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Chrysler's first concept EV could offer up to 400 miles of range
At CES 2022 on Wednesday, Chrysler revealed its first fully electric vehicle concept, the Airflow.
I strapped on a harness to fly in a virtual world
I flew over snowcapped mountains with the wind in my face. Actually the mountains were virtual and the wind was just two fans blowing at my head. But, if you've ever wanted to be Superman, the folks at Mindride have you covered. That is if you're fine being strapped into a harness and shoving a sweat soaked Oculus Rift on your face.
Piezoelectric system turns your balmy breath into pungent power
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with a way to produce electricity from just about the most renewable source known to man -- his own breath. It's all thanks to a plastic microbelt developed by engineers Xudong Wang, Chengliang Sun and Jian Shi. Made of a material known as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), this belt produces an electric charge whenever low-speed airflow passes over it and causes it to vibrate -- a result of that vaunted piezoelectric effect. Eventually, Wang and his team were able to tinker with their system to the point where it could produce enough current to charge small electronic devices. "The airflow of normal human respiration is typically below about two meters per second," Wang explained. "We calculated that if we could make this material thin enough, small vibrations could produce a microwatt of electrical energy that could be useful for sensors or other devices implanted in the face." The researchers say their technology could be used to power smaller biomedical devices like blood monitors and pacemaker batteries, which typically don't demand vast amounts of energy. No word yet on when this system could make its way to the mainstream, but we'll be waiting with bated breath.
Kuchofuku's air conditioned bed, clothing line
Sure, you could blow a cool million on a bed you'd never sleep on, but why not grab one that actually provides some relief (and won't run you $5k a month... forever) after a hard day in the blazing sun? Enter Kuchofuku, who certainly has the right idea with its air conditioned sleeper and clothing line. The makeshift bed, which only weighs 5.3-pounds, utilizes dual fans to pull air in and circulate it through the cushion beneath you. Of course, it'd be a modern tragedy to have to rise and leave such a pleasant scenario, but you can solve that dilemma as well care of the air conditioned shirt. The button-up garb touts an integrated fan that is purportedly powered via USB, which means that your armpits can now remain fresh regardless of how infrequent the AC kicks on at the office. A cooler night's sleep is but $399 away, while the new threads (seen after the jump) will run you a staggering $159 apiece.[Via CScout, thanks Mike]
Pelican's Air Flo Cooler chills out your PlayStation 3
Sony's PlayStation 3 certainly hasn't fallen victim to mass outages due to overheating like a competitor has, but there's nothing wrong with offering a product some cats are sure to nab out of sheer paranoia. Apparently, Pelican is aiming to launch a relatively dashing cooling device that hopefully won't encourage your machine to internally fry, and while the Air Flo Cooler does a commendable job in looking the part, this thing definitely elongates your already lengthy machine. Intelligently, Pelican has designed it to draw power from a dedicated AC adapter, and states that it can reduce your machine's operating temperature by some 15-degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, the built-in Auto Thermo Sensing Technology allows it to speed up and calm down the fans based on the amount of cooling that's currently necessary. Priced at $29.95, the Air Flo Cooler is slated to launch sometime "in the coming weeks," and will include a black and chrome accent plate to satisfy the uniformity freaks in the crowd as well. Click on through for a few more snapshots.[Via PS3Fanboy]
Logitech announces ChillStream controller for the PS3
Those prolific peripheral purveyors over at Logitech are putting that exclusive AirFlow tech of theirs to good use. They've just announced their new ChillStream controller for the PlayStation 3, which along with adding some always welcome fan-based cooling to the controller, might add some much-needed heft to the gamepad as well. Logitech is also announcing PS3 compatibility for a good swath of their PS2 peripherals, such as their Driving Force Pro wheel and USB headset. The new ChillStream controller will be out when the PS3 launches in November, and will run you $40 -- the same as the Xbox 360 version which dropped in September.
Joystiq checks out prototype XPS desktop
Question: How can you tell that a Dell XPS desktop is still in the prototype phase? Answer: You'd be willing to put it in plain-sight on top of your desk. Excessive paint jobs aside, there isn't a gamer alive who doesn't get a little excited when reading an XPS spec sheet featuring such terms as "Quad-SLI," "4.xxGHz," and "free 30-inch display," so we're sure there will be some interest in this backroom shot that Joystiq captured of an XPS work-in-progress. As you can tell by the photo, the protoype that Dell was seeking feedback on is nowhere near ready to be adorned with a $10,000 price tag, and the journalists on hand got absolutely nothing from the suits in terms of specs or features. Still, we are able to speculate that the open grating in the front will lead to better airflow -- and thus cooler components -- which a good sign for whatever insanely overclocked processor gets stuffed inside.[Thanks, Einhanderkiller]
