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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Just a simple light switch, you say? Look closer. Think Automatic’s Luminode dimmer switch hides both a processor and a mesh network connection that lets every switch in the home coordinate with each other. A multi-tap system makes it possible to link multiple lights together without extra wiring or complex programming, but that’s just the start: it’s possible to create “scenes” of predefined lighting levels and, with a USB adapter, hook up to home automation systems (including Think Automatic’s own) that can learn usage habits, track energy consumption or simply let us control the array with our smartphones. The platform uses raw XML to communicate and already talks to GE, Insteon and Stargate hardware — all without requiring a huge grid of buttons or displays.

Development of the Luminode is very nearly done after six-plus years of work in Seattle. The hardware is fundamentally ready and just needs the Kickstarter project to finish its FCC and UL testing along with the obligatory mass production. The hope is to start delivering switches in January as well as integrate more closely with non-lighting elements in the future. Pledge levels are dictated almost exclusively by volume: $130 is what it takes to get a basic two-switch kit, $260 will add the USB adapter along with an extra switch, and successive levels scale all the way up to a 50-switch, $3,000 kit for large homes. Think Automatic has a relatively low $35,000 threshold to meet its Kickstarter funding, but it only has 13 days left to go. If you like the idea of advanced lighting that doesn’t require an advanced appreciation of the user manual to understand, now’s a good time to click the source link and make it happen.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Luminode dimmer switch runs on a mesh network, learns to light up our lives (video)

Filed under: Household

Insert Coin: Luminode dimmer switch runs on a mesh network, learns to light up our lives (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Believe it or not, EV battery life is still something of a Pandora’s Box, even for automakers: they can tell you the battery pack’s current and voltage, but not how it’s really performing under pressure. Ford, GE and the University of Michigan are uniting to unlock that mystery through a new ARPA-E project. In its role, GE is developing a minuscule sensor array that will track the nuances of battery cells that existing technology misses; it will promptly hand the baton to researchers at the University of Michigan, who plan to both prove that GE’s data is on the mark as well as develop tricks for predicting behavior. Ford handles the last mile, almost literally: it’s planning to fit the GE sensor technology to one of its cars and test in a more realistic environment. Before you fantasize about knowing the lifespan of your Focus Electric’s battery down to the minute, however, the new alliance is stressing that it’s only just getting started — there’s another three years and $3.1 million to go before the project wraps up. If all goes according to plan, though, we’ll have electric cars and plug-in hybrids that can not only tell when they’ve seen better days but can eke out extra miles through smarter battery designs.

Continue reading Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road

Filed under: Transportation

Ford, GE and University of Michigan team up on sensor to track EV battery life, keep us on the road originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GE has announced the creation of a new world-class traction motor for hybrid and electric vehicles. The new prototype electric motor delivers higher power density and better acceleration efficiency in a smaller frame at a lower cost than existing electric motors. The goal for GE is to extend the range of electric vehicles and reduce fuel consumption for hybrids using the new motor.

GE notes that the new electric motor has almost twice the temperature tolerance of a conventional hybrid-electric motor and doesn’t need a separate cooling system. The elimination of a separate cooling system allows the vehicle to be lighter, which directly translates into longer driving distance. The new electric motor is a prototype Interior Permanent Magnet traction motor that was developed as part of the $5.6 million US Department of Energy project to extend the range of DVDs and hybrids.

The prototype traction motor operates at a peak power level of 55kW and exceeds state of the art motors in the same class in several areas. The motor has nearly twice the power density offering better acceleration compared to similar motors and is 3 to 5% more efficient. The motor also achieves the required torque using lower DC bus voltage as low as 200 V versus 650 V and other motors. The GE electric motor is designed to be cool with normal engine coolant in a hybrid vehicle rather than needing its own dedicated cooling system.

“This is a significant accomplishment. We at GE are pushing the boundaries to build more robust, yet more efficient motors for hybrid and fully electric platforms,” said Ayman El-Refaie, Electrical Engineer, in GE Global Research’s Electrical Machines Lab. “We have built a motor that is substantially more powerful than what’s commercially available now, all while improving efficiency by up to 5%.”

GE researchers create new prototype traction motor for hybrid and electric vehicles is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

GE has announced that its research division is working on a new development that it hopes will help spread the adoption of natural gas vehicles in the United States and around the world. GE is working in partnership with Chart Industries and scientists from the University of Missouri to develop an affordable home refueling station for natural gas vehicles. The researchers are working on the program through Advance Research Projects Agency for Energy or ARPA-E.

The goal of the ARPA-E program is to develop a natural gas home fueling station that could sell for $500 per unit and reduce fueling times from 5 to 8 hours to under an hour. There are at home refueling stations for natural gas vehicles available today, but they cost about $5000 and have long refueling times. Refueling commonly requires 5-8 hours for natural gas vehicles, typically meaning overnight refueling. The program hopes to improve the adoption of natural gas vehicles by average drivers with a fast and inexpensive home refueling station.

There are an estimated 15 million natural gas-powered vehicles operating globally with more than 250,000 in the United States. Most of those vehicles in the United States are commercial fleet vehicles such as buses and delivery trucks, but there are some passenger cars. The recharging station the researchers are working on would be fundamentally different from systems already available. The researchers are working on a system that chills, densifies, and transfers compressed natural gas more efficiently and the device will be a simpler design with fewer parts and will be able to operate quietly. The program is intended the last 28 months and cost approximately $2.3 million.

GE researchers are working on a home refilling station for natural gas vehicles is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.