Hasta La Gadget!

It’s always good to see a concept, particularly one as appealing as Seiko’s “active matrix” E Ink watch, make it to retail product. The company’s had a thing for E Ink timepieces for a while now, but what sets this new one apart is the supposed 180-degree viewing angle it affords — and, of course, those retro good looks do it no harm either. Then there’s also the radio-controlled movement, which receives its time from the nearest atomic clock, and the solar cells framing that electrophoretic display. All very nice and neat, but the best news is that it might (might!) be priced within reach of regular Joes and Vlads like us. We’ll know soon enough, a retail release is expected by the end of the year.

Seiko’s ‘active matrix’ E Ink watch will be on sale by end of 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  a Blog to Read  | Email this | Comments

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.

Solar power blazed a trail this week as we took a look at several hot new technologies, starting with SkyFuel’s SkyTrough, which is being billed as the world’s most efficient solar collector. We also saw solar energy take to the skies as designers unveiled plans for a fleet of high-flying solar robots, and we were surprised to learn that common household dyes could significantly increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panels by optimizing their color absorption spectrum.

Speaking of dye, from the realm of wearable tech we also brought you a breakthrough new technique for dying fabric that saves water by utilizing fluid CO2. We also saw a prototype for a wired “safe cuddling” suit for kids that wards off improper touching by sounding an alarm, and if you’re a fan of high-tech footwear, check out these tricked-out kicks that do double duty as Wii controllers.

This week also saw a tremendous green boost for bits and bytes as the University of Leicester switched on its hyper-efficient ALICE supercomputer, which is ten times more powerful than its predecessor and stands to reduce yearly CO2 emissions by 800 tons. Meanwhile, researchers at UC San Diego revealed work on a new mobile phone chip that harnesses “dark silicon” to boost smartphone battery life by a factor of eleven.

We also showcased several efficient autos as Southern California rolled out a fleet of all electric buses that can recharge in 10 minutes flat, and the hyper-miling Avion car embarked on a trip from Canada to Mexico with just 14 gallons of gas. And if you’ll be doing some traveling of your own back to school this fall, you wont want to miss this chance to pick up an awesome solar-powered Sakku satchel. Finally, with Labor Day on its way why not upgrade your BBQ with an adorable altoids tin mini grill – it’s curiously awesome!

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar robots that fly, CO2 fabric dye, and the dark silicon that boosts battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

When I was a kid, a solar-powered lightbulb was a standing joke. A light powered by light? That’s like perpetual motion. Impossible! (I was pretty nerdy even back then). But with the wonders of modern technology, the same technology that brought us food-pills and jetpacks, the solar-powered lightbulb is here.

Made by Nokero, the lightbulb is claimed to be the “world’s only solar lightbulb”, although it seems to work a lot like the solar-powered lamps that my father has had in his garden for years. Designed for campers, the light has four solar-panels which charge the battery by day and five LEDs inside which glow for up to four-hours at night.

The bulbs are the same shape and size as the ones in your home, so you could even screw it into a standard fitting. The NiMH battery should last two years, and can be replaced. The bulbs cost $15 each.

So there we have it. The impossible made possible, a light-powered light. What next? A paperless book, a kind of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy with a battery that lasts a month? Wait. What?

World’s Only Solar Light Bulb [Nokero via Uncrate]

See Also:

• Solar-Powered Camera Strap Keeps You Shooting
• HP Designs Flexible, Solar-Powered Wrist Display for Combat …
• Solar-Powered iPhone Battery Case: Apple Approves
• Solar-Power Box Plugs Straight into Your Home
• Personal Solar Panel Twenty Time More Powerful Than Rivals …

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Quandary: You live in a place so beautifully sunny that you could probably power your home with solar-energy, but it is so beautifully sunny that you spend the whole day lazing in a hammock sipping iced-tea. The answer, my idle friend, is the Sunfish, solar-power that is literally plug-and-play. It’s so easy to install that even you could do it.

Sunfish works like this: You lay out a solar-panel and hook it up to the power-module. Plug this into any power-socket in your house. Then, plug in the accompanying circuit-monitor, a controller box which connects to the power-module via Wi-Fi and lets you keep an eye on things (via any web-connected device). That’s it. As long as the sun is shining, the setup pumps electricity into you mains circuit.

There are two models. The 200-watt version will power your lights (although why you would run lights with the sun shining outside is a mystery). The 1kW version will take care of washing machines and the like. If you need more power, you can just plug in more boxes.

It’s ingenious, and because its so easy to install it is pretty much portable: a boon for those in rented accommodation. The Sunfish will be available next year, at planned prices of $600 to $900 for the smaller model and $3,000 to $4,500 for the bigger one. Clarian, the company behind the device, says that a unit will pay for itself in a couple years.

I’m sold. I have been considering solar power ever since moving to Spain, but it has always seemed so complicated to set up. This plug-and-go option isn’t exactly cheap, but it sure is easy.

Sunfish: Revolutionizing Renewable Energy [Clarian. Thanks, Chad!]

See Also:

• Solar-Powered iPhone Battery Case: Apple Approves
• Joos Orange Solar Charger
• Growing Solar Panels Is Cheap, Efficient and (Relatively) Easy …

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

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.

It was an exciting week for renewable energy, as Inhabitat reported the news that solar energy has trumped nuclear power in terms of cost for the first time! We also looked at two innovative new wind turbine designs – the supermassive Aerogenerator, which at 10MW stands to be the world’s largest, and the diminutive home-focused Honeywell turbine, which will be hitting store shelves next month.

Green transportation also received a big boost this week as Stanford researchers revealed a way to transform raw sewage into rocket fuel. Meanwhile, Santiago Calatrava heralded a new era for efficient transportation as he unveiled his awe-inspiring new rail station for the Denver International Airport. And with the summer heat embroiling cities across the states, we’re daydreaming of slipping away to sea aboard this sleek solar Delta yacht.

In other news, wearable technology is changing the way we change our underwear — odor-absorbing astronaut undies have finally hit the shelves. We were also impressed by a new breed of 3d-printed textiles that may one day make needles and threads obsolete. Finally, in the spirit of summer this week we showcased 6 innovative designs that harness the power of play – from energy generating soccer balls to water-pumping merry go-rounds.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar surpasses nuclear, sewage-fueled rockets and the world’s largest turbine originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments