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Inhabitat's Week in Green: 300 passenger bus, babyloid robot and a jellyfish-esque LED chandelier
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Sustainable transportation broke new boundaries by land and sea this week as Inhabitat reported that China launched the first 300 passenger bus and the world's largest solar ship closed in on completing its first trip around the globe. We also saw Drayson unveil a turbocharged 850 horsepower all-electric supercar while Mercedes announced plans to bring its B-Class E-Cell electric Vehicle to the US next year. Speaking of hot upcoming cars, this week we brought you a video showcasing 5 of the most exciting eco cars from the 2012 Detroit Auto Show and we shared 7 new hybrid and electric vehicles that you'll be able to purchase this year.The world of renewable energy also heated up this week as scientists hatched a plan to harness volcano power by pouring millions of gallons of water into a dormant crater and President Obama rejected TransCanada's plans for the Keystone Xl pipeline. Meanwhile Philips unveiled a transparent solar-powered OLED car sunroof that charges during the day and lights up at night, and we took a look inside Switzerland's Berghotel Muottas - the first hotel in the Alps that generates more energy than it consumes. Clean energy technology also dived into the deep blue sea as Ireland's massive SeaGen tidal turbine received environmental approval, researchers found a way to turn seaweed into biofuel using a human stomach microbe, and a Nobel laureate developed the world's cheapest and most effective CO2 sponge.In other news, this week we brought you the most freshest new green gadgets - from a tree trunk turntable that plays wood rings like records to a stunning jellyfish-esque LED chandelier and a cuddly Babyloid robot designed to comfort senior citizens. We also showcased the world's smallest greeting card (300 micro-meters wide!), a massive 300 lb stormtrooper cake, and five educational and arty apps for creative kids. Finally, we rounded up the hottest news in eco fashion - including the world's largest garment made from golden spider silk and an awesome set of bow ties made from recycled LEGO bricks.
Mercedes-Benz gesture control concept is DICEy
Ze Germans seem to be obsessed with Minority Report-style interior controls, and Mercedes-Benz has taken it to the next level with a full-scale interior with nary a button or switch to be found.Mercedes' Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience (DICE) utilizes a series of proximity sensors to detect arm and hand movements, which control everything from music, navigation and social functionality to a heads-up display that comprises the entire windshield.You can get a feel for the system in action in the video after the break, but as you'll see, it's very beta, mistaking hand movements for selections and generally being a pain to use – let alone control while you're driving a car. Thankfully, Mercedes has plenty of time to work out the kinks as it won't be coming to production for at least a couple decades.
Daimler testing wireless charging on a Mercedes Benz in a house from the future
Daimler (owners of Mercedes-Benz and Smart) is teaming up with Conductix-Wampfler and Röchling Automotive KG to produce wireless charging coils to form the centerpiece of 2012's Effizienzhaus-Plus. It's a government-backed project to build and test a dwelling that generates more energy than it uses -- the excess will then charge the supplied B-Class E-Cell 'Benz EV without the need of cabling. Simply park the car over a coil in the garage floor and the electromagnetic field will juice your environmentally friendly whip for free. The company hopes the project will iron out the logistical and financial issues preventing it from bringing the tech to the Autobahns of the world. One thing the project can't do, however, is soothe the troubled brow of the fossil-fuel lobby -- the press release we've got below dryly notes that "clearly, BP will not be happy about this." [Thanks, Ashley]
MapleStory Legends trailer introduces three new characters
The next content update coming to Nexon's popular sidescroller MapleStory, known as MapleStory Legends, brings three new playable characters to the mix. The Cannoneer's name should be self explanatory: He carries a massive cannon with which to blast enemies to kingdom come. Mercedes rocks a pair of crossbows and specializes in ranged combat, while the Demon Slayer boasts a pair of devilish wings that can be used both for flight and for combat. To take a look at these new classes in MapleStory Legends' debut trailer, just click on past the cut.
Mercedes-Benz F 125! looks like the future, runs on hydrogen
As expected, the feature concept car being shown by Mercedes-Benz at Frankfurt this year was the F 125! But Merc isn't actually calling it a concept, rather a "research vehicle" that will help the company work toward a gasoline-free future. In this case it's a hydrogen-filled future, with this car running on compressed gas and so giving off only water vapor and oxygen as emissions. But, it's also a plug-in, meaning you can charge this thing up on your garage in addition to topping off the tank at your local H2 filling station -- at some point in the future when you actually have an H2 filling station. Read on for more details. %Gallery-134036%
Mercedes-Benz debuts B-Class E-Cell Plus EV concept, the suburban limo revisioned
Family transportation has come a long way since it was all about piling in the back of the humble station wagon -- in particular, we're talking about the new Mercedez-Benz Concept B-Class E-Cell Plus EV that debuted today at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The plug-in series hybrid has a 136-horsepower electric motor with a 62-mile range, and a 67-horsepower, 1.0-liter three cylinder turbocharged gas engine for range-extending capabilities up to 373 miles. At low speeds, the petrol engine charges the lithium-ion batteries. When going faster, it acts on the car's front wheels, while the electric engine also chugs along -- very much like the Chevy Volt. Mercedes promises zero to 62MPH in 11 seconds and top speeds of 93MPH in both battery-only and range-extending modes. No word yet on when this dream ride will be available for family carpools, but eager June Cleavers can check out the photo gallery and full PR after the break. Update: We've added a gallery from Frankfurt! %Gallery-134032% %Gallery-133551%
Mercedes-Benz's hydrogen-powered F125! concept slips out ahead of Frankfurt
Mercedes-Benz is certainly no stranger to hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, and it looks like the automaker is now about to show off its latest concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. That's dubbed the F125! (apparently pronounced F one twenty FIVE), and it promises a top speed of 137 miles per hour, 0 to 62 in 4.9 seconds, and 100 kilometers on 0.79 kilograms of hydrogen (or 621 miles on a full tank). Apparently, the concept is also intended to demonstrate the design direction for 2025 CL-Class, although there's no indication as of yet that Mercedes-Benz plans to put a hydrogen-powered CL-Class into production. Hit the links below for a few more shots that have leaked out ahead of the show.
Mercedes-Benz completes hydrogen-powered F-Cell World Drive, but had to bring its own fuel
At January's Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz eagerly showed off its hydrogen-powered F-Cell car, vowing to prove the viability of fuel-cell vehicles by driving three of them around the world. And now, 18,641 total miles later, it's completed that circumnavigation, arriving safely home at the company's Stuttgart headquarters. Does this prove fuel-cells are ready for prime time? Well, the trip took 70 driving days to cover four continents, and the vehicles' range topped out at just over 400 miles -- in Kazahkstan. But M-B admits there are only 200 refilling stations worldwide; in most cases the F-Cells had to rely on a tag-along mobile refueling unit. The company hopes its demonstration will spur development in a refilling-station infrastructure: having a fuel-cell car you can't easily refuel must feel like owning a flying DeLorean in 1885. To get the full breakdown, see the Mercedes-Benz PR after the break.
Mercedes-Benz debuts tablet-packing A-Class concept
As fond as we are of the A-Class, it's never been the best looking Benz in the bunch, but with the introduction of the new A-Class concept, it looks like that could soon change. One of the car's designers describes it variously as sexy, expressive, and beautifully formed, and while we wouldn't go quite that far, we have to say it's not too shabby. The car sports some interesting looking LED headlights and an inverted mesh grill on the outside, and on the inside it's packing a rather futuristic display, complete with a dash-mounted tablet and what looks to be an iPhone protruding from the center console. Now, there's no guarantee that this thing will get the E-Cell treatment, or that all the bells and whistles will make it to production, but for now, it's shaping up to be a rather stylish upgrade. For more Mercedes-Benz eye candy, check out the gallery below. %Gallery-120743%
Mercedes' A-Class E-Cell gets taken for a test drive
Mercedes-Benz's new A-Class E-Cell may be a limited production vehicle, but it is a production vehicle, which likely means that some folks will be interested in how it actually drives. Thankfully, the folks from PluginCars have now managed to take one for a quick spin, and have delivered a few first impressions. The short of it is that while it's a "nice ride," it's apparently not a very powerful one -- in fact, the site says that the car felt "significantly slower" than the Nissan Leaf, which also of course has the advantage of being cheaper and more widely available. The Mercedes does apparently handle much better, though, and while the floor is a bit higher than a normal car, the interior otherwise seems to be top notch. Unfortunately, the test drive wasn't exactly long enough to truly test the car's Tesla-provided batteries, but the site was at least pleased to see the current state of charge conveniently placed right in the middle of the dashboard.
Smart Fortwo ED gets official EPA ratings: 94 MPG city, 79 MPG on the highway
Looks like "Team 250" is primed to add a few new members now that the EPA has revealed its official MPGe ratings for Smart's Fortwo EDs. Rated at 94 miles-per-gallon in the city and 79 on the highway, the car takes motorists 63 miles per charge -- making it slightly less able than Nissan's Leaf with its 73 mile range, 106 MPG in town, and 92 MPG on the open road. Now that the Fortwo ED has its governmental blessing, interested parties can lease one from selected dealers -- sorry folks, buying's not an option -- for a hefty $599 per-month, which seems staggeringly high compared to the $349 monthly lease rate for the larger, more capable Leaf. Perhaps the Smart squad won't be getting many new teammates after all.
Car Connectivity Consortium forms to bring more smartphones to more interiors
Though Terminal Mode has always been an open standard we've never really seen any tech companies outside of Espoo show much interest in the stuff, which lets a car mirror a phone's display. When Nokia sort of shifted gears and signed on with Microsoft that left us wondering what would be next for the company's infotainment efforts. Good things, as it turns out. The Car Connectivity Consortium has been founded to drive "global innovation for in-vehicle connectivity," and both Terminal Mode and Nokia will play a big part -- though a bigger part will be played by Daimler, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, and VW. They're joined by electronics companies Alpine, LG, Panasonic, and Samsung, making us think that maybe Terminal Mode's time has properly come. Also on the docket for the CCC is study of NFC, which will hopefully standardize the sort of awesome key interactivity BMW recently showed off.
Visualized: Schumacher's F1 racing Mercedes, exploded drawing style
Even if you're not into race cars, well, you can appreciate the museum-quality beauty of this, can you not? Hit the source for more photos.
Harman-Mercedes Map Pilot modular built-in nav system becomes reality
A little over two years ago, we opined on the lack of decent built-in nav systems, hopelessly waiting for Harman and Mercedes to make good on their promise of an easily upgradable in-dash setup. Well, the day has finally come, and the partners in automotive innovation are gearing up to introduce the Becker Map Pilot to the world at the Geneva Motor Show. As promised, the system combines the flexibility and features of a PND with the integration and good looks of a built-in setup -- although the interface shows up on the auto's central display panel and relays voice instructions over the car's speakers, the main unit is stored in the glove compartment, where it's easily removed and upgraded via the internet. If you can afford the mammoth price tag, Map Pilot will roll out in the new Mercedes-Benz SLK and C-Class, but if you don't have an extra $50,000 lying around, we'll still let you peep the PR after the break.
Mercedes F-Cell World Drive gets off to an inauspicious start
Circling the globe on hydrogen power sounds like a bit of a challenge, what with the lack H2 pumps and all, but Mercedes-Benz set off to show that it could do just that -- with the help of a mobile filling station, natürlich. It's the F-Cell World Drive, and unfortunately, things got off to something of a bad start with two cars running out of fuel on the very first leg of the journey, one with Autoblog's Michael Harley at the wheel, no less. This first leg apparently began with a trip down an unrestricted bit of the Autobahn and, well, it seems the drivers of the cars decided to see what the little green B-Class F-Cells could do. The answer is 110mph, and of course moving along at this rate of speed did little for their range. The two cars came up 20km short of their first planned refueling stop, heavy right feet resulting in consumption of 1.5Kg of hydrogen per 100km distance -- roughly equivalent of 45mpg and way less than the 71mpg equivalent the cars usually manage. We're told day two, when drivers kept the speed to around 70mph, progressed much more smoothly, with both cars covering their expected legs without issue.
Daimler says fuel cell vehicles will cost the same as diesel hybrids by 2015
It may currently you cost you $849 a month to lease a Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell (one of the few hyrodgen-fueled vehicles currently available to consumers), but Daimler says that cost will come down considerably in the next few years. Speaking with Automotive News, Daimler's Herbert Kohler said that by 2015 he expects a "fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard," which would seemingly place it in a race with Toyota and its promise of a $50,000 hydrogen-powered sedan. What's more, Kohler also said that he expects fuel cell vehicles to actually be cheaper than comparable electric vehicles within the next few years, and he said that Daimler is hoping to bring a "four-digit-number" of fuel cell vehicles to market by 2013 or 2014.
Mercedes kicks off F-Cell World Drive, circumnavigating the globe on hydrogen
Fuel cell-powered cars provide the efficiency and driveability of an electric vehicle while also offering the unlimited range of a traditional gasoline powered car -- assuming you can find a place to top off those hydrogen tanks. Right now that's a bit of a problem, but Mercedes Benz is out to show that it's not nearly as big of a hindrance as everyone makes it out to be. It'll be driving the B-Class F-Cell model around the world, starting in Stuttgart and motoring down to Lisbon, flying over to the US and driving across that, then across Australia before hopping a boat to Shanghai and driving all the way across Asia, ultimately arriving back to Stuttgart facing in the same direction they left. The B-Class F-Cell can cover 400km on a tank and can be refilled in about three minutes. At this point we have no reason to believe that either Ewan McGregor nor Charlie Boorman will be along for the ride, but given how well things went in Log Way Round perhaps that's for the best.
Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell hitting dealerships in 2013
You may disagree with the car's color and its powertrain choice, but you can't argue with 528 horsepower, 649lb/ft of torque, and AWD acceleration so good it should come with a neck brace. It's a legitimately hot car, and it's legitimately coming to dealerships. Mercedes today confirmed that the SLS AMG E-Cell will be available for order at dealerships in 2013, and while no price was given, expect it to be a lot. The gasoline-powered model cost around $200,000, after all. Oh, and that citrus color? It's pretty stunning in the flesh, a matte hue that makes you go "Mmm." %Gallery-113701%
Next-generation Mercedes mbrace iPhone app hands-on (video)
Last year Hughes Telematics had the Mercedes mbrace iPhone app on display, providing some OnStar-like functionality like locking your car remotely, unlocking your car remotely, and even getting navigation to your car for those times when you park way out in the lot and can't find it again when you're suffering from post-shopping marathon mental lethargy. Now there's a new version coming, getting submitted to Apple at the end of the month for a February release, and it adds a suite of new navigation features. Full details after the break.
Mercedes Terminal Mode partnership comes to fruition with internet-connected 2012 C-Class
Last year Nokia made something of a telematics coup, partnering with just about every major European manufacturer and doing everything it could to get its Terminal Mode in-car smartphone integration into more autos. Mercedes was one of those partners and now we're getting a glimpse of the result in the new C-Class. Merc has made some minor exterior updates to the car (not necessarily for the better, in our opinion), but on the inside comes an updated Mercedes COMAND infotainment system that, for the first time, offers full internet access. Using Terminal Mode the car interacts with a smartphone to provide the data, allowing dashboard surfing (while stationary) and the transmission of Google Maps points and directions right to the vehicle. There's also Bluetooth for streaming your tunes through the car's sound system and a USB port in the armrest to keep things charged while you decimate that slab. PR is below if you're looking for more details, or you can just wait for our impressions when we get to Detroit in a few weeks.
