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Inhabitat's Week in Green: Solar cars, solar boats, solar... gold?
The Week in Green is a new item from our friends at Inhabitat, recapping the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. This week Inhabitat peered into the future of green tech as we liveblogged the most exciting moments from this year's Greener Gadgets Conference. The highlight of the day was the on-stage live-judging and announcement of this year's Greener Gadgets design competition winner, the AUG/Living Goods Program. Renowned industrial designer Yves Béhar also wowed us by unveiling a brand new design for a "Hackable" solar-electric car that is composed of modular components. (Engadget liveblogged it here.) Speaking of sun-powered vehicles, Hungarian auto company Antro has just unveiled plans to create an out-there yet undeniably cool solar-powered car that splits into two vehicles. And for those looking to ride the seas in style, take a long, hard look at this giant solar boat. Then again, why ride a conventional vehicle when you could hop aboard this insane futurictic crawler town on wheels? Too bad it's made out of LEGOs. Finally, we brought to light several illuminating energy projects: researchers have found a way to generate electricity by shining light on tiny gold nanoparticles, opening the door for self-powered molecular machines, and Phillips unveiled a blooming solar street lamp that soaks up energy during the day and uses it to light up the night.
Win a ticket to the Greener Gadgets Conference!
Hey, the third annual Greener Gadgets Conference is going off in New York City on February 25th, and we've got a couple tickets to give away! (We only ask that you don't enter unless you absolutely know you can attend the conference on February 25th, which we'll confirm before awarding the prizes.) In addition to speakers from Autodesk, the MIT Media Lab, the U.S. Green Building Council, Dwell, and Treehugger, the show will feature great keynotes from Yves Behar of Fuseproject, the SF design studio behind the OLPC XO, and Robert Fabricant, vice president of creative for Frog Design. The whole shebang then closes out with the incredibly popular Greener Gadgets Design Competition, which brought us the amazing Tweet-a-Watt last year. Obviously we'll be there, so make sure to say hi if you see us, okay? We'll be notifying winners on Friday, but if you just want to get some tickets, you can hit the read link and use the registration code "BLOG10" for a $50 discount. The rules: Leave a comment below. Any comment will do. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winner will be chosen randomly. Two winners will receive one (1) ticket to the Greener Gadgets Conference. Approximate retail value is $275. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Thursday, February 18, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Illumicharger, thin solar cells, and a Porsche
The Week in Green is a new item from our friends at Inhabitat, recapping the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. This week Inhabitat geared up for the Greener Gadgets Conference by showcasing some of the most exciting gizmos from this year's design competition. First we took a look at the IllumiCharger, a handy wall-mounted solar charger that one-ups your standard outlets with two usb ports. We also liked the Fair Energy Clock, a fool-proof adapter that vanquishes vampire power by staking out times to pull the plug. And in case you missed it, be sure to check out Corky, the kinetic mouse that generates energy with every click. Batteries be gone! It was also another big week for solar power as technological advances produced photovoltaic cells that are smaller, more efficient, and more versatile in their applications. IBM unveiled a new breed of thin-film cells that are 40% more efficient than previous prototypes, while the University of Michigan announced the world's smallest solar-powered sensor, which measure a scant 9 cubic millimeters. Finally, we were flat-out wowed by Porsche's latest supercar - a 911 hybrid that will be taking on the competition at the 24 hour Nürburgring race this May. The vehicle is based on the tried-and-true 911 platform but features some race-ready tricks under the hood: front wheel hybrid drive and a kinetic energy recovery system that stores braking energy in a flywheel that delivers a 160hp boost of speed with the press of a button.
Conceptual Corky mouse gets charged through motion, doubles as a wine stopper
It's still in concept form at the moment, but America's own Adele Peters just might have a winner with Corky. This obviously cork-based mouse relies on "piezoelectric elements to generate energy every time you click or move it around on your desk," meaning that nary a battery would ever be used to power it. In case that's not sustainable enough for you, the whole thing is made from easily recyclable materials, so it shouldn't mar Ma Earth when it gets tossed at the end of its useful life. Too bad that design has been trumped forty times over by more ergonomic options, but hey, there's always v2.0.
Eco shocker: Turbine Light concept uses wind to light highways
Ingenious, eco-friendly concepts are all around us, there's no denying that. This one caught our eye because it's pretty innovative, seemingly well thought out, and good looking to boot. The Turbine Light concept (which is going to be a part of the upcoming Greener Gadgets conference in New York City at the end of this month) harnesses the power of the wind from cars rushing past to light up the ever-darkening roadways. The turbines use the wind collected to generate energy for the lighting, and while the concept lacks a lot of firm details so far, but we're sure to find out more about it soon -- we'll be sure to check them out at the conference on February 25th. Hit the source link to see more concepts, along with other people and companies who will be there.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: photovoltaics, footballs, and Greener Gadgets
The Week in Green is a new item from our friends at Inhabitat, recapping the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. This week at Inhabitat we saw several hot advances in solar technology that stand to shape how our buildings are built and how we power the electronics in our lives. CASE in point: this beautiful glass photovoltaic system can be affixed to windows and actually magnifies the available sunlight inside into tiny solar chips to create electricity. In other photovoltaic news, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania just unveiled the world's first solar-powered circuits. These tiny chips may one day be integrated directly within computer touch screens, essentially transforming them into multitasking solar panels. We're also excited to see that the finalists of the 2010 Greener Gadgets Design Competition have been announced. Two of our favorites right off the bat are these wind turbine streetlights that harvest energy from passing cars and Rocco, the kinetic energy-generating rocking horse. Check out all the entries and vote for your favorite! This week was a big week for efficient aviation as we learned of Portugal's plans to replace PVC airplane parts with lightweight cork and watched as Seymourpowell floated a fantastic plan for a fuel-cell powered luxury airship. Finally, the states may be getting charged for Super Bowl Sunday, but youth in Africa are kicking around a different kind of football -- one capable of generating energy in off-grid locations. We also saw a similar concept called the swirl ball that makes doing laundry a blast - fill it full of clothes and water and then kick it around until they're clean.
Tweet-a-watt crowned winner of Greener Gadgets 2009 design competition
Hey New Yorkers, did you get a chance to check out last week's Greener Gadgets conference? If not, you missed out on some killer eco gadgetry and discussion, including a panel on electronics recycling from our own Editor-in-chief, Joshua Topolsky. As the dust settled on the main event, the design competition, Limor Fried and Phillip Torrone's Tweet-a-watt walked away with top honors. The service, which automatically updates Twitter with your power usage, beat out a coin-operated electrical piggy bank dubbed the Power Hog, a decidedly un-electronic indoor drying rack, and a hand-powered portable laundry machine, the Laundry Pod. Congratulations to all who won and participant; hit up the read link for a full list of the finalists.[Via MAKE]
Greener Gadgets 2009, this Friday in NYC
If you're like us, you're probably taking an ever-increasing interest in gadgets with an eco slant. If that's the case -- and we think that it is -- you'll want to check into Greener Gadgets, a day dedicated to the quest for sustainable consumer electronics and better solutions for our industry, launched by Jill Fehrenbacher, Editor-in-chief of Inhabitat. This Friday (February 27th, 2009), you can join "innovators, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and eco-designers" in New York City to explore some of those solutions, take a look at green gadgetry, and hear from a handful of speakers on the cutting edge of Earth-friendly electronics. Oh, and there's that killer design competition to round it all up. This year, our own Editor-in-chief, Joshua Topolsky, will be moderating a panel on gadget recycling called "Closing the Loop In Cradle to Cradle," so if you needed some added incentive to attend, you've got it. Today is the last day for registration, so follow the read link and sign yourself up!
Recompute: a closer look at the sustainable, cardboard PC
We just recently saw some of the entries in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition that's happening in New York on February 27th. The designer of one of those entries, the cardboard-housed Recompute, was kind enough to contact us with some more detail about his computer, including a few specs. The fully functional PC houses all off-the-shelf components, including an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, and 2GB of RAM. The designer, Brenden Macaluso, also mentioned that there's been some concern over the safety of using cardboard -- but his reasoning with regards to the materials is that cardboard is more heat-resistant than many plastics, with a much higher fire and ignition point -- 258°C and 427°C, respectively -- where plastics begin to melt at about 120°C. The designer also stressed that the material that Recompute is made out is just one facet of its sustainability: just as important in this design is the idea that less time, labor and parts go into the production of the unit, and that there will ultimately be far less to dispose of when the computer has reached the end of its life cycle. Check some more photos of Recompute after the break.
The best of the Greener Gadgets Design Competition, so far
The Greener Gadgets Conference is coming up in a few weeks here, so we thought we'd bring you some highlights of the design competition it's sponsoring. First up, Recompute is a fully sustainable design for a desktop computer -- meaning that it makes use of low-impact manufacturing, uses fully recycled materials, and is easily dismantled at the end of its life for... you guessed it: more recycling. We don't have full specs on this puppy right now, but we know it's got 8 USB ports, and that we're getting one if it ever makes it to production. Also in the running is the RITI eco-friendly printer, which uses coffee and / or tea dregs in place of costly, old, boring and non-eco-friendly ink. The printer is also manually operated, and does not use electricity -- which may not make it the speediest device in the world -- but we don't print that much, anyway. Next up, there's Harddrive -- which is a simple USB flash drive encased in concrete to stave off harmful leaching into landfills once disposed of -- though the concrete obviously makes the drive a bit nastier to haul around town. Finally, the Inlet Outlet is a whole-home concept that combines a standard outlet -- which eats up the juice -- with an inlet right next to it, which returns some electricity to the grid. The design is for adapter kits which could easily be used to green up your home. Votes are being tabulated online for the Greener Gadgets Competition, whose winners will be announced on February 27, 2009, at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York. Check the gallery for more photos of the submissions.[Via Inhabitat]%Gallery-43721%
Greener Gadgets Design Competition winners on display
You may have heard a little something about the Greener Gadgets Conference, a gathering in New York focused on cleaner, renewable, recyclable, or generally forward-thinking technology and design. At the end of the one-day event, Core77 editor-in-chief Allan Chochinov MC'd a showcase of entrants to a design competition held by the Greener Gadgets team, which were then vetted and discussed by co-organizer (and Inhabitat editor-in-chief) Jill Fehrenbacher, Valerie Casey of IDEO and The Designers Accord, and our own special-somebody, Ryan Block. When the dust settled, first prize went to crowd favorite Ener-Jar -- a DIY project which allows you to easily view how much energy an appliance is using. Second place was snapped up by the Gravia, a gravity-based lamp which generates its own power by slowly dropping a weight in its center. The third place spot was nabbed by the Green Cell Universal Battery, a standardized battery which could be swapped out in vending machines. Sure, they probably won't inspire you to trade in your gas-guzzling Hummer for a bike any time soon, but this stuff might at least get you thinking in the right direction. Check the video after the break to see how it all went down.
Greener Gadgets Conference: win tickets or enter your own gadget design to compete
Two new bits fresh from the Greener Gadgets Conference going down in New York next week! First up, enter right here to win one of five tickets to the conference! The rules are after the break -- you know the score, we only ask that you don't enter unless you absolutely know you can attend the conference on February 1st, (which we'll confirm before awarding the prizes).The second bit will be a lot more interesting for the designers in the crowd. I'll be one of the judges of the Greener Gadgets design competition at the conference, which will award the best green electronics design concepts with $4,500 in cash prizes. The deadline for that is Sunday, January 27th, and no, you can't enter through Engadget, so be sure to check out the full rules and guidelines over at Core 77.Good luck!
Greener Gadgets conference in New York, February 2008
Our gadgets may be getting slowly greener, but consumer technology is still one of the world's dirtier, more pollutant industries, and it's about time we all rounded up some electronics heavyweights and had a chit chat. Thankfully, Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat (disclaimer: as many of you know, Jill is wife to Engadget co-founder and editor-at-large Peter Rojas) and Marc Alt of Marc Alt and Partners have stepped up to the plate, and are launching the Greener Gadgets conference. We'll be there participating in the discussion, as well as execs and environmental technologists from OLPC, HP, Nokia, and Sony. It all goes down on February 1st in New York, hopefully we'll see you there!
