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Ecotricity looks to break 100 mph barrier with Ion Horse electric bike, at Isle of Man TT (video)
More than two years after breaking the world land speed record with its wind-powered Greenbird, Ecotricity has its eyes set on the record books once again. This time around, the UK-based green energy company is bringing its Ion Horse superbike to the Isle of Man TT raceway, in the hopes that it will become the first electric bike to average 100 mph over the course of the one-lap race. Developed by a team from Kingston University London and constructed in seven months, the Ion Horse is powered by a set of lithium polymer cobalt batteries, allowing it to blast from zero to 60 in three seconds, before topping out at 140 mph. Its engine also boasts up to 100kW of power, which should help the Horse make its way around the Isle of Man's sinuous, 37-mile circuit. The bike cost some £150,000 (about $245,000) to produce, but if Ecotricity breaks the aforementioned barrier during this week's TT Zero race, the team will receive an extra £10,000 (roughly $16,370) from the Isle of Man Government, in addition to all kinds of street cred. The race was originally scheduled for yesterday, but has since been postponed due to rain. In the meantime, though, you can head past the break for a video of the Ion Horse during a recent practice run, followed by the full PR.
Sony & Microsoft offer software for UK university education program
Keeping in line with recent contributions to President Obama's STEM education initative, both Microsoft and Sony have signed on for development software support to UK school Kingston University. A recent press release from the school boasts a "state-of-the-art laboratory aimed at providing the next generation of game developers with the skills needed to take computer gaming into the future," even employing "Xbox and handheld PSP game consoles" at each workstation. According to Darrel Greenhill, games technology program head at KU, students are "working to industry standards even before they've left the classroom" with the donated software. Currently the university offers games programming and games technology degrees for undergrads, but will also begin offering post-graduate game development degrees in 2010. Unfortunately, no official date has been set for when computer gaming will reach "the future."[Via Develop]
