Category Archives: Gadgets and Tech
Now we really wouldn’t have guessed just how useful poop could actually be. This robot saw its true use before we did. What we technically and very naturally refer to as “waste”, poop that is, is exactly what’s used to power up this self-sustaining robot. Developed by the Bristol Robotics Lab, the Ecobot-III has an advanced digestive system, better than ours anyways, that processes sewage to power up its fuel cells. Talking about energy drinks, we seriously wonder how much this one stinks. Anyways, consuming nasty stuff just to keep itself alive isn’t all it does. Unlike the previous poop-consuming-self-powering technology we’ve seen before, that needed to be show where the poop is and fed, this robot does it all by itself, scavenging for “consumable” products.
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Today, using mobile phones can have an adverse effect on the environment, whether it’s during production, during use, and at the time of disposal. Well, not all phones play the evil one with the environment. Some of them prefer to keep their act clean, like the Colibri Eco Mobile phone designed by Nelly Trakidou, an eco-friendly communication gadget that needs no external power to juice it up and convey your messages. So what powers up this lovely phone that looks like nothing we’ve ever come across before? Nano-generators embedded in the fabric, and also buttons that generate energy every time you push one do the work of juicing this one up. No solar power or anything else related to it being used here. . On normal circumstances, a phone would lose power every time a button is pushed. This one chooses differently!
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Who needs streetlights connected to a grid when they can power up with energy from the sun instead! Well, Danish designers Michel Riss and Jens Rosbjerg probably thought that while coming up with the idea for the Sun Flower solar powered street lights. These are high intensity, low consumption solar cell powered lights that will work just great in public spaces like parks, gardens, sidewalks and parking spaces. Independent from the grid, the Sun Flower lighting uses five photovoltaic modules on top that soak in the sun and stores the power, to later on energize its 56 W LED lamps. These streetlights emit a whitish glow and also equip a sensor that automatically switches on and off according to daylight. And yes, just incase one of them decides to laze around and not work; the others will continue to lighten up your path, so long as the sun shines bright during the day.
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Nothing gets more eco-friendly with a touch of nature to it than the Grass Roots Collection, iWave Audio’s eco-friendly range of gadgets with the feel of nature. Accessories like ear buds, cases, headphones for iPhones and iPods are part of the line, sculpted out of reusable, environmentally friendly and recyclable materials. After all, what could get greener than using a headphone with a wood finish to it! The products are a perfect pick for the environment conscious, who make it a point to reduce their carbon footprint by buying greener products like these.
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Why crowd your lovely backyard, drying all those clothes your washing machine has been spouting out everyday, when you could simply use an awesome energy efficient clothes drier instead! Designer Nico Kläber came up with this smart and innovative technique to dry clothes. Known as the DryMate, this drying appliance uses vacuum technology to dry up you wears, resulting in a lesser use of energy at lower temperatures. Besides being green and energy efficient like we love it, this one makes sure you don’t need to stoop down to low while popping in your clothes and pulling them back out. The drums lower air pressure has the water evaporating at temperatures lower than 100 degrees Celsius.
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Ever tried growing a potted plant at home that has always wound up dead, due to the unavoidable reason of “not knowing when the little green thing needs watering”? Well, that is now an event of the past, thanks to this illuminating pot for your little green buddy. Known as the Tulipe pot, this one lights up every time your plant is thirsty and needs watering. It does so when sensors detect that the temperature, light or moisture is not at optimum levels and glows bright red to show its water needs. Designed by 22 year old Natalie King, the pot isn’t on store shelves yet, though hopefully for King and our dying plants, it does show up soon enough.
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You can now know exactly just how much energy you use in your home, with a lot more detail and information, thanks to Microsoft Hohm and Blue Line Innovations. Using an online profile, the free online service, Microsoft Hohm, enables users to keep a tab on their energy use, while at the same time, the PowerCost Monitor by Blue Line Innovations, closely monitors all the energy used. Link up the Hohm and the PowerCost that comes for around $268 and you can now have more detailed information on daily routines, conservation efforts, as well as seasonal changes too!
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The Indian market now has access to cleaner and greener telecommunications powered up by energy from the sun. Vodafone Essar has now brought to India a solar powered phone that is sure to mark the start of green cell phones in the sunny South Asian land. Vodafone Essar has had a thought of the number of rural users it has in India, and has developed this phone especially to serve that market. Far flung places in India usually have a problem connecting to the grid and usually have electricity as a luxury. Communicating in places like these can be troublesome. So, a solar powered phone, like the VF 247 is just ideal. The phone can also charge up using ambient light, due to the Sun Boost system it uses enabling it to charge in normal daylight.
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We all know how harmful cooling ourselves from the heat outside by subjecting our bodies to that pleasant stream of cool air from an air conditioner can be to the environment. Things are changing for the better. The air conditioner might not be such an environment stabber in the future, thanks to this new development. A new AC refrigerant has been developed, with 99.7% lower global warming potential than the ones used currently in AC systems. Refrigerants used in car air conditioners at times leak, causing harm. So, General Motors will in future use a new refrigerant, HFO-1234yf, developed by Honeywell Fluorine Products that breaks down faster than the currently used R-134a refrigerant.
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Just yesterday we brought to you an apple tree that powers up your devices designed by Greendix. Well, here’s yet another design inspired by the forbidden fruit, a cell-phone dock shaped like an apple. This one, also by Greendix, uses solar leaves too and features UV LEDs! The dock uses energy from the sun to power up and mini-USB connectors. The leaves drink in the sun’s juice and store the energy in an 1800mAh battery, integrated in the cell phone dock. So dock in your phone and in charges up without the need of an electrical outlet. This apple keeps away from any grid connections whatsoever. According to Joseph Lin, President of Greendix, this is a fun way to show just how energizing an electric apple can be, just like a real one.
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