Saving money on gas is one thing, but having a car that doesn’t go through fuel like its not a precious commodity is also part of the equation. Ford announced today their plans to bring their Auto Stop-Start Technology to the United States in 2012. Also called idle-stop technology, or even microhybrid, it’s designed to turn off the engine when the car is not in motion. The electrical system stays on, so you’ll still have music and heat, but the engine will be off. As soon as the driver puts their foot back on the gas, the engine fires back up, and they can be on their way.
The technology is actually used by Ford in their current-generation hybrid vehicles, like the Ford Fusion. As Ford puts it, the company will be bringing the technology to the United States in 2012 in other vehicles, like their standard diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles. That means crossovers and SUVs will be getting the treatment as well. With the system in place, Ford says that fuel efficiency can be increased from anywhere between 4 and 10 percent.
Ford plans on introducing Auto Stop-Start Technology into every country in which they operate. In Europe, the technology is already in place in different models.
There’s one way that will usually make a concept go from a plan to the real deal pretty quickly: make it cheap. While some concept designs may focus on helping the environment, or finding new ways to help humans in certain situations, they may make it too impractical due to costs. But, if you can manage to create something that is practical and costs less than five dollars to make, we’re pretty sure that means you’ve got a winner on your hands. At least, that’s what students from the University of Washington are hoping.
The team of engineering students from the Pacific Northwest-based university have created a way to easily tell when water is safe to drink, while using the Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) method. By using the light of the sun, and water trapped in a plastic bottle, it’s possible to disinfect the water inside, and make it safe to drink. Unfortunately, there’s no “easy” way to find out when the water is safe for consumption right now, but the students are looking to change that.
The students used parts of a keyboard, and strapped the device to the side of plastic bottles. The device is meant to measure how much light is being exposed to the bottle, and the water inside. It blinks while there are particulates in the water, still obstructing the light from passing through the water cleanly. When the process has finished, the device will stop blinking indicating that the water is safe to drink. The device is automatic, too. It will just start working as soon as water is put into the bottle, to the point where the device’s sensors can read it. As for pricing, the students say it only costs $3.40 to make.
If you’re claustrophobic, then travelling on any kind of vehicle for transportation is probably pretty rough. Especially an airplane, where you’re sitting right next to a lot of people, in a relatively small space (depending on how you fly, of course). So maybe a giant tube system wouldn’t be to your liking. But, if you’ve got to get somewhere, even somewhere around the world, in a hurry, the ET3 system could be just what the world has been waiting for.
The designers behind the ET3 tube system believe that transportation should be green, affordable, and quick. In their efforts to make this happen, they’ve managed to dream up “space travel on Earth.” The result of that dream is giant tubes that would criss-cross not just over a country, but over the entire globe like a highway system. They say that the “speed in initial ET3 systems is 600km/h (370 mph) for in state trips, and will be developed to 6,500 km/h (4,000 mph) for international travel that will allow passenger or cargo travel from New York to Beijing in 2 hours.” The ET3 stands for Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies.
As of right now, the designers are building an immersive 3D Virtual Ride for their tube system, and they have a sign-up site that you can put your name down for a chance to access it, when they release it. Anyone else think that this is the future of transportation?
For a concept design to become real, and find its way into consumers all over the world, it needs money. That’s where Kickstarter comes in. A service designed to help creators find the means to get their ideas off the ground, and hopefully onto shelves where people can actually buy them. We’ve seen an iPod Nano watch hit the big time thanks to Kickstarter, and now a solar-powered portable gadget charger is looking for some funding. Designed by Eric Strebel, it’s a simple device with a lot of potential.
Strebel calls it the Solar Vox, and it’s designed to be a portable, and easy to use device to charge your other gadgets while you’re out doing things. It’s a box that features the ability to be set in four different positions. The hope is that, no matter what position the sun is in the sky, you’ll be able to tilt the Solar Vox in such a way that it will be able to soak in as many rays as possible. It features replaceable batteries, and several different USB connectors.
Strebel says that the Solar Vox is perfect for those in the world that are environmentally conscious, and anyone who falls into the “techie” description. Of course, if you hike, or take long trips that won’t let you access a traditional wall outlet as often as you’d like, the Solar Vox is a perfect option for you. As of the time of this writing, the Solar Vox has received $2,139 in funding, out of the $35,000 of its total goal. Feel like you can donate to help the Solar Vox become a reality? Head through this link.
If you’ve got kids, you’ve got crayons. And if you’ve got crayons, you’ve probably got a big container of tiny crayon nubs that are even too small for kid fingers. But Crayola themselves now have a way for you to recycle all those worn down bits into new crayons, mixing and mashing whatever colors you like together.
If you’re a stickler for color purity there’s nothing stopping you from making boring single-colored crayons again. But the truly adventurous out there will be cooking up tie-dye inspired creations, thinking outside the limits of the crayon box. Amazon’s got it for just $19.95 right now, but I suspect you’ll easily be able to find one at your local toy store once the Christmas rush is over.
Not only does this wall wart include 4 USB ports for charging multiple devices at the same time, but it also features a built-in timer allowing you to specify a 2, 4, 6 or 8 hour charging window. Once the timer runs out the charger draws no electricity at all, meaning it won’t passively run up your electric bill. It’s also got a set of folding prongs making it easier to travel with, and while it can juice up to 4 different devices at one time, if you plan to add an iPad into the mix you’ll need to use an included Y-adapter so it can draw power from 2 of the USB ports at once. While it doesn’t appear to be available for sale just yet, hopefully we’ll have a chance to check it out in person at CES 2011 next month and nail down a price point.
It’s been a long time coming, but the YikeBike is now officially on sale. With its unique design, and its tag as an alternative electric commuting device, the price tag may seem to make more sense. Initially unveiled a year ago, the YikeBike has finally made it to the “purchase” stage, and just in time for Christmas.
The YikeBike is made out of carbon fiber, and features one of the most unique designs for any kind of piece of equipment for transportation that we’ve ever seen. If you do buy one, you’ll have to live pretty close to your work, or wherever you plan on taking this thing the majority of time, as the bike is only able to go about 6.2 miles on a single charge. It may not be a long distance, but hopefully it’s enough to get you where your’e going. At least to somewhere where you can charge it up again. It’s top speed is recorded at 14mph.
As for the price, it’s listed at $3,595. That’s better than the estimated $5,000+ that the designers originally had the YikeBike going for a year ago, but it’s still a bit of a shock when you see it. Though, it may not be that wild of a guess to say that if you do pull the trigger on buying one of these for yourself, or someone you know for the holidays, that they’ll probably be one of the few riding around in their city.
The YikeBike caught our attention last year as another electric commuter alternative to a car, like the Segway. But unlike the Segway, which was banned left and right when it became available, you probably won’t have any trouble riding the YikeBike around city streets since it mostly looks like you’re just riding a bicycle. Made of carbon-fiber the YB is capable of going up to 6.2 miles on a single charge, and tops out around 14mph. Not exactly Chevy Volt ranges or speeds, but it should suffice if you live and work in an urban area. And since it folds down, you’ll never have to worry about finding parking.
And while it might provide a bit of sticker shock if you’re trying to decide between the YikeBike and a regular bicycle, last year the company was estimating a price tag of ~$5,500, where as you can officially buy one now in the U.S. for ‘just’ $3,595. I don’t know if it’s a case of them grossly overestimating the cost to make it seem slightly more affordable when it actually went on sale, but it’s a nice change when something so unique ends up costing less than expected. (COUGH! OLPC COUGH!)
Finding alternative energy sources is a cause that many corporations and companies are attached to. And governments, along with entire cities, aren’t new to clinging onto new methods for saving energy, and costs. California, which has been known in the past to incorporate solar and wind energy, is now looking at opening a new solar plant, which uses molten salt to store and release energy. The permit was just approved recently, the company behind the plant, SolarReserve, announced late Wednesday.
SolarReserve is a California-based company, out of Santa Monica, and they are moving forward with their Rice Solar Energy Project, which they will launch 30 miles from Blythe, California. The 150-megawatt solar plant is said to be able to power the equivalent of 68,000 homes over the course of a year. Together with a 25-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the plant should be able to bring plenty of energy to California over time.
SolarReserve isn’t new to the solar plants powered by molten salt. They’ve got plants in Spain, and they have plans to build more in Sicily and Nevada. With the solar plant opening near Blythe, giant mirrors that are controlled by computers to judge the best point to reflect the sun’s rays will be used to point that energy at a single tower at the center of the plant. They will point that energy at the tower, which will then lead to a series of pipes where a molten salt mixture will be stored. That mixture of molten salt will be able to store the collected energy, as the heat from the sun heats up the liquefied salt to over 1,000 Fahrenheit. The molten salt, heated, is then transfered to a generator where it will be turned into electricity. The cooled salt is then transferred to the pipes above, where it will be heated again.
While the initial permit for the solar plant has been approved, SolarReserve is now waiting for approval from the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the Western Area Power Administration, before they can move forward with the construction and usage of the plant.
Even though the snowy weather didn’t make for the most memorable of photo ops, yesterday Motor Trend’s 2011 Car of the Year, the Chevy Volt, left General Motor’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant destined for dealerships in the vehicle’s initial launch markets. About 350 Volts will be shipped out this week, marking the end of what’s been a highly publicized development for the vehicle.
To say a lot of stuff has happened since the original Volt concept was unveiled a few years ago is an understatement, and while many believe that General Motors is till standing today because of the Volt, there’s no question the company has invested a lot of time and money into developing the ideal transition vehicle as we move from fossil-fueled powered to all-electric automobiles. So congratulations are in order I guess!
