What the hell is that? At first, visions of some new age weapon come to mind. But in reality it’s something much more and much more useful — a mobile solar power generator.
Being green and living clean is getting easier with each passing day. Regardless if the current world we live in is warming or cooling, giving mother nature a helping hand certainly can’t hurt. In the solar power arena, harnessing such power for larger scale applications (read: large tools/small housing) require some pretty hefty solar cells and hardware. Hardware that is anything but mobile. A new design by Marcos Madia, Sergio Ohashi and Juan Manuel Pantano however aims to make the trek into the wilderness, or at the very least, power away from outlets more mobile and easier to use.
The design is simple — attach some solar panels to a foldable contraption and make it lightweight and compact when folded. That’s where this little beaut excels, providing mobile power in a light and small package that can be folded up when the job or need moves. Pretty cool huh?
Anyone have any great ideas of what you could use this for?
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- November 23, 2009 5:41 am
Even with online radio, streaming services, and mp3 players, some people still love good ‘ol fashioned radio. Who says FM is dead? While I personally don’t listen to terrestrial radio any more simply because they never play anything outside of the top 50 popular songs, repeating each one until it’s imprinted in every nook and cranny of my brain. Personal gripes aside, sporting your FM radio on the go can be done in so many ways as FM radios have taken an almost infinite array of shapes and sizes. One style in particular, the headband radio is to me, the most iconic image of 80′s technology and the personal radio. If you’re going to be a complete nerd walking around in your MC Hammer pants, cut off t, and walking along noddin’ your head, you might as well at least use the latest and greatest in technology. Throw out those sweat stained, older than dirt headband radios you’ve been using and replace them with the Solar Headphone Radio. It’s no secret what the highlight is here — solar power in a headband radio. It makes sense doesn’t it? Unless you walk on your head, it’s usually pointing in a northernly direction meaning it should grasp at least a few waves of sweet mother sun’s gleaming light. How well does it work?
One hour of sunlight is enough to keep you bangin’ to the beats for 1-3 hours of uninterrupted music. When fully charged, the AAA NiMH battery will allow you to strut your 80′s stuff for a good 20 hours before the good times (and memories) get replaced by cold silence and the sound of your foot steps reverberating through your headphones. Super. As much as I joke, it isn’t a bad design or idea at all. Is £24.95 (~ $41.42 USD) too much to relive those glory days?
- September 8, 2009 5:42 am
Imagine driving down the road and looking out in front of your car and seeing the roadway light up with markings or directions. Such a sight might make you think of some science fiction movie or some futuristic technology that is still decades from becoming reality. However, the technology and deployment may not be that far off. Instead of the typical asphalt based roadway that does nothing but cause us to use more petroleum based products, the solar roadway could actually make us more independent. The company with the technology, Solar Roadways, has been given a $100,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation to further develop a prototype of the solar roadway mentioned above. The power harnessed by even a smaller 12′ x 12′ section could top 7.6 kilowatt hours. Moving on to bigger sections such as a mile long section of highway could provide enough energy to power 500 homes! As mentioned previously, adding LED lights to the roadway could also provide drivers with short bits of information as well as provide the lane markings reducing the need for road paint.
Naturally, the thought of driving on LED’s and glass can make some uneasy. Though, with as many incredible feats I’ve seen attained with glass, a roadway is but another notch in the belt of science.
Source: Dvice, Dvorak, Physorg
The whole idea of going camping (usually) is to get away from it all. The city life, a fast paced world, electronic distractions, and other gadgetry are abandoned as campers aim to reconnect with nature and enjoy being self sufficient. However, one of the slightly problems with living in mother natures grassy fields is that light…after dark….is rather scarce. Instead of fumbling with a flashlight or some other lantern, why not capture the light from the sun and reuse it later? That is what the Solar Cap aims to do. Featuring a brim with embedded solar cells as well as LED lights built into the underside of the bill of the cap, night reading and other night related activities can now be carried on with a more friendly and efficient hands free approach. While an initial 3 day charge is needed to get the solar cells up and running, fret not as after the initial charge, a mere 8-hour jaunt is all that is needed to top off your Solar Cap. After juicing the hat to the max, users of said hat can expect roughly 5 hours of run time. Enough to get you through many chapters of your favorite book, or enjoy a nice, long night walk with up to a 30 foot reach. Finally, the Solar Cap is a fully weather proof hat meaning no matter the elements, you can enjoy clean, renewable light at any time of day.
Hey, being green is finally getting more affordable. At $50, the Solar Cap isn’t a bad investment at all. Go Green!
[Product Page]
Source: Dvice, 7Gadgets,
