Exercise to power, the ‘Citylight’ Concept is an innovative design that attaches exercise equipment to streetlights and thus utilizes the kinetic energy people create to energize LED lamps in the light system.
“Double-Bubble”, a futuristic aircraft developed by MIT, is announced to be a super-efficient passenger travel that may guide aircraft designs to a new trend. The airplane utilizes a variety of technologies and ideas to slash fuel consumption, and Double-Bubble is proved capable of saving on fuel by about 70% under certain experiment conditions. Even though it’s a revolutionized commercial aircraft that can benefit both the companies and the customers, the Double-Bubble won’t get launched to the market until 2035 or so.
As a newer and cleverer solution to solve the problem of “overcharging”, Bracketron’s GreenZero chargers can automatically shut off once your devices is fully charged. The GreenZero, available in a Mushroom and Stone styles, is compatible with iPhone, USB, and Android specific models, shutting off automatically to save energy and avoid top-off stress on batteries. Set to be released at CES in Las Vegas later this month, the GreenZero will be priced at $22 to $29.
How are we going to live the future? According to Philips, in the next few years we should be using wall-mounted vats of bioluminescent bacteria as night light. That sounds bit of weird? Not exactly. Good news is that you don’t need to pay for the electricity bills any more, but instead you have to feed the bacteria with some household waste (which has been digested by other bacteria to form methane gas) so that the bacteria will provide soft green light at night.
Along with the improvement of many designs, it is really hard for people to put forward better and cleverer products, but happily Ju-yeon Kim, Jin-beom Kim and Jin-seung Lee have managed to offer us a new package design that promises a more convenient use. It is the EZ Opener, a redesign of the can opener that features an extra handle for people to pull. Undoubtedly the EZ Opener would save the users some energy to open a can, but on the other hand it inevitably needs to cost more metal or other materials.
Logitech’s Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad is a smart portable accessory that looks really cool as well. It attaches to the back of the iPad 2, acting as a protective case and a stand for most of the time while offers a full-sized slide-out Bluetooth keyboard when users push the iPad backward. Once folded up, the keyboard then turns off to conserve battery life. Clever. [Read the rest of this entry...]
One Swedish company recently released this PowerTrekk, a portable fuel cell charger that utilizes water to produce electricity energy. Over ten milliliters of water, either clean water or domestic sewage, is announced enough to have a cellphone or flashlight to work well. Good news is that you’ll soon find it in market and use it everywhere. [Read the rest of this entry...]
In the nature there’re many eccentric plants like pitcher plants that live on small insects, and now there’s a weird clock that can get energy from flies and then creates electricity supply to keep it working. But in fact the clock also gets electricity energy from other apparatus, so it cannot be deemed as “an independent clock that works on itself.” [Read the rest of this entry...]
About 2000 years ago, the great mathematician Archimedes concluded that anything shaped to displace the same amount of water as that of its weight can float on the water. Inspired by that principle, Muzaffer Kocer and Ayca Guven have collaborated with the Water Scale, a measuring device that can read out the weight of the object placed onto the scale plate. It can weigh anything within 1000grams, and it doesn’t cost any energy or result in any pollution- really a green device for household use. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The U.S. military recently developed a new Solar-powered Tent that uses a-Si thin film solar cells instead of conventional solar panels to produce electricity energy. Its hourly power generation ranges from 800watt to 3000watt, and the larger the tent is, the more energy it offers. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Whenever I get a receipt, a bill or something that concerns personal privacy, I’d always like to make them into pieces. Not with my hands, but with the Hand Paper Shredder. No need of battery or any power, the smart shredder can easily destroy your documents and then protect you from identity theft. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Smaller in size, the new wind power generator however performs much better in producing electricity. And it comes with a nice name, the “Wind Cube”. Made up from blades, a generator, a telescopic shaft, an electric power plug and a switch, one single device can generate 21.6 kilowatt-hours per month and 15 such fans can support one family with four people for a month. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Striving for a new breakthrough in technological innovation, the Energy Return Wheel designed by Brian Russell is an airless tire that can roll flat, save energy and most importantly never get flat during the moving. In that case, the number of traffic jam or traffic accident resulted by a flat tire would be greatly reduced. [Read the rest of this entry...]
You’ll never pick up any clean clothes from washing machines unless you take exercise. That’s what we may have to face when China based electronics company Haier launches its Pedal-Powered Washing Machines in the future. Shown at IFA 2010, the eco machine is really simple but practical: the charging battery will power the machine to wash clothes when a man pedals on the exercise bike. And you don’t have to spare too much time, as basically 20 minutes of work can wash one load of clothes on cold cycle. Since the human-powered washing machine would save your money and keep your figure, will it be taken back to your home?
Will you conserve more electricity if the light is as precious as time? Combining the hourglass concept with lights for public places like staircases, Jia Wen Chen and Wei-Ting Chen have collaborated with the Flat Light that will time your lights. Once the LED grains all reach the bottom, the lights will then go off and the time limit is merely about 30 seconds. So our conclusion is, cherish your time and treasure electricity resource. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Though what you’ve seen from the Seesaw Faucet is mainly fun elements and a distinctive design, Chanhee Han actually cares more about the environment and water energy. As the faucet acts up and down to dispense water from the left side and soap from the right, you’ll no longer have the water keep running when you’re using the soap. In other words, the Seesaw Faucet offers either water or soap at one time, but never both two. [Read the rest of this entry...]
A group of high school students from Automotive Design Studio, a unique class provided by Kansas City based DeLaSalle Education Center for high school students, has created a lightweight electric car that weighs less than 1,200 pounds, which is half the weight of 98% of most electric vehicles. Its body was shaped using a thin wire framework covered with a transparent skin made from a heat-shrinkable material, and that weighs only 39 pounds! Also due to its light weight, the DeLaSalle car is quite well known for energy efficiency, and it can achieve the equivalent of nearly 300 miles per gallon.
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After about forty years of developing a perfect human-powered vehicle, engineer Charles Greenwood has finally come up with a hand-powered hybrid car that has a top speed of up to 60mph. It can seat up to four people: when there’re all four people on the travel, the car can run based on the human power; but when there’re fewer passengers, it can also use electric battery power for a better performance. So the car can be more eco-friendly when there’re more people driving it. Good news is that you’ll soon see this car on the road, as the HumanCar Imagine PS is expected to be on sale next year for £10,000 and the company has received 100 pre-orders. Till then, the Imagine PS will also has a touch-screen display with GPS and biometric data logging, computer, communications systems and other advanced equipment. So do you want one, too? [Read the rest of this entry...]
With the technology and design placing towards energy-saving and multiuse, Jia Dai makes the flashlight a new one in the league. The flashlight not only can split open to work as a ceiling lamp, and more importantly, its solar cells can still recharge when in the open lamp status. So whenever you use the MIA Electric Flashlight Lamp, you’re always saving both the energy and your money. Sounds like a good deal. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Here’s a new solar powered lamp created by Jesper Jonsson that features a collapsible design for easy transportation and storage. When you unfold and expand its shade via a twisting motion, the smart light then can use the solar powered collected during the daytime to light up your dark night. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Unless you’ve left home without your glasses, you’ll no doubt find the Poo-powered VW Beetle running through the streets of Bristol and get impressed with the eye-catching slogan on its smart body which says that “(The car is) Powered by your waste”! Powered by methane gas that is generated during the sewage treatment process, the new VW Beetle is announced as a “breakthrough in the drive to encourage sustainable power”, when many other automakers are also developing new sources of energy to take the place of regular motor petrol. But will the “Bio-Bug” perform as well as petrol-powered cars? Of course it can. It is reported that the new Beetle’s maximum speed is 114 m/h, and it would travel 10,000 miles every year if 70 homes in Bristol provide waste to power it. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Orbital Washing Machine, which takes the very name from the fact that it has a spherical drum spinning on two axes, is an eco-friendly home appliance that would save you great amounts of water and energy. When the machine works, its spherical drum will spin on the two axes to move the clothes in all directions so that they can get washed with little energy and water. Besides, the spherical drum can also be used as a laundry hamper for dirty clothes as it is removable. [Read the rest of this entry...]
If you’re using high temperature to dry clothes, you should realize that the heat may damage your delicate dress and shirts. But we can guarantee that problem wouldn’t arise again if you have the DryMate designed by Nico Kläber. It uses a new vacuum technology to dry clothes at much lower temperatures than 100°C, and the lower the air pressure the lower the temperature is needed to evaporate water. Therefore with DryMate, less energy will be consumed and less damage will be made to your clothes. Besides, the new clothes drier also features a rounded exterior and a wide mouth that is tilted up by 9 degree, making it a stylish device for convenient using. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Now I really envy you guys living in the Seattle area, not for the sweet-smelling coffee but the reusable tote bags provided by Amazon. According to Amazon.com, all the residents in Seattle can select to have their items sent in an Amazon Tote bag that asks for no subscriptions or fees from now on. The only bad part about the bags is that they’re only delivered once per week so you may have to wait for several days to see your orders on the doorstep. But what does that matter, as long as these bags can protect both your items and the environment? I love Amazon and I love the idea. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Baita Design has just released Moon Pan, a crescent-shaped pan that fits around any regular pans to utilize the heat wasted by cook tops. With the Moon Pan, you can not only prepare various dishes at the same time, but make a fuller use of the cook-top heat. So that’s really a perfect gadget to help you save both your time and your money. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Let’s start the article with a familiar situation: we go out to tour around, record the beautiful sceneries using a digital camera, click, click, click…then suddenly the camera runs out of power! That always makes us feel rather depressed. But fortunately that wouldn’t happen again, coz Weng Jie has come up with the Solar Camera Strap, a camera strap built with solar films on the surface to harvest the sunshine as energy for your device. The idea is really simple, but also practical. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Who can tell me why the light concept is named as “SolarLight” but actually designed to harvest wind energy for power with its acrylic blades? But whatever, the “SolarLight” seems like a perfect alternative for the rural parts of the world, where large amounts of wind are available. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Welcome to World One, the world’s tallest residential tower in the future. It is a 450 meters tall building that will be built on a 17-acre site in Mumbai, India, by Mumbai-based Lodha Developers, New York-based Pei Cobb Free & Partners and Leslie E Robertson Associates. The 117-story skyscraper will include two more towers, 300 exclusive flats, lavish villas and a few duplex suites as well. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The “Internal Straw” has come to change the way you sip the drinks. Or more exactly, the innovative design will change the function of the drink packs. The new box features a folded layer that can turns into a pipe and back again, a genius maneuver that minimizes the product’s carbon footprint. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The ‘Clever Little Bag’, a collaborative work between yves behar / fuse project and Puma, was invented as a result of the idea to promote energy efficiency and conservation. The new packaging includes a cardboard sheet and a bag but has no tissue paper, therefore taking up less space and weighing much lighter than usual shoes boxes. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Thanks to GE for coming up with the Energy Smart® LED bulb, we can save much more electrical energy in the future. Compared with ordinary bulbs, the new one can distribute light in all directions, but costing less energy. It consumes 9-W of energy, amounting to a 77% savings compared to 40-W incandescent. It is also said that the LED bulb can last up to 17 years, if you use it 4 hours per day. The GE will launch it sometime early 2011 at a price of $40 to $50. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Presented here is the solar-powered bus waiting booth, designed by Yang Mingjie for Ningbo South Business District, China. It features a modular design, promising a convenient adjustment while reducing the maintenance and service cost. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Coming with a poetic name ‘Flow’, the bamboo lamps are created as a result of the intention to realize the road illumination on Colombian seaside, where the electric network cannot be channeled. The lamp works on the principle of a vertical wind turbine, and therefore features bamboo blades shaped like a spiral to ‘catch’ the wind in different directions. Apart from that, the ends of the blades are also cut to raise the utilization rate of wind. [Read the rest of this entry...]
I am the kind of person who seldom remembers to unplug the devices when they’re fully charged, so you can imagine how much I’ve paid to the electric power bureau. But the Wind Up Socket, featuring an integrated timer, may change that. All you have to do is to rotate the plug to set the duration. And the socket will then cut off the power automatically, as the time passes by. For forgetful guys like you and me, the socket is really the best choice. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Although named as the “Saving Energy Multitap”, the strip actually won’t directly reduce your electricity cost, but helps you to develop a good habit of unplugging the unused gadgets from the strip so as to save the energy. It sucks up the energy wasted by the unplugged devices and uses it in a rational way—to power the touch-sensitive ambient lights on the wall. The main task of the ambient lights is to remind you to switch off those unplugged gadgets if you no longer use them. As for the ambient lights, they could also be turned on or off via simple tapping. [Read the rest of this entry...]
You could always spare the time to unplug each gadget when you no longer use them? Or you just leave the plugs in and let the electricity leak? But you have another option now. Designed by Conor Klein, the Outlet Regulator could disconnect itself from the power source automatically (just like a real leech) when the device gets fully charged. And that’s why the plug is also named as “Leech Plug”. No idea on whether such a conceptual design will ever see the light of day in the real world, but I really love the idea a lot. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Flattery must have gotten you everywhere Mr. Lufdesign and I’d like to describe your concept as ‘a stylish cord that lets us see the electricity leaking’. The product is meant for warning the users to pull out the plugs so as to reduce the power waste, through a visible and direct way. Named as “ECord”, the design mainly attributes to the PVC covering that changes colors when a specific range of current (from 1 to 15W) is provided. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Can the water tower be used for any other purpose? Just come in and check it out… [Read the rest of this entry...]
Print your documents with a pencil! Yes, that’s just what the ‘Pencil Printer’ is intended for! You don’t think that is practical? Well, put a pencil into the hole on the top right of the printer, start the machine, and then you’ll see the device printing on paper using the pencil powder…Wow, cool! To top off the great design, Hoyoung Lee also adopts eraser to erase off the printed paper so that you could use the paper again. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Creative Factor: Cool machine converts office paper into toilet paper.
The Japanese company Oriental has come up with a machine by the name of ‘White Goat’ recently. It is an innovative machine that converts your wasted office paper into toilet paper in about 30minutes. After you put about 40sheeets of paper into the machine, ‘White Goat’ will then shredder the paper, dissolve it in the water, thin the paper out, and then dry it into toilet sheets. Merely costing $0.11 to churn out one toilet roll, claimed by the company, the machine will save up to 60 cedar trees every year. The cool machine is expected to hit the market in Japan this summer, at a price of $100,000. [Read the rest of this entry...]
