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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: gigantic LED cube, synthetic bones and a playground from recycled wind turbines

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:08:06 +0000

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.

Happy April 1st! In honor of the day, we’ve rounded up some of Inhabitat’s best April Fools stories for your reading pleasure. Our collective jaws dropped this morning when we were sent an anonymous photo from a tipster which hints at intergalactic plans for Apple’s new Cupertino campus. Google also surprised us today when it announced a partnership with the city of New York to replace NYC taxis with driverless Google Cabs. In other NYC news, it was revealed today that New York City’s ever-popular High Line park is going to bring a train back on the High Line to keep up with the growing crowds, and satellite photos divulged that Dubai appears to be building a series of Dubai-shaped islands off of its coast.

In more serious news, the New York Auto Show is hitting Manhattan next week, and in preparation this week Fisker released the first sketch of its highly anticipated Nina Plug-in Hybrid. Inhabitat will be on-scene at the reveal on Tuesday to bring you the first photos of its unveiling, so stay tuned for Inhabitat’s live Fisker Nina coverage on Tuesday! We also brought you a sneak peek at several more innovative eco vehicles that will displayed at this year’s New York Auto Show — including NYC’s taxi of tomorrow and Infiniti’s new Nissan Leaf-based EV. Meanwhile, Lexus divulged that it is considering producing the sexy LF-LC hybrid sports coupe, and Chevy Volt’s sexier European twin the Opel Ampera racked up 7,000 orders, putting it well on its way to meeting sales targets. In two-wheel transportation news, bicycles kicked into high gear as Specialized launched the world’s fastest E-bike and Jose Hurtado designed a hubless ‘Twist Bike’ that can be turned into a tandem in a snap.

On the clean technology front, engineers developed several exciting next-gen renewable energy technologies — including high-flying wind turbines and 3D solar cells that can produce 20 times more energy than flat photovoltaic panels. Green energy news also made waves around the world as Denmark announced plans to switch to 100% renewable energy by 2050 and Japan shut down its second to last nuclear reactor as radiation levels skyrocketed at its Fukushima plant. Wind power was a popular topic as well — Obama expedited the approval process for the first Great Lakes wind farms, the first offshore turbine project was approved for Virginia, and Hint.FM created a mesmerizing kinetic map that shows real-time wind speeds across the US.

In design and architecture news, we’re thrilled to see the New York underground park proposal affectionately dubbed the “Lowline” inch closer to reality in a new partnership with Arup engineering firm. We also took a peek at a gigantic LED cube under the Brooklyn Bridge and explored a super high-tech green home by E+ that is blanketed in solar panels. We spotted some innovative uses of recycled materials this week as a playground built from recycled wind turbines popped up in the Netherlands and old automobiles were transformed into a Transformers theme park in China. Last but not least, we showcased several mind-blowing projects that use everybody’s favorite plastic building brick — Sean Kenney’s amazingly detailed LEGO skyscrapers and a system for growing synthetic bone using LEGOs.

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Apple Inc., Made In America

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:42:47 +0000

There are two sayings on the back of every Apple product: Designed By Apple in California and Assembled in China. These statements attempt to say that even though the products might be assembled in a different country, Apple is an American company — a fact Apple proclaimed loudly today with a new web page titled Creating jobs through innovation. Apple has been under fire lately regarding its overseas manufacturing partners. Apple hired the Fair Labor Association to conduct voluntary audits of the final assembly partners, including Foxconn’s massive Asian facilities. But consumers and activists alike aren’t buying it. It’s a smokescreen, they say. Foxconn will just hide the children and give everyone a new pillow prior to inspector’s arrival. This has rightly put Apple on the defensive. To a growing minority Apple is viewed as just another unethical company employing cheap overseas labor to assemble its wares while filling its coffers with the savings. Groups are calling for radical but compassionate actions …

Strategic Sharing: Zipcar Leads $13.7M Investment In Campus Car-Sharing Startup Wheelz

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:25:33 +0000

Well, you have to hand it to the strategy team over at Zipcar . Arguably the largest on-demand car-sharing network, Zipcar went public last year and not long after saw its market cap cross $1 billion . It’s since fallen back, and with collaborative consumption and the market for car-sharing heating up, the big players have to make moves. Zipcar has since forged a partnership with Ford, making it the largest provider of cars for Zipcar’s University program , and, in December, the company took a controlling stake in Spain’s largest car-sharing network, Avancar . Today finds Zipcar making another strategic move to get its mitts in fellow car-sharing companies, again with a focus on universities, whose students are among the most eager adopters of car-sharing models. What do I mean? The company today announced that it is a lead investor in the $13.7 million series A financing of Wheelz , a junior, university-focused version of itself. The Detroit-based Fontinalis…

Fnatic pro gaming team gets limited edition headset and mouse from SteelSeries

admin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 20:42:35 +0000

As you may well be aware, professional gamers have been getting more and more pro over the years, even including the sort of product endorsements you’d expect from professional athletes. Case in point: this new limited edition headset and mouse pair from SteelSeries, which each sport the colors and logo of Team Fnatic. They are being released to coincide with the Dreamhack Winter LAN party / digital festival, and they’re otherwise identical to SteelSeries’ existing 7H headset and Sensei gaming mouse. Those interested will be able to pick up both the mouse and headset (pictured after the break) at Dreamhack or online for $100 and $140, respectively.

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SteelSeries Introduces Limited Edition Fnatic Headset and Mouse

Leading Manufacturer of Competitive Gaming Peripherals and Celebrated, International eSports Team, Bring Players and Fans New Co-Branded Peripherals
Dreamhack Winter 2011

JONKOPING, Sweden–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, as Dreamhack Winter, the world’s largest digital festival and LAN party kicks off, SteelSeries and one of the most recognized and accomplish gaming teams, Team Fnatic, introduce the SteelSeries 7H Fnatic Limited Edition headset and SteelSeries Sensei Fnatic Limited Edition mouse. Available now on SteelSeries Web Shop, the Limited Edition 7H headset features 50mm dynamic driver units with new, sound isolating SNDBlock ear cushions; while the Limited Edition Sensei features award-winning technology like its 32 bit ARM processor that powers SteelSeries’ ExactTech settings and customization abilities, all of which are housed in an ambidextrous, black, orange and white Fnatic color design and illuminated Fnatic team logo.

“We sponsor and work with a number of incredibly talented professional players and are proud to say that the Fnatic team is part of that family,” said Kim Rom, SteelSeries CMO. “We have been supporters and collaborators with, as well as fans of, the talent that makes up the Fnatic squad for a long time now. We felt that it was the perfect time to introduce co-branded peripherals – that their players helped us design, regularly use and win with – to their immense and passionate fan following.”

“Our players have tough competition; they need everything to work to become champions, from their raw aim or APM right up to the equipment. Because of this, we work closely with SteelSeries to collaborate on the design and functionality of SteelSeries’ professional gaming peripherals. We are so proud of what has been accomplished that we thought it was about time to put our mark -visibly – on those products” said Sam Mathews, Fnatic’s owner. “Enter the Fnatic Limited Edition peripherals, on the best headphones and mouse we’ve ever used, 7H and Sensei – now with more style.”

Limited Edition Fnatic 7H

The SteelSeries 7H Fnatic Limited Edition headset features 50 mm dynamic driver units that deliver an exceptionally rich and detailed soundscape, from mood setting music to critical 3D positional sounds and alerts. The closed-type headset reduces ambient noise, while the unique, SNDBlock, hybrid ear cushions made of both cloth and leather, provide sound isolation from an inner leather layer and comfort from the outer cloth layer. The headset can also be dismantled into 4 separate pieces, which allows for compact and easy transportation. The Limited Edition Fnatic headset is $139.99 / €114.99 MSRP.

Limited Edition Fnatic Sensei

The most customizable mouse to ever hit the competitive gaming industry, the SteelSeries Sensei, is now available in a Limited Edition Fnatic design transforming to an orange, black, and white ambidextrous force to be reckoned with and three zones of 16.8 million color illumination options, including on the Fnatic logo. Its 32 bit ARM processor powers sophisticated calculations that can be done directly on the mouse – without the need for software drivers and without having to rely on the user’s computer. Sensitivity settings can be changed in increments of one from 1 to 5,700 CPI, and an “overclocked” Double CPI feature that allows the user to go all the way up to 11,400 DCPI. The Limited Edition Fnatic mouse is $99.99 / €99.99 MSRP.

Check out more information about Fnatic branded peripherals and their eSports domination on http://steelseries.com and http://fnatic.com. Fans can follow SteelSeries’ Dreamhack coverage throughout the weekend on http://facebook.com/steelseries.

About Team Fnatic

Recognized as one of the most talented teams in eSports, the Fnatic team is an ambitious and highly successful electronic sports organization, which supports some of the world’s most skilled gamers. After being crowned as Electronic Sports Team of the Year in 2006 and 2009, Fnatic has achieved more than 60 victories in major international tournaments and are acknowledged worldwide for their famous and charismatic Swedish Counter-Strike 1.6 team, hugely successful COD4, and their up and coming StarCraft

Video: Vortex-Powered Wall-Climbing Robot Parachutes To Safety

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:44:38 +0000

The huge variety of robots is a thing to marvel at. Just a few years ago, the best they could do was roll around or walk stiffly on poorly-hinged limbs. Now we have robots that gallop , slither , and fly like a bird . This mode of transportation is totally new to me, though. The Paraswift climbs up walls by generating a suction, then gets itself safely down by jumping off and deploying a little parachute. Why not, right? Check out the video. The action happens about halfway in. Paraswift is a collaboration between Disney Research and the Swiss Federal Research Institute. This demonstration took place during the International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots , held at the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. It generates the suction by creating a vortex “like a mini tornado” in a central tube; the vortex has a low-pressure center, and this pressure gradient, through a process known as sorcery , causes the robot to stick to the wall. Only the wheels need to be in contact with the climbing surface, which makes it much more useful for climbing surfaces like stone …

Garmin launches StreetPilot onDemand iPhone app, offers transit schedules

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:24:06 +0000

Garmin is best known for its in-car navigation systems, but today delved deeper into the realm of personal navigation with a brand new iPhone app for the eternally lost. For a dollar, you’ll get standard walking, driving and public transportation directions, but go premium for $2.99 a month or $29.99 for the year, and you’ll cop more add-ons designed to transform your iPhone into a full-fledged PND. Like the standard iPhone mapping system or HopStop, the subscription-based version of this app lets you integrate public transportation into your journey — but the added feature here is the ability to view public transit schedules like you can in the Google Maps app for Android. It also has spoken turn-by-turn directions, Garmin’s traffic routing and Google search, making it a handy alternative to a clunky navigation system. Check out the full PR after the break.

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New Garmin(R) StreetPilot(R) onDemand iPhone app offers premium navigation starting at $.99
OLATHE, Kan./August 31, 2011/Business Wire – Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced that its new StreetPilot onDemand iPhone app is now available in the Apple App Store. Rounding out Garmin’s diverse range of guidance options, StreetPilot onDemand provides iPhone users convenient navigation for walking or driving when they need it, with an initial $.99 download that includes 30 days of premium features. It is the first iPhone navigation app to include multimodal pedestrian routing, with bus and train transit schedules in many major cities. Additional premium features include spoken turn-by-turn guidance with street names, representation of 3D buildings and landmarks, traffic rerouting, photoReal(tm) Junction View and Google Local Search, among many others.

“Our new StreetPilot onDemand app is the perfect solution for anyone who occasionally needs navigation but still is looking for a premium experience and precise directions. There is nothing comparable in the App Store today,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “By including multimodal pedestrian routing, our new app is especially helpful for users in urban areas. The app seamlessly provides directions in the car and integrates public transportation when getting directions by foot.”

With the new multimodal pedestrian routing offered in StreetPilot onDemand, users can choose to integrate public transportation into their route. It is the first turn-by-turn iPhone navigation app that integrates train or bus schedules in the cities in which this service is available. Users can navigate to a destination from their current position (or set a different starting location), and the app provides turn-by-turn directions including a detailed itinerary of transit stops and instructions for walking to and from a bus or train stop. Beautifully rendered 3D buildings and landmarks make it even easier for pedestrians to find their destination.

The app also is a comprehensive driving assistant that integrates many of the signature features for which Garmin is known. This includes spoken turn-by-turn directions, photoReal junction views that show a realistic depiction of the junction as well as lane guidance and real-time traffic information that automatically routes drivers around gridlock. Users can easily find points of interest using Garmin’s extensive database or Google Local Search. A new functionality suggests points of interest based on the users search history to provide faster and more relevant search results. The app also warns drivers when exceeding the speed limit and even provides an overview of the weather conditions at the destination, complete with a five day forecast.

The Garmin StreetPilot onDemand app integrates an extremely easy to use interface that is customized for the iPhone. It stores the maps and points of interest in the cloud, so they are always up-to-date. The comprehensive map options allow users to easily enable or disable features displayed on the map such as traffic information, 3D buildings and landmarks or points of interest.

Garmin StreetPilot onDemand is available in the Apple App Store for $.99 and includes turn-by-turn, voice prompted navigation and traffic rerouting for 30 days in the United States and Canada. Users can extend this initial period by subscribing on a monthly ($2.99) or annual ($29.99) basis. Garmin offers a special introductory price of $19.99 for the yearly subscription from August 31, 2011, to September 14, 2011. Even without a subscription, users can still view maps, lookup points of interest and create routes. A subscription is required for turn-by-turn voice guidance with automatic off-route recalculation, real-time traffic information and multimodal pedestrian routing.

StreetPilot onDemand complements Garmin’s other newly announced automotive innovations that guarantee industry-leading navigation for every kind of driver and traveler. For a dedicated device that’s built to navigate with ease and efficiency, the recently announced 2012 nFCviAE line adds robust features to Garmin’s flagship product line at affordable pricing (details at www.garmin.com/move)

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Boeing announces plans to send its own astronauts into space

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 22:45:44 +0000

Almost exactly a year ago, Boeing gave the world a glimpse of its Crew Space Transportation vehicle, the CST-100. It was unclear whether or not the company was looking to augment NASA’s efforts with a new craft, or pursue designs of its own. Now we know: Boeing is kick-starting its own commercial spaceflight program.

Folding, Electric Vienna Bike Is Dorky But Practical

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:29:45 +0000

The US has yet to join the rest of the world in the large-scale deployment of powered bikes, and I doubt this particular item will change that, but it’s always worth noting when a nice, practical vehicle like this shows up. This one is called the Vienna Bike, and it’s designed by Valentin Vodev of Pixstudio , a design studio (naturally) based (naturally) in Vienna. Its narrow (only 35cm wide) trike frame means extra stability for the load in the back while still providing bike-like handling. The platform in the back extends and there’s an interesting hexagonal pod that fits onto it for stowing groceries, helmets, or— trees, apparently. There’s an electric motor that can propel it independently, or you can set it to pedal-assist. Pixstudio claims the bike will go up to 60km on a charge, though I presume that’s with no cargo and a Vienna-sized passenger willing to pedal a bit. And another source says 40-60 miles, which is obviously more …

GE’s new holographic storage burns 500GB discs at the speed of a Blu-ray

admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:25:49 +0000

Holographic disc storage may not have worked out so well for InPhase, but the folks at General Electric are still trying to make HVD work. Their latest breakthrough, shown off today at an IEEE symposium in Hawaii, is a new micro-holographic material which is 100x more sensitive than its predecessor and ups recording speed to that of Blu-ray discs. In the two years since we saw it last some of the hyperbole has apparently been lost — no claims of “two to four years left for Blu-ray” this time around — but manager Peter Lorraine still thinks the DVD-sized discs have a future in archival and consumer systems. That’s getting tougher to imagine in a world with FiOS and Netflix streaming, but if there is ever another disc format you may be looking at it right now.

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20 July 2011
GE Breakthrough in Micro-holographic Storage Technology Supports 500-Gigabyte Disc at Blu-ray Speed

Higher recording speed paving the way to commercializing GE’s technology
GE’s micro-holographic material can support on one disc the same storage capacity as 20 standard Blu-ray discs

NISKAYUNA, New York, July 20, 2011 – GE Global Research, the technology development arm of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), today announced another major breakthrough in the development of next generation optical storage technology. GE’s research team has successfully demonstrated a micro-holographic material that can support data recording at the same speed as Blu-ray discs. This result builds upon the April 2009 demonstration of a threshold micro-holographic storage material that can support 500 gigabytes of storage capacity in a standard DVD-size disc.

Peter Lorraine, Manager of the Applied Optics Lab at GE Global Research, will discuss the breakthrough during a presentation today at the IEEE’s Joint International Symposium on Optical Memory & Optical Data Storage Topical Meeting (ISOM/ODS) being held in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. The ISOM/ODS brings together the world’s foremost experts in optical memory and data storage technologies. GE’s breakthrough in recording speed, along with other technical improvements that have been made over the past two years has micro-holographic technology more poised than ever for commercialization.

“During the past two years, our research team has been focused on material improvements to increase the recording speed and making other key advances needed to ready GE’s micro-holographic technology for market,” said Lorraine. “With a speed to match Blu-ray’s, discs made from GE’s advanced micro-holographic materials are an attractive solution for both archival and consumer entertainment systems.”

With higher recording speeds required in the professional archival industry, the latest breakthrough by GE researchers will advance the company’s interests in commercializing GE’s micro-holographic technology in this market space.

Lorraine also noted that the breakthrough in recording speed could hasten the entry of GE’s micro-holographic technology into the consumer electronics market. Future micro-holographic discs using GE’s proprietary material will read and record on systems very similar to a typical Blu-ray or DVD player. In fact, the hardware and formats can be so similar to current optical storage technologies that future micro-holographic players will enable consumers to play back their CDs, DVDs and BDs.

In the months ahead, GE’s research and licensing teams will be sampling media to qualified companies interested in licensing its proprietary holographic data storage platform, a comprehensive portfolio that includes materials, discs, optical systems for manufacturing and optical drive technologies.

“This latest breakthrough in Holographic Data Storage represents a significant step forward on the path to commercializing this technology,” said William Kernick, Vice President of Technology Ventures for GE. “We are looking forward to engaging with strategic industry partners to create an exciting new solution in the marketplace.”

About Holographic Storage

Holographic storage is different from today’s optical storage formats like DVDs and Blu-ray discs. DVDs and Blu-ray discs store information only on up to four layers at the surface of the disc; holographic storage technology uses the entire volume of the disc material. Holograms, or three-dimensional patterns that represent bits of information, are written into the disc at controlled depths, and can then be read out. Because micro-holographic discs can use the entire volume of the material, their storage capacity is much greater than existing storage technologies today. GE’s breakthrough material, when used in a disc, will match the capacity of 20 single-layer Blu-ray discs, 100 DVDs or the hard drive of most laptop computers.

GE has been working on holographic storage technology for over eight years. The demonstration of materials that can support 500 gigabytes of capacity and recording at speeds matching today’s existing storage technologies are both major milestones. These achievements have been made through the collaborative efforts of a cross-functional team of scientists and engineers from the Applied Optics and Functional Materials labs. Ultimately, the team is working toward micro-holographic discs that can store more than one terabyte, or 1,000 gigabytes of data.

While GE is initially focused on the commercial archival industry, recent advancements have its micro-holographic storage technology poised to hit the consumer market. GE’s path to market will be to license its technology through multiple partners in the consumer electronics supply chain. GE’s Technology Ventures Group is actively exploring potential technology transfer and licensing opportunities.

About GE Global Research

GE Global Research is the hub of technology development for all of GE’s businesses. Our scientists and engineers redefine what’s possible, drive growth for our businesses and find answers to some of the world’s toughest problems.

We innovate 24 hours a day, with sites in Niskayuna, New York; Bangalore, India; Shanghai, China; Munich, Germany; and fifth global research facility to open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2012. Visit GE Global Research on the web at www.ge.com/research. Connect with our technologists at http://edisonsdesk.com and http://twitter.com/edisonsdesk.

About GE Technology Ventures

Technology Ventures is dedicated to creating new spaces for GE’s technology, driving the commercialization and business development of licensing portfolios for GE in non-core & adjacent markets. With close ties to GE Global Research, Technology Ventures supports the protection, development and marketing of GE’s intellectual property on a global level, offering a dynamic combination of investing, licensing, industry and technical expertise.

About GE

GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.

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Google’s self-driving car takes the public for a ride

admin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:26:34 +0000

Google’s super high-tech, self driving car that was revealed last year, has finally been developed enough to give members of the public to experience. At the TED conference 2011 this week, the folks from Search Engine Land got to experience what it was like to be inside the self-driving car and even recorded some video footage of it in action. The car drove itself around a closed circuit, pretty aggressive I might add, but judging from the video footage, it looks like there was a professional doing the driving instead of the car itself. Looks like Google is right on track with their research and with further development it can only get better. It looks like humans probably won’t have to deal with parking woes in the future – just get off and let the car park itself. Would you let yourself be ferried on the road by a self-driving car? Check out video footage of the drive after the break:

Google’s self-driving car takes the public for a ride, By Ubergizmo. Top Stories : LG Optimus 2X Review, Nexus S Review,