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This portable, solar-powered oven was built for the apocalypse
One of the things I love most about CES is the array of fascinating gadgets I come across. I'm talking stuff that's not a smartphone or a laptop. Case in point: this portable, solar-powered oven. GoSun's Fusion electric stove has an integrated heating system that can heat up to 550 degrees Farenheit, making it capable of cooking a meal within 20 minutes, with only sunshine as fuel. The company says the Fusion is five times more efficient than a traditional oven, and claims it can cook food with the same amount of energy needed to power a lightbulb.
Boeing's solar-powered climate research drone takes flight in 2019
Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary of Boeing that specializes in unmanned aerial vehicles, is gearing up to launch a solar-powered autonomous aircraft. The vehicle, called Odysseus, is designed for persistent flight at high-altitudes and will be used to perform climate and atmospheric research. Its first voyage is scheduled for the spring of 2019.
Solar-powered aircraft stays aloft for record-breaking 25 days
While Facebook and Google recently pulled the plug on their solar-powered internet drones, another company with a lot more experience is having success with the idea. Airbus announced that its solar-powered Zephyr S HAPS (high altitude pseudo-satellite) flew for 25 straight days, setting a time aloft record for any airplane, ever. It shattered the previous record of 14 days, marked by a previous prototype Zephyr aircraft.
SolSol's baseball hat can charge your phone using solar power
Solar technology is still far from becoming ordinary, but we're seeing more and more of it make its way to consumer products. And now that includes hats. SolSol, a startup from Los Angeles, made a baseball cap that has a small solar panel built into its brim. You can use it to charge your smartphone, tablet or any other device that needs to be plugged in via USB. It looks kind of odd to have a cable hanging down from your head, but the hat could come in handy if your gadget's battery is running low and there are no other outlets nearby.
Six innovative rooftop solar technologies
By Cat DiStasio It's never been easier to give your house a solar roof. Falling manufacturing costs and increasing demand have led to a number of fascinating new solar products in recent years, including roof shingles with integrated solar cells, modular solar arrays and even efficient thermal tiles made from glass. As the technology improves and more people get turned on to the benefits of renewable energy, we expect to see even more innovative products hitting the market in the coming months and years, pushing forward the envelope for solar power production.
Solar Impulse makes first sun-powered Atlantic crossing
The Solar Impulse has become the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic on sun power alone. Piloted by Bertrand Piccard, it arrived in Seville, Spain this morning at 1:38AM ET, and was dramatically greeted by the nation's Patrulla Águila aerobatic formation team. The 71 hour flight, which started Monday in New York, is the second longest so far. However, it was undoubtedly the most symbolic, coming just over 89 years after Charles Lindbergh's historic "Spirit of St. Louis" Atlantic crossing.
Kyocera shows off another solar-powered prototype smartphone
Last year, during Mobile World Congress, Kyocera teased a rugged smartphone with solar charging built in. What made that concept device interesting was how its sun-powered films were laid out: they sat between the LCD and touch panel, as opposed to being somewhere on the outside of the body. Now, Kyocera's building on this idea with a new prototype handset, which it has once again created in tandem with Sunpartner Technologies, a French company that focuses on solar tech.
Google's solar plane crashed due to wing failure
Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that one of Google's solar-powered planes, designed to deliver free internet from the skies, crashed in New Mexico shortly after takeoff. But while not many other details were shared back then, the NTSB is now explaining what exactly happened to the aircraft. According to a report released today, the unmanned Solara 50 experienced a sudden change in speed that caused its wing structure to deform, leading to a drastic turn which the operator wasn't able to control.
6 futuristic cars powered entirely by the sun
By Cat DiStasio Innovators around the world are obsessed with harnessing the power of the sun. Solar energy has been used to power lamps that light up the night, to run desalinators that create clean drinking water, and to offset fossil fuels on utility grids. But what about solar cars? The world hasn't seen many sun-powered vehicles, but it's not for lack of innovation or competition. In fact, many such cars have competed against one another in the World Solar Challenge, which goes down in Australia. The race has spurred the creation of some of the world's fastest and most efficient sun-powered vehicles, but there's more out there. Some are born purely from a love for clean tech and the rush of innovation that comes from creating something once dismissed as impossible.
7 tiny solar-powered homes
By Cat DiStasio Want to see the state of the art in solar-powered architecture? Then head to the Solar Decathlon in Southern California where the US Department of Energy challenges students from around the world to create the most efficient solar-powered house. These tiny, high-tech homes are designed to be affordable and attractive while utilizing solar energy for all the amenities of comfortable indoor living, including temperature control, hot water and household appliances. In all, each home is expected to produce at least as much energy as it consumes, which is also known as "net zero" energy status. Read on for a look at some of the most incredible houses from this year's competition.
7 solar-powered buildings that produce more energy than they use
By Cat DiStasio As the cost of solar energy falls, more and more buildings are being outfitted with photovoltaic systems -- and some even generate more electricity than they use. Structures like that are called "energy positive" and it's a pretty impressive feat. If your home or business can produce more power than it needs, it can actually turn a profit, since local utility companies can buy that excess electricity from you and feed it into the grid for others to use. We've rounded up some of the most incredible energy-positive buildings from around the world -- read on for a closer look.
Solar-powered plane completes five-day journey across the Pacific
The Solar Impulse 2 is a solar-powered plane that has been flying around the world since March. Back in May, it was set to make its most ambitious journey yet, a 5,061-mile trip from Japan to Hawaii. Unfortunately, though, Pilot Andre Borschberg's initial attempt was unexpectedly cut short (as has happened before), this time due to inclement weather. Now, several weeks later, he's finally accomplished his mission. Borschberg landed in Kapolei, Hawaii on Friday, following a five-day, 118-hour flight from Nagoya -- the longest-ever solo nonstop flight. The previous record was 76 hours.
Watch this solar-powered plane attempt to fly around the world
While you're just about to head to bed, over in Abu Dhabi the Solar Impulse team will attempt to fly around the world, powered by solar energy alone. While the plane takes off today in March, it won't likely return until late July, early August. The route will take in the sights of India, China, NYC and er, Phoenix, with final stops in Southern Europe and Africa before coming to land, finally. Watch the livestream take-off right after the break.
High-tech trash can rewards cleanliness with cryptocurrency coins
If you ask us what our idea of a high-tech trash can is, we'd tell you it's one with a built-in compactor powered by solar panels. Sean Auriti from Brooklyn, however, had other ideas, which ultimately led to Ecan -- a garbage bin that earns you money (in cryptocurrency, that is) whenever you toss anything in. Unlike our rather simplistic vision of a modern trash can, Ecan requires anyone who wants to use it to identify themselves on a Raspberry Pi-powered screen that uses solar energy to run. That's not all, though: you also need to scan the barcode or anything you want to throw, unless it's anything without one, like a banana peel or a candy wrapper. In that case, you'll have to take its picture using the bin's accompanying app before it starts mining Emrals (what Auriti calls the cryptocurrency he created for this purpose) for you.
If you've got the SADs, this sunlight-tracking wearable could help cure it
There are wearables to track your exercise activity, food consumption and sleep habits. There are even wearables that want to be smartphones-lite. But never before has there been a portable tracker for daily sunlight exposure. That's a niche GoodLux is looking to fill with its SunSprite, a solar-powered, Bluetooth 4.0 wireless device with a Harvard Medical pedigree that's launching today on Indiegogo. And it's gone everywhere with me this past week in Barcelona as I've raced in and out of conference halls to cover Mobile World Congress.
Goal Zero's Lighthouse250 Lantern, solar panel tent charge your gadgets alfresco
Keeping your USB-powered gear powered up while camping in the woods or hiking the Appalachian Trail can prove quite a challenge. Solar chargers and backup batteries can help, sure, but when you're already hauling dozens of pounds of gear, an integrated solution is where it's at. Goal Zero has a pair of new products to help streamline things a bit. First up, the Lighthouse250 Lantern can provide 48 hours of 250-lumen LED output with a full charge, and it can charge up a gadget via a built-in USB port. If you don't have a solar panel handy, you can use the hand crank to juice up the lantern in the field. The company's also teaming up with Eddie Bauer on a solar panel-equipped tent, the 36-square-foot Katabatic 2 -- you'll need to add your own battery pack to store the energy collected from the 18-watt roof-mounted panel. Eddie Bauer has yet to announce pricing for the tent, which should ship next spring, but you can expect the lantern to retail for about 80 bucks in Q4.
Solar Team Eindhoven crafts solar-powered family car (video)
The solar-powered cars we've seen to date are usually built for just one person -- not very useful when many of us need to carry passengers. TU/e's Solar Team Eindhoven just brought some much-needed realism on that front by unveiling Stella, which it claims is the world's first solar-powered family car. The vehicle's combination of efficient solar cells with lightweight construction allows such radical concepts as back seats and a trunk while maintaining a 373-mile range. The barebones design won't rival most modern cars for luxury, but it's also energy-positive -- in typical use, it can contribute back to the power grid. You may even see it outside of competitions; while Stella is designed with October's World Solar Challenge in mind, Solar Team Eindhoven plans to make the car road-legal. Let's hope we catch it putting around Dutch streets. [Image credit: Bart van Overbeeke]
IRL: HTC One S, Columbia GPS Pal and the Eton Rukus Solar
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week in IRL, Jon Fingas takes what could be an unpopular stance, making a case for the HTC One S over the bigger, more lavishly specced One X. Meanwhile, Darren and Dan test some summer-appropriate tech, including a GPS app for outdoor sports and a solar-powered speaker dock.
First solar-geo plant blooms in Nevada's high desert
Drive west on US Route 50 through a stretch of Nevada highway known as "The Loneliest Road in America" and you'll eventually find yourself in the rural county of Churchill. Once a solitary leg in the Pony Express route, irrigation transformed swaths of Churchill's high desert areas into thriving agricultural communities more than a century ago. Fast forward to today and Churchill finds itself playing host to yet another interesting dichotomy -- a first-of-its-kind power plant that generates electricity by harvesting renewable resources from both earth and sky. %Gallery-159924%
FishPi sets course for the open sea, captained by a Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi's journey to reach owners has been a lengthy one, but Greg Holloway is preparing to send his board on a longer voyage -- one across the Atlantic. Nestled inside a tupperware tub, the RaspberryPi is the brains of FishPi, an autonomous vessel -- guided by GPS and a compass -- that measures 20 inches from bow to stern. Currently in proof-of-concept form, the craft uses a 40 mm rotating propeller and draws juice from batteries powered by a 130 watt solar panel. Producing kits for students, enthusiasts and professionals is the goal of the project, but testing and development are still on the docket. While the Linux-laden launch isn't ready for the high seas quite yet, you can sail to the source for the technical breakdown or check it out at the Nottingham Hackspace Raspberry Jam next month.
