Category Archives: Gadgets and Tech
We all carry around some sort of data storage device at work, school or college. Here’s an innovative touch given to the usual USB data storage drive by designer Wonchul Hwang. Now Hwang thought a USB drive could do a lot more than just store our data. It could perhaps store energy too, for use in emergency situations. And with that thought in mind, the designer came up with the AA USB. This one, when hooked on to a computer, begins to charge up via USB and fulfills all the uses of an AA battery when required. Using a lithium-ion battery and equipped with an electricity indicator, the AA USB makes sure your camera clicks the right pictures and keeps your torch light shining bright when your disposable batteries run out.
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Nothing gets better than a machine that spouts out money, powered by renewable energy! Well, actually it’s your own money that this machine pops out, so don’t expect it to be a solar-powered pot of gold really. The technology used though sure makes us smile. The first of its kind by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, this ATM machine at the Al Bateen Branch will help the bank reduce its solar footprint to a noticeable extent and is powered by solar panels installed on the branch’s roof. These panels sun bathe and are hooked on to a circuit breaker board that in turn operates a power controller. The system also has a energy storage system to power up the machine at night.
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Your phones out of charge and you can’t spot a power outlet a mile away. Well, you need not worry about losing out on communication anymore, not with the nPower PEG around. This one makes sure that all your hand-held portable devices remain charged up and ready to use, on the go. Here’s how it works. The nPower PEG simply needs to be placed in a briefcase or backpack or just about any bag that you carry along. The nPower PEG continuously top-off its internal battery, constantly providing power. The world’s first passive kinetic energy charger for hand-held electronics, this one also generates energy by simply shaking it.
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We keep coming across energy saving power bricks and adapters time and again, like the Enviroplug and the Belkin Conserve Insight. Here’s yet another one to add up to the line-up of gadgets that help you plug in your devices and save energy at the same time, by Crystal Acoustics. The company has brought out two shiny new multi-socket power saving adapters that, according to claims, saves up to 30% of energy. These work by cutting of power supply when the gadget isn’t in use, the same as the other adapters we’ve had. Besides that, they also equip a load learning function that helps them learn standby power levels of devices connected.
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It had to happen eventually and the time is now. Apple is going green for its iPhone, iPad and MAC users by patenting portable solar powered devices. They are trying to find out a way to ‘reliably’ charge rechargeable batteries in these devices. The patent inserts a power control circuit between the solar power source and the battery. To deal with the unreliability of the sun’s powers, the invention also is smart enough to monitor the bad electrical power dribbling from the solar cell and polish it for the rechargeable cell.
[iPhoneapples]
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Drying fruits and nuts now will be a solar powered affair, as designer Telia Curtis, 29, a UNSW photovoltaic and solar energy engineering student developed a solar crop dryer. This dryer will help families to dry and sell the abundant fruits and nuts found through the South Pacific island nation, giving the people of Vanuatu a source of living. The dryer uses some pretty easily found materials like bamboo, wood, corrugated iron and polythene film. It works with solar powered fans for forced convection. To dry up, fruits and other products are to be laid out on mesh trays while air is forced over them to extract moisture from the foods, leaving them stone dry in the bargain. This one works out cheaper and creates a lesser carbon footprint than the electric dryers usually used. We just love the thought put into this design by Curtis, and hope these units hit production lines soon.
[Physorg]
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The African Desert may not be a parched land scarce of water anymore in future, not if the ‘Water Vapor’ project dream turns into a reality. Designers Sangwook Park, Sinjeong Lee, Hoyoung Lee & Hyeonju Jo came up with the project as an answer to the African water woes, turning the barren desert into a lush green environment, hydrating the parched throats of the inhabitants. Simply using the concept of water vapors, this one uses a vortex tube that converts air in to vapor by causing temperature differences. Spinning at a rate of 1,000,000 RPM while compressing the air and releasing warm air between 30-90 degrees C, this project was also a part of the IIDA awards 2010 competition. The designer’s purpose is to create an environment where plants can live with soil moisture and water provided by the conversion of air to vapor in areas with contaminated drinking water and deserted soil.
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It’s CES 2011 all over the news this week, and just last week we came across LG’s eco-friendly network-connected household appliances. GE too has pulled the veil of a bunch of green and eco-friendly home based appliances that might just end up in your homes sometime in the future. GE has come up with an Energy Manager, the GE Nucleus, a communication and data storage device packed with a smart meter to provide users electricity cost and use information to enable energy efficiency. The GE Energy Display gives real time energy consumption in kilowatt-hours and estimated dollars spent while refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, ranges, microwaves will all drink a lot less energy and function efficiently. GE has also brought out a range of energy efficient Chargers, the GE Wattstation for electric cars, energy efficient lighting, and a small scale wind energy generating system called the Skystream 600.
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Remember Dexim and that awesome P-Flip Foldable Solar Power charger the company came up with some time ago? The guys at Dexim just can’t get over charging iPhones and have come up with the Visible Green Charger. Unlike any other charger we’ve ever seen before, Dexim’s baby uses electroluminescent light to show you how fast your iOS device is charging, and is as green as can be. The charger reduces standby power by up to 85% when the iOS is not in use. The lighted cord shows a quick flow while charging up to 65%, with the speed reducing as the battery gradually juices up. Once fully charged, the Dexim cuts off all power supply, keeping away vampire-like electricity sucking habits.
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Eton Corporation, an emergency radio company, had something green and drool-worthy to show off at the CES 2011. Soaking in the sun in the outdoors to power up your mobile phone, the Raptor self powered USB
charging device is here, all ready to steal the suns rays and juice up your phone. The Raptor packs an 1800mAh rechargeable Lithium Ion Batter, with a high-efficiency monocrystal solar pane. But that’s not all the Raptor does! It also functions as an adventure-companion, complete with an altimeter, barometer and compass and also an AM/FM/WB digital radio tuner with presets and NOAA weather alerts. The Raptor also makes sure you keep track of the time, with a digital clock and an alarm. This one also connects to the grid, just incase the sun doesn’t show up, and charges up phones via USB.
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