiple devices sans cabling. Thanks to the wonders of coupling resonance, we’re told that the “overall power transfer efficiency of the wireless system could be increased by powering multiple devices simultaneously, rather than each device individually.” In theory, the system could be implemented by “embedding a large copper coil in the wall or ceiling of a room,” but there’s obviously no set time frame for release. We’ll be looking for you geeks at CES next year, okay?

MIT jumps straight to wirelessly powering multiple devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s better than an artificial nose? Why, an artificial foot, of course! University of Michigan researchers have developed a new prosthetic foot that could one day make it much easier for amputees to walk. Put simply, this new prototype drastically cuts the energy spent per step, as it harnesses the energy exerted when taking a step and enhances the power of ankle push-off. The device is able to capture dissipated energy, and an inbuilt microcontroller tells the foot to return the energy to the system at precisely the right time. Tests have shown that those using this here foot spent just 14 percent more energy to walk than one would spend when walking naturally, which is a rather significant decrease from the 23 percent uptick experienced with conventional prostheses. If you’re still baffled, there’s a pretty wicked video demonstration waiting for you after the break.

Continue reading Energy-recycling foot makes it easier for amputees to walk

Energy-recycling foot makes it easier for amputees to walk originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now get this, skeptics: there are already several corporate customers using refrigerator-sized Bloom Boxes. The corporate-sized cells cost $700,000 to $800,000 and are installed at 20 customers you’ve already heard of including FedEx and Wal-mart — Google was first to this green energy party, using its Bloom Boxes to power a data center for the last 18 months. Ebay has installed its boxes on the front lawn of its San Jose location. It estimates to receive almost 15% of its energy needs from Bloom, saving about $100,000 since installing its five boxes 9 months ago — an estimate we assume doesn’t factor in the millions Ebay paid for the boxes themselves. Bloom makes about one box a day at the moment and believes that within 5 to 10 years it can drive down the cost to about $3,000 to make it suitable for home use. Sounds awfully aggressive to us. Nevertheless, Bloom Energy will go public with details on Wednesday — until then, check the 60 Minutes sneak peek after the break.

[Thanks, Abe P.]

Continue reading The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video)

The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen the magic of piezoelectrics before, but if a team of Cal Bears can really deliver, their spin on things will actually make a difference in the retail realm. Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley have concocted so-called “energy-scavenging nanofibers,” which could one day be “woven into clothing and textiles” in order to convert into electricity the energy created through mechanical stress, stretches and twists. If everything works out, these movement-lovin’ clothes could theoretically power your phone and / or PMP as you walk, and for those concerned with cost, we’re told that the organic polyvinylidene fluoride materials use to make the nanofibers are easy and cheap to manufacture. Too bad there’s no direct confirmation that PVDFs are machine washable, but hey, that’s why you’ve got the local dry cleaners on speed dial.

Cal researchers create ‘energy-scavenging nanofibers,’ look to energize your next A&F sweater originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s cooler than the latest in technology? How about the latest in self-powering technology? University of Pennsylvania researchers have put together what seems like the world’s first photovoltaic circuit, which is to say that the electronic parts of your devices will no longer have to just consume energy, they’ll be able to harvest it directly from the sun. The most obvious application for this would be in smartphone touchscreens, which could recharge themselves while you sip your latte at the local sun-drenched coffee shop. Of course, such practical uses are still a fair distance away, as the team can generate only minuscule amounts of power at present, but the theory is in place and so is our attention. Don’t let us down, Penn!

Photovoltaic circuit makes solar-powered touchscreens possible, not yet plausible originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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