Posts tagged Eco friendly at Switched

Posts with tag eco-friendly

Eco-Friendly Hybrid Yacht Can Be Yours for $600,000

by Engadget Staff, posted Nov 4th 2008 at 7:51AM

Yachts are usually pretty environmentally unsound, so the DSe Hybrid just debuted by Island Pilot at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show should be a real breath of fresh air (literally) if green is your thing. And apparently it's really about as eco-friendly as it gets -- using a combination of diesel, solar and electric power (when it goes into commercial production it will also boast wind turbines) the vessel can cruise at up to six knots on a sunny day for an indefinite period of time without any fuel and zero emissions. Possibly best of all (for those like us with delicate ears, anyway), it's virtually silent when not running on fuel. If you need to get somewhere in a hurry however, its Parallel Hybrid Propulsion System in diesel mode will move at up to 13 knots.

There are all sorts of "luxury" amenities on board including a 26-inch HDTV and totally ferocious Bose home theater system. Island Pilot is taking pre-orders now (you have to lay down $5,000 just to reserve one) for delivery in 2009, but fair warning: this thing has a price tag of $600,000. [Via gizmag]

Amazon Offering 'Frustration-Free Packaging'

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 12:31PM

Come on folks, say it in unison with us: "Finally!" At long last, a company with a little clout has stood up and questioned the necessity of those ridiculous hard plastic containers that hold minuscule flash cards and the like (along with plastic twist-ties), and better still, it's already doing something about it.

Beginning today, consumers who are tired of borrowing the fire department's Jaws of Life to rescue their new USB drive can opt for products in Amazon's "Frustration-Free Packaging," which utilizes streamlined packaging that often includes recyclable cardboard. 19 products from the likes of Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend are currently available in the new containers, and the firm's CEO has a vision of offering its "entire catalog of products in Frustration-Free Packaging" within a few years.

Hey, everyone else in the gadget world -- care to hop on a meaningful bandwagon for once?

Read - Frustration-Free Packaging initiative
Read - Frustration-Free Packaging storefront

In the Future, Will All Street Lamps Look Like Flowers?

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 20th 2008 at 12:10PM

Philips Simplicity's vision for the future of street light

In these green times, companies are looking everywhere to make a buck -- er, save the planet. Philips Simplicity didn't go much further than the sidewalk to find inspiration for its latest eco-friendly innovation, the Light Blossom, a self-sustainable street lamp that has triple-duty petals. They're peppered with energy-efficient LEDs to illuminate the street, naturally, but also have solar panels on top and can spin around in a stiff breeze to recharge. At night they'll emit a soft glow, intended to cut down on light pollution, but will grow brighter whenever a pedestrian comes by. It all sounds wonderfully efficient, but with lights popping on and off as you go, it could make that late-night walk of shame a little more conspicuous than you might like.

Eco-Friendly Airpod Car Powered by Compressed Air

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 14th 2008 at 3:42PM

While outfits like Lightning and Tesla are attempting to make eco-friendly cars sexy, MDI is taking things in a completely different direction. The recently-made-official Airpod looks practically nothing like anything seen on American roadways today, which is probably why it's apt to hit the streets of France and New Zealand first. The oddly shaped automobile will reportedly reach a top speed of 70kmh (44mph) and cruise 100-kilometers (62 miles) on just $2.

The secret? A minuscule compressed air-powered engine on each of the rear wheels, both of which get instructed by the car's joystick (Atari fans, rejoice!). We're told that reloading the engine with hot air takes less than two minutes, and if all goes well, the first of the urban vehicles will hit the cobblestones in the spring of 2009. Is that the sound of Tata's NANO feeling threatened, or what? [Via EcoGeek]

AlertMe Service Automatically Shuts Off Gadgets When You Leave

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 11th 2008 at 12:02PM

In-home power consumption monitors are trendy pieces of kit lately, with a new one popping up every few months. But, while they're all happy to just kick back and tell you what a wasteful pig you're being, a new service from UK security company AlertMe could actually make you more efficient. Subscribers to the company's monitoring plans, which start at about $260 plus another $17.50/month, will be able to purchase Smart Plugs for $43 each that can communicate wirelessly to an AlertMe Heating Controller.

From there subscribers can monitor their energy usage online via computer or phone. That's all standard stuff, but the service also includes keyfobs that will automatically turn down the heat and deactivate devices when you leave, and allows users to manually control the plugs and the thermostat by text message, meaning you'd never be more than a few thumb-presses (and a 20 cent service charge) away from a warm and inviting home.

[Via SmartPlanet]

Audi Working on Pure Electric Car

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 8th 2008 at 5:29PM

With an electric MINI Cooper just around the bend, a Twin Drive hybrid Volkswagen landing in 2010 and Chevrolet's Volt rolling into showrooms in a matter of months, Audi's ten-year plan is looking a little awkward. Though we've yet to hear that it's actually speeding things up, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who sits on the management board at Ingolstadt, recently confirmed that the company would be offering "a pure electric car" sometime in the future. Additionally, rumors of it being based on the A1 were dashed, opening the door for speculation that it will instead be built around the VW Up! (Lupo) concept. Here's hoping we find our prior to 2018.

[Via Autoblog]

A Self-Recharging Headset for Agreeable People

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 1st 2008 at 12:06AM

People tend to nod when they agree, and when they walk, and pretty much all day long whether they know it or not. It's a motion telephone headset maker Plantronics is hoping to exploit to recharge upcoming generations of wireless headsets. The company has filed a patent for a kinetic energy converter that would be small enough to sit within a Bluetooth headset, yet powerful enough to recharge the thing.

The technology uses the same concept as is found in many "self-winding" watches that rely on the day-to-day motions of your hand to spin a weight and re-wind the thing. That sort of technology has been applied to some interesting places, like a dance-floor that powers the club, a dress that could charge your iPod, and an arm-band that juices up cell phones while you rock out. These are all inventions we can agree with -- especially if we're juicing up our gadgets while doing it. [From: textually.org]

Click Here for the Top 8 Bluetooth Headsets

Solar-Powered Bra has Neither Form Nor Function

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 29th 2008 at 10:01AM

Unless your name is Madonna, you're probably in the habit of wearing your underwear beneath the rest of your clothes -- assuming you wear any at all. For this reason, a concept piece from high-end lingerie manufacturer Triumph might seem a bit peculiar to you. It's a solar-powered bra capable of charging an iPod or cell phone, in theory. In practice, this thing doesn't really seem to have any purpose whatsoever.

The bra sports a lengthy mid-section complete with a crudely-attached, flexible solar panel crudely. Directly above the panel is a small LED panel that lets you broadcast messages. On sunny days, you can hook up your celly or portable music player to the outfit in order to refill the battery. However, like most bits of tech, this one is best left at home on a rainy day. It can't even be washed, meaning this eco-friendly bra would, after a few wearings, likely become more of an ecological disaster. [From: Just-style]

MIT Gurus Dream Up Sensor Network for Preventing Forest Fires

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 27th 2008 at 5:01PM

Thanks, MIT. Why don't you just make the rest of the world feel a little more useless. Every week or so, we're forced to stare at yet another amazing invention coming from your doors; to be frank, it's just downright unfair. All childish angst aside, the latest idea to come from the institution is one that could certainly be put to good use: a self-sustaining sensor network that taps into trees for power in order to continuously monitor forests for threats of fire. Moreover, the concept could be applied in other scenarios as well -- to detect potential threats such as smuggled contraband along a nation's borders, perhaps. Testing of the wireless sensor network (developed by the appropriately named Voltree Power) is scheduled to begin next spring, and we're hearing that pot-sniffing turtles may even be brought in to create a completely natural self-policing environment.

[Via Inhabitat]

Electric MINI Cooper Spotted in Munich, Expected at 2008 LA Auto Show

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 23rd 2008 at 12:18PM

Check it, Cooper fans -- that electric MINI we've been sporadically hearing about is for real, and we've seen the spy shots that prove it. Car has hosted up a slew of non-blurry (gasp!) snaps of the eco-friendly whip cruising around Munich, and just in case the complete absence of an exhaust pipe wasn't evidence enough, maybe the "Hybrid Test Vehicle" decals will make you a believer. Also of note, we're now hearing that the car is on track for a 2008 Los Angeles motor show appearance, which jibes quite well with the purported summer 2009 US launch.

[Via RegHardware]

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