Archive for the ‘Green Gadgets’ Category
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 |
The Beijing Olympics will soon begin, but Chinese authorities are pretty concerned because more and more athletes are disappointed in the poor air quality found around the Chinese capital. The local administration has been trying to prompt the government to enact a myriad of odd new measures to decrease pollution.
The guys over at DVICE suggest that the latest design coming from Jamie Tomkins in the form of the 2020 hybrid bicycle might help improve the air quality in Beijing and other polluted locations all over the world. This bicycle was actually mocked up as a concept vehicle a couple of years ago for a GE Plastics Automotive competition. Tomkins came up with a bike designed specifically to address China’s pollution problems.
In order to keep a low price, the vehicle should be built from cheap metals and plastics. Apparently, it also comes with some electric motor. The futuristic design is supposed to be appealing for Chinese motorists. While the bicycle remains a feasible concept, it can’t provide clean air for the rider. In this case, they should also come up with a special helmet providing some sort of breathing system to protect the rider from the existent pollution. Better yet, they could make some electric Smart-like cars and price them accordingly.
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Friday, June 6th, 2008 |
If NASA could come up with weird-looking Moon and Mars transporters, why shouldn’t there be some futuristic water craft for those water covered Saturn or Jupiter moons?
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The Nereus water craft was designed by Mathias Koehler and reminds of a mechanized manta-ray. It’s supposedly relying on wave power to get around, so you can forget about oscillating fuel prices. The designer came up with an interesting way of handling this vehicle. If you want to steer it, you have to use your feet to activate some special pedals. There also is a diving option, facilitated via the hand grips which in turn control pivoting fins located at the base. The designer doesn’t give any info on breaking and speed. I guess it won’t be able to go that fast, due to its power limitations.
Before using this craft for extraterrestrial exploration, I think it could easily find a better use here on the Earth. The diving option makes it pretty interesting for army spec ops, where stealth plays an important role. The water-powered engine also makes for a “green†vehicle which will go well with all those electric, hybrid and inflatable land vehicles that are supposed to hit the market in the near future.
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Thursday, May 15th, 2008 |
Ever wondered how the future houses would look? Maybe there won’t be any houses, just skyscrapers with myriads of apartments, who knows? It so happens that the post before this one presented a wacky toilet seat and now I want to show you a possible design for a future home. Take a look at the pic and you’ll immediately know why I made the analogy.
This is Victor Vetterlein’s “Reboot,” a conceptual house of the future. The Reboot is designed to be entirely self-sufficient, with energy collecting solar paint, wind turbines and a rainwater collection system that could provide, not only a bit of water for the ones that would live in the house, but also some sort of hydroelectric energy boost. Apparently, people are starting to pay more attention to ecological solutions, implementing different renewable energy options together, both conceptually and in practice.
The Reboot design also comes with a host of high-tech features inside, among these being voice activated house controls and terminals throughout that link to your home computer and phone line.
What I can’t figure out is why the designer has given the house a toilet bowl shape. Or maybe I’ve just presented the R/C Toilet and I’m a bit biased here. Well, I guess you could say it looks like the head of a robot… the iRobot.
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Monday, February 18th, 2008 |
The Barcode Trashcan made by Woo Seok Park can scan barcodes for information on the material content of the packaging, and then opens the correct lid.
No more trying to work out if a plastic tub is recyclable or not, and if it is, the lid opens. It is very simple and easy to use and a very interesting gadget.
This Barcode Trashcan is made for people whom believe that recycling is complicated.
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Monday, January 28th, 2008 |
Many of us maybe asked if iPod is a Nature friend or not. One thing that make iPod green is that with over 70 million iPods playing downloaded digital tunes, you remove a significant number of CD’s out of production.
Another consideration is that the iPod batteries seem difficult and expensive to replace. When it is replaced, the work is either done by professionals who know to recycle it, or by tech savvy consumers. A replacement iPod battery costs from $8.50 to $23.99, and full replacement service by Apple can cost as much as $65.00, including postage.
Some iPod critics tell that many products are returned to Apple for recycling wind up in deadly overseas store recyclers or even are recycled by prison labor.
Apple has expanded its computer recycling program and announced that the 5th generation iPod, iPod nano and iPod shuffle are 100% compliant with the restrictions of hazardous substances (RoHS) in California and in Europe.
So, after reading this article, what do you think:
Is Apple green enough?
Posted in Green Gadgets, Music Gadgets | 1 Comment »
