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Turn on Mini-Traffic Light

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech,

Mini Traffic Light So you want to draw attention to yourself at work or have kids who just won’t quit. Try installing this Mini-Traffic Light. What better way to say coffee break or time out? At a size of 270 x 100 x 100mm and a weight of 290g, the light features an on/off switch and will handle 200/240 volts. We were also thinking it might be amusing if you lived on a corner and wanted to see the reaction of your neighbors. The lamp is available for a mere $16.00.

(Thanks, Fanny)

Kinetic Phone Powers Itself

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Design, Science,

Perhaps almost as useful as a solar powered gadget, the Atlas Kinetic Phone uses the movement of the cellular phone to generate its electricity. The power system uses an oscillating weight that runs the mainspring. If the phone is idle and loses juice, simply turn the crown a couple of times. Made with aluminum and a sapphire glass showing its internal workings, Richard Baiao claims his green device has a longer life cycle than most current cellies. Contact him for future availability and price.

Wattson Watches Watts

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech,

Wattson DIY KYOTO’s Wattson is finally ready to meet the world. The Wattson instantly reads how much electricity you use either in Watts or amount of money it is costing you. The information is gathered and stored from a transmitter that you attach to your electric meter or fuse box. With its mood LED, it changes colors depending on how much energy you use, with blue for less and red for high consumption. It also features an internal battery pack to make it portable.

Although it has been out for some time in limited release, the device was recently upgraded to show energy usage in Euros, Dollars, Stirling, Yen, and Pounds. Both Mac and Windows compatible, Wattson is available for £149.50 ($297.00.) A bit pricey, but well worth it when you consider the guilt factor.

Eel Powers Up Tree Lights

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science,

Eel-Tree An aquarium in Japan lit up their Christmas tree with the help of a fishy friend. It took inventor Kazuhiko Minawa about a month to design the system. Two aluminum panels were placed in the eel’s tank as electrodes to harness the power, then cables were attached to them to supply electricity to the tree.

“If we could gather all electric eels from all around the world, we would be able to light up an unimaginably giant Christmas tree,” Minawa said.

Funny, we were thinking the same thing and wondering if, after the holidays, we could use one to run some of our home appliances. You can see the slimy fellow in action on MSNBC.

Scientists Explore Underwater Turbine Usage

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science,

Rick Driscoll, the director of Florida Atlantic University’s CEOET (Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology) and crew are developing underwater turbines that will create power from the Gulf Stream. They would be moored 1,000 ft. below the surface and should be capable of going through 8 billion gallons per minute. That’s enough energy to power up one third of the state of Florida. The team will be testing a prototype early next year. We wonder if, when this becomes feasible on a large scale, someone will find a way to harness it in, let’s say, a jacuzzi. We suspect the power companies would not be thrilled.

Instructables Offers Last Minute Electronic Ideas

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science,

Instructable’s annual DIY contest is going on now, and it may give you some last minute ideas for Halloween ghoulies, gadgets, and costumes. We especially liked this low-cost Lightning Globe, created by member NK5. You will need a bulb that is gas-filled, a black painted aluminum screen to attract electricity, a high voltage power source such as an old monitor, and a black plastic pot. NK5 claims that the entire project will cost about $5.00 but cautions that you had better know what you are doing to avoid frying yourself during the construction process. Check out the video for more details.

Samsung Develops H2O Fuel Cell

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Design,

The future operation of cell phones may be by water. Not to be outdone by Toshiba and their Methane PMP, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has come up with a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that run on H2O. When the phone is turned on, the metal and water inside produce a hydrogen gas which reacts with oxygen to generate up to 3 watts of electricity. This means one can get up to 10 hours of use, about twice as long as rechargeable batteries. Although still a prototype, we are looking forward to the day when we can be rid of batteries that go down when we need our phone the most. Expect the technology to be perfected by 2010.

Plug Into The Sun to Recharge

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video,

Solio The universal Solio can handle all your charging needs either by sun or wall plug. Use it on your MP3 player, digital cam, handheld game, cell phone, GPS, or Bluetooth headset. In an emergency, one hour of sun will provide about 25 minutes of talk time on your mobile phone or up to an hour of iPod tunes, and when it is fully charged it can handle a full charge on most phones and nanos. It comes with interchangeable power tips and offers extras for $10.00 each, while the device itself will set you back $99.95. You receive $10.00 off if you order it in pukey pink, proving once again that even girly girls don’t really prefer gadgets in that shade.

The No-Contact Jacket for Women

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Wearables,

This jacket seems straight out of a “Minority Report”-type movie, but—sadly—seems necessary in today’s society. The No-Contact Jacket appears to be sleek, stylish, black outerwear. However if the wearer feels she is in danger from an attacker, she can activate it with 80,000 volts of electric current pulses, just beneath the shell of the jacket. In other words, anyone who touches her is literally in for the shock of his life. The jacket is waterproof, so rain will never come in contact with the electric layer. Please note that the jacket is not bullet or puncture-proof. Requires a 9V battery. The No-Contact Jacket was named one of TIME magazines “Coolest Inventions”, however information on pricing and availability is not yet available.

Monster In-Wall PowerCenter Collects Loose Ends

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2007, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, Misc. Tech,

In-Wall Power Center This Monster In-Wall PowerCenter, featured at the CES, definitely comes under the category of, “Why didn’t someone think of that before?” Use it for your flatscreen, projector, or home screen entertainment system. At dimensions of 7.5 x 6.75 x 11.5-inches, this handy gadget features three custom faceplates, one for feeding coax (three 2.0 GHz jacks with Monster SurgeGuard protection,) and one for coax (three 2.0 GHz jacks with SurgeGuard,) plus any other cable types, 2 AC outlets (also surge-protected), and can handle 15 amp circuits. The PowerCenter includes a wall box, a PL200 IEC power cord, a 24k grounding plate, and an oversized face plate.

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