Join Ring Socket Power Plug
I’m sure that all of us are or at least should be trying to conserve power as much as possible. I’ve discovered how easy it is to save a few bucks every month by unplugging my television and computer before I go to sleep.
This Ring Socket product is another way of conserving power by having the user set a pre-determined hour when the power goes off.
All the user needs to do is wind back a huge ring, and then the socket will shut itself off a a determined time. This will hopefully result in lower power bills.
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Sunshine Buddies
When it comes to toys or compact electrical equipment, there is always the issue of batteries. Surely parents who had kids in the late 1980s and early 1990s would have realized just how much money they have pumped in to sustain their child’s Game Boy habit? Well, good thing the advent of solar powered technology has changed the landscape by quite a bit – today, we have the Sunshine Buddies which retail for £9.99, coming in an extremely cute design by nodding his head (or should we say, it’s? ) as long as he/it receives enough sunlight. Supposedly meant to induce a very calming effect, the Sunshine Buddies would make for a decent gift for someone whom you want to reach out to, never mind that Christmas day is over – you can still give out gifts regardless of what day of the year it is, right? These have been around in Japan for quite some time already, and is starting to spread its own brand of happiness around the world as well.
These things on the road charge your car as you drive over them
I think we all know that electric cars are probably the way of the future, but they really do need charging all the time. This would make trips longer, with more stops having to be made along the way.
What if there is a way to charge your car as you are driving? This is what Halo IPT (Inductive Power Transfer) is planning.
Think of it as one of those Powermat or Wildcharger things, except that nothing is really touching. As the driver goes along the road, energy is transferred to the vehicle so the tank is always “topped off” electronically speaking.
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Tokyo man builds a home in a space designed for parking
Some of you might remember when we reported on the Hong Kong man that built a Domestic Transformer that could turn a 344-foot space into a 24-room house.
This man, Fuyuhito Moriya, has applied principles of some space-saving technology to his small house in Tokyo. This is a 30 square meter plot of land that was originally designed to be a parking space, but is now a three story house for two.
As you might have guessed, things are pretty crammed with appliances under counters and many other compact enhancements designed to decrease space as much as possible. It reminds me of Bruce Willis’ apartment in The Fifth Element.
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Sanyo readies new generation of eneloops
Anyone who has had experience with childrens’ toys that require batteries to run would be all too familiar with the name eneloop if they’re budget conscious and have a heart for the environment. Why? Sanyo’s eneloop batteries have long been the standard for rechargeables that are ready to rock the moment they’re unboxed, and can be recharged over and over again for umpteen years before you spend more money for a new pack. Well, Sanyo isn’t a company that rests on their laurels, which is why they have come up with a new generation of eneloops which will come in AA and AAA sizes. We shall look at the changes in the extended post, eh?
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Nanoparticles can illuminate certain trees
And in other news, NASA has finally found life on other planets. Judging from our high-resolution photos, we can see that they have similar buildings and automobiles, but their trees glow red at night.
Seriously, this is Earth. Specifically, it is Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University, and it was recently discovered that adding gold nanoparticles to the leaves of this tree, known as Bacopa caroliniana, will cause the chlorophyll to glow red.
Dr. Ye-Hsun Su believes that his recent discovery could do a lot to help the environment. After all, a lot of streetlights at night lead to a huge electricity bill. If it is cheaper to coat some trees with a substance to make them glow at night, then we can reduce our nightly illumination bill by a substantial fraction.
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visCycle – Go Green, Get Lean
In San Diego there’s a gym, that in and of itself is nothing unusual, I’m sure San Diego has a bunch of gyms… but theres a place in particular called the Greenasium that is using a special stationary bike called the visCycle.
Manufactured by Resource Fitness, the visCycle and other similarly capable machines generate electricity that is routed back into the power grid of the facility, offsetting some of the power usage, like lights, fans and the computer.
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Kaba Access Control delivers new self-powered electronic access control
Staying secure has always been big – can’t you tell from the past from all those medieval castles that have way too many ramparts and lookout points to make sure it can spot the enemy from far away to make provisions for defence before they arrive? Well, the same idea can be said to have trickled down to ordinary folk like you and I – just take a look at your front door. Do you have a peephole? All right, now how many locks must you get through before you open the door to your home?
Got the idea already? Good, because we are going to introduce a new way of keeping your home secure. Kaba Access Control has offered a new form of self-powered electronic access control known as the E-Plex 2000 Series with PowerStar technology, where it will charge the lock with each turn of the lever, hence doing away with the need to purchase or replace batteries – ever. This neat little number will also work sans any wiring to or through the door, adding to another level of security for the paranoid, and also giving those with evil intentions a surprise whenever they try to find a way through.
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