SolarPower
Solar Impulse returns from 24 hour test flight 26 hours later
Rest easy, fans of solar-powered aeronautics. Captain Piccard’s Solar Impulse has safely returned after 26 hours in the air — powered by nothing but the sun. The four-engine aircraft, which features 12,000 solar cells arranged on its wingspan, reached a height of almost 29,000 feet before touching down at Payerne Airport near Berne, Switzerland today
Uplink Audio Strap System offers solar power for runners on the run
Designer Adam Hammerman’s concept — the Uplink Audio Strap System — is for all you sports enthusiasts that want to listen to tunes while running but don’t want to be bothered with headphones. It can connect with a variety of different mobile devices, and boasts four ultrasound speakers, meaning that you can hear the music but nobody else can, so you’re not disturbing the peace! For outdoorsy types, of course, it would be a much safer system for things like running, since you would still be able to hear the street noise around you, and the device would also have flexible solar panels which charge the speakers on the go. It’s just a concept for now, but one we’d like to see in reality.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: a US team wins the Solar Decathalon!
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. This week Inhabitat reported live from the scene of the Solar Decathlon in Madrid as 17 stunning solar-powered houses competed for the title of the world’s most energy-efficient prefabricated house. The winner was just announced this evening and we’re thrilled to see that an American team won: Virginia Tech’s shape-shifting Lumenhaus
LG’s solar hybrid AC unit probably won’t do much to cool your power bill
Air conditioning that’s 90 percent more efficient ? Pshaw. How about solar air conditioning that powers itself on the sunniest days?
Apple patent application hints at solar-powered iPhone
Solar-powered Apple patents are nothing new, but we’d always thought Steve intended to blanket his devices with the technology.
Sony patent application points to dual-screen, dual-use tablet
We never put too much faith in patent applications leading to actual products, but we can’t help but get a little bit excited about the possibilities presented by a recent Sony application for a dual-screen tablet. Described specifically as an “electronic book with enhanced features,” the device would sport two screens that could take on a different functionality depending on how the device is oriented — functioning as an e-reader when in portrait mode, and displaying a keyboard on the lower screen when placed on a table, for instance
