Hasta La Gadget!

This week an incredible crop of sun-powered prefabricated houses popped up in Washington DC for the 2011 Solar Decathlon, and Inhabitat was on the scene to bring you exclusive coverage of this year’s stunning homes! We took a look at all 19 of this year’s ultra-efficient projects, we rounded up seven stellar teams set to take the competition by storm, and we’ll continue to keep you posted as the results roll in, so stay tuned. We also highlighted several inspiring projects from MIT’s $1,000 house challenge, we saw a massive solar LED installation light up the night in Croatia, and we spotted plans for a futuristic floating island paradise at sea.

Green transportation got things rolling this week as Chicago launched a lush green subway car filled with plants, and Edison unveiled an electric version of their X-Prize winning Very Light Car. Two-wheeled transportation took off as well as an all-electric Tron Lightcycle hit the streets for the first time and researchers developed a nylon bike that is as strong as steel using satellite technology. We also took a spin in the 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid and we showcased plans for a Lockheed Stratoliner hydrogen jet that can travel anywhere on earth without refueling.

As September winds down schools across the county are now in session, but if you’re still scrambling to pick up a few last-minute supplies don’t miss our roundup of 14 green gadgets for back to school and ten solar-powered designs to charge your life. We also saw eco-fashion go high-tech as researchers developed a smart t-shirt that can monitor hospital patients’ vital signs, designers created a motion-sensing interactive window display and a Star Wars fan made a remarkably realistic stormtrooper helmet entirely from Adidas sneakers. Finally, we shined a light on a Swedish daycare center’s plans to track kids with GPS tracking devices.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Solar Decathlon, hydrogen jet and a solar LED installation originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW is working on a new type of headlight that will replace its latest LED headlights with lasers. The laser beam headlights will be twice as efficient as LEDs, and can be up to 1,000 times stronger. Not only will the laser headlights help save energy, which will in turn save on gas; they’ll also […]

Lasers make everything better, including (but not limited to): microphones, kidneys and Audi’s electric A2 concept. This newest flight of fancy uses a laser diode as the rear fog lamp, which projects a red triangle onto the road to let other drivers know you’re there. The German car-maker has tricked out the rest of the EV’s lighting system as well by implementing matrix beam technology using LEDs and microreflectors — giving it high resolution, non-glaring beams and intelligent tail lights that change in intensity based on weather conditions. Claiming other state-of-the-art features like gesture controls instead of keys, and brake lights that glow brighter the harder you press, it sounds like this would be a pretty sweet ride — if it ever makes it to market. No word on the other, insignificant details (ya know, like what actually powers the thing) but there’s plenty more about the car’s lighting system in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Audi announces A2 electric concept car, uses lasers to ensure safety of future humans

Audi announces A2 electric concept car, uses lasers to ensure safety of future humans originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We prefer our robots stick to the household cleaning chores, a little DJing action even, and then go right back to the closet. But, when we first glimpsed this emoting automaton from Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, our fears of the day of robot reckoning subsided slightly. The ETRI-built robot (or ETRO for short) is currently “employed” as an ambassador for human-robot relations at Daejon’s National Science Museum, treating amused passersby to outspoken professions of love backed by its LED-lit facial expressions. Originally designed as a reading robot back in 2003, version 2.0 of this humanoid helper was created with a greater cause in mind — showcasing robotics as promising Korean growth industry. Rather than let those economic concerns muddle our whimsy, let’s just focus on the AI-assisted cuteness in the video below.

Continue reading ETRO robot wears its heart on its face, promises to love you

ETRO robot wears its heart on its face, promises to love you originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese monitor maker Iiyama just blessed the market with a new pair of panels sporting a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 8ms response and a special ECO mode that reduces power consumption by up to 60-percent. The 24-inch XB2472HD-B and 27-inch X2775HDS-B both rely on an LED-backlit VA display (better than your bargain LCD, but not quite as nice as an IPS display) and have your standard trio of HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs. The primary difference between the two screens is the 24-incher’s slightly higher brightness (300cd/m2 versus 250cd/m2) and the 27-inch model’s 4-port USB hub and integrated speakers. The XB2472HD-B should start shipping by the end of the month for ¥24,800 ($323) with the X2775HDS-B to follow in September for around ¥34,800 ($453).

Iiyama introduces XB2472HD-B and X2775HDS-B VA-based desktop displays originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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