Hasta La Gadget!

At Inhabitat we’ve seen 3D printers that create entire buildings out of stone and complete meals out of simple ingredients, but this week we watched in awe as scientists used a 3D printer to create the world’s first “printed” human vein. And if advances in biotech get your blood flowing, you’ll be excited to hear that this week a team of researchers successfully tested a new type of nanobot that travels through the bloodstream to turn off tumor cells. Contact lenses are also getting a much needed upgrade as scientists unveiled a new type capable of fighting glaucoma and other diseases by dispensing a powerful dose of medication.

In other news, solar energy is lighting up the world at large as India gears up to power all of its cellphone towers with photovoltaic cells, saving 5 million tons of CO2 and $1.4 billion annually. And speaking of silicon cells, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently unveiled its latest creation: a super robot capable of assembling an entire photovoltaic cell in 35 minutes flat. We also looked at a prototype of a prismatic solar balloon that uses a colorful new type of solar cell to soak up the sun’s energy from high in the sky.

Finally, this week we took an in-depth look at the Ingocar, a hydraulic hybrid drive vehicle so light and efficient that it promises a mileage of 170MPG. This next-gen vehicle uses hydraulic fluid under pressure to accelerate, brake, and eliminate the need for a heavy mechanical drive train, making it 50% lighter than hybrid electric vehicles. And if you’ve ever experienced the maddening anxiety of circling for a parking spot on crammed city streets, relax – there’s an app for that!

Inhabitat’s Week In Green: 3D printed veins, solar cell towers, and the Ingocar originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How many scientists does it take to properly install a lightbulb? When that lightbulb is an implant that stimulates retinal photoreceptors to restore one’s sight, quite a few — even if they disagree whether said implant should be placed on top of the retina (requiring glasses to supply power and video feed) or underneath, using photocells to channel natural sunlight. Now, a German firm dubbed Retina Implant has scored a big win for the subretinal solution with a three-millimeter, 1,500 pixel microchip that gives patients a 12 degree field of view. Conducting human trials with 11 patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, the company successfully performed operations on seven, with one even managing to distinguish between similar objects (knife, fork, spoon) and perform very basic reading. Though usual disclaimers apply — the tech is still a long way off, it only works on folks who’ve slowly lost their vision, etc. — this seems like a step in the right direction, and at least one man now knows which direction that is.

Subretinal implant successfully tested on humans, makes blind narrowly see originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We get the impression that these guys are really just putting the pressure on “evil corporations” to stop grounding mountains in the everlasting search for coal, but it’s not really the environmental activism that caught our attention here. Rather, it’s the fact that we’re 84.3 percent certain we saw these exact same characters in a Daft Punk video back in college. Seriously — check the video out after the break and tell us we’re loony.

Josh T.: “Totally off the grid in regard to both power and girlfriends.”
Thomas: “And now Solar Sprockets, we dance!”
Joe: “You have to go as far as Brussels to find a Devo tribute act worth its salt.”
Richard Lai: “In the future, humans won’t need to eat.”
Paul: “Sure, they know how to capture the electricity, but do they know what to do with it?”
Justin: “In the future, all bands will play the washboard.”
Laura: “Did anyone make a Beastie Boys joke yet?”
Darren: “SABOTAGE.”
Richard Lawler: “This is not what Boston meant when they said I take what I find.”

Continue reading Caption contest: solar suits, or the future of punishment for eco-abusers?

Caption contest: solar suits, or the future of punishment for eco-abusers? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Novothink rolls out Solar Surge iPhone / iPod touch charging case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Joos Orange is a solar panel that promises to make sun-power useful, rather than just a hippy’s dream. By using top-end components and some clever circuitry, the panel wrings around 20x the juice from the falling sun-rays than other chargers. Sound impressive? It is, and it manages to do it for just $100.

With just an hour in the sun, the Joos Orange will generate (and store in its li-ion battery) enough power to keep you talking on the phone for two and a half hours. This compares to 5-20 minutes for other chargers (according to the company’s figures). Let the thing lounge in the sun all day long and it will end up with enough power to charge an iPhone four time over.

The Joos Orange comes from California-based Solar Components, and apart from the circuitry which optimizes the use of the charge, it uses a very efficient mono-crystalline solar cell instead of a poly-crystalline cell. It will charge in low light, can be charged via USB if there really is no sun, and the polycarbonate and steel body is waterproof, meaning it’ll even charge underwater. When the battery finally dies after 1,000 cycles you can still power gadgets before the replacement battery turns up.

The Joos Orange will ship in June, but Gadget Lab should be getting its hand on a test unit soon. We’re pretty excited: If the panel lives up to its promise, it pretty much means the end of plugging gadgets into the mains, especially here in sunny Spain. And at just $100, 24-ounces (680 grams) and 6×8×1-inches (half the size of a legal pad) its cheap and portable, too.

Joos Orange [Solar Joos. Thanks, Dave!]

Press release [Eon]