Posts tagged Electric at Switched

Posts with tag electric

Cycle Sol Bike Combines Style, Solar Power

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 26th 2008 at 3:04PM

Cycle Sol Looks Better Than its Concept Art

Electric bikes are nothing new; in fact, we've covered quite a few (even a 'trike) over the years. However, they're far from commonplace, generally hampered by crummy range and, often, a lack of a roof. The concept Cycle Sol tackles both of those problems in a bright yellow package that might just keep you from getting run over by inattentive drivers.

Designer Miroslav Miljevic has imagined this bike as a solar-powered means of transportation that could speed along at up to 15mph on an electric battery. If the battery is drained, the bike can still be pedaled normally until it recharges, either via a plug or via the sun shining down on the solar panels above. Perfect for urban commuters -- so long as they live in Concept Land, because that's the only place this thing exists right now. But, you can at least see another (less creepy) pic of it from multiple angles after the break. [From: The Daily Mail]

Continue reading Cycle Sol Bike Combines Style, Solar Power

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]

Electric Football Is Back!

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jan 9th 2008 at 12:53PM

Back before Atari and Nintendo, when kids had to use their darn imaginations to play a game of football (we say while holding our canes outstretched), there was a game called vibrating (or "electric") football. All you older kids will be glad (or horrified) to learn that a company called Excalibur is bringing back the electric, buzzing table-top game, complete with an NFL license.

For you young'ns, electric football was originally created in 1947 when it was, clearly, one of the most high-tech games a kid could have. It was an electric game that consisted of a plug-in tin football field and a bunch of little football player figures. The vibration made the players move in all sorts of random directions, and the outstretched arms of the players made them "lock" in what we pretended was a tackle (though it looked more like a do-se-do). Yes, that's pretty much all it did. We got a chance to check it out at this year's Consumer Electronics Showcase and, yes, that's pretty much all it still does.

But we don't care. Low tech? Sure. In a world of polygons, real-time shading, and online Madden games, this is an exciting, refreshing kick in the pants, and we're psyched to see it make a return.

The Electric, Smokeless Cigarette

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 19th 2007 at 12:07PM

Crown 7 Offeres Electric Smokeless Cigarette

For those of us who have yet to kick our nicotine habits, fulfilling our smoky urges is progressively more difficult as we're banned from lighting up virtually everywhere outside of our bedrooms. There are a few ways to get your nicotine fix sans smoke, but most of us just don't get the same satisfaction from terrible tasting chewing gum at $70 a pop.

Crown 7, in an effort to cash in on us overtaxed cancer-stick wielding suckers, is offering electric cigars, cigarettes, and pipes that the company claims will allow you to smoke in normally smoke-free areas. A filter cartridge is inserted in the device and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (just like in your cell phone or laptop) activates a smoke-like water vapor that fills your lungs with nicotine and an earthy (read: tastes vaguely like dirt) tobacco flavor.

While the idea sounds pretty good on paper, in practice the whole thing sort of falls apart. First, we doubt you'll actually get away with smoking this thing in restaurants, on trains, or any other place where smoking is banned. Second, the price is astronomical, even for us smokers who are pretty used to being taken advantage of. The cigar unit runs $65, the cigarette $100, and the pipe $150. Cartridges run $10 for a pack of five. Third, we're not sure how comfortable we are sucking on anything that needs to be charged like a cell phone.

From Sci Fi Tech

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Two Teens Invent the Electric, Zero-Emissions Unicycle

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 1st 2007 at 2:37PM

Leave it to a couple of Canadian teenagers to take the Segway concept and improve upon it. Two Ontario teens have created the Tango, an odd unicycle-like vehicle that runs on a souped-up electric wheelchair engine.

The vehicle resembles a motorcycle folded in half. Two wheels sit side by side, creating a single (but wide) surface that contacts the ground. The included accelerometer picks up the riders' motions to help steer and balance the device.

The Tango can hit speeds up to 40 miles-per-hour, which is significantly faster than the Segway. Drivers can also ride the new contraption while sitting down, a boon to those who just can't stand.

The Tango is based on a Yamaha motorcycle frame, so mass production shouldn't be too difficult.

And good news for the green crowd: The Tango has a zero-emissions electric motor!

From Engadget

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Ford and Electric Car in the Same Sentence?

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 9th 2007 at 2:34PM

Ford's Going Electric (Boogie Woogie Woogie)

In a somewhat surprising move, Ford Motor Company is creating an alliance with utility company Southern California Edison to pledge a partnership to research and produce both plug-in hybrid and fully electric autos. The company is pledging to produce cars of both types in much greater numbers than it does today, with only a single hybrid product, the Escape SUV, currently in its lineup.

The basic idea behind a plug-in hybrid is that it could be initially charged overnight, meaning that much of your morning commute could be run without the auto's combustion engine kicking in, greatly increasing overall fuel economy. However, Ford is also hoping to develop fully-electric vehicles which don't use fuel at all, relying entirely on evening charges to get owners to their destinations.

In the wake of massive rolling blackouts in 2000, thoughts of placing even more demand on SoCal's already strained power grid seems troubling at best. But, Southern California Edison, a company that actually has to post rolling blackout info on its Web site to keep its customers appraised, is pledging that finding the extra juice to keep these cars on the road won't be a problem -- providing owners recharge their rides at night, of course.

From PC World

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Hacking Your Hybrid

by Tom Conlon, posted Apr 10th 2007 at 1:00PM

This summer, when the inevitable power blackouts cripple California, it just might be a Toyota Prius coming to your rescue instead of a traditional gas-powered generator. Pacific Gas & Electric is showing off a new hack that allows you to plug a Prius into the wall socket and throw the juice in reverse to kick-start your home's appliances. But hold your environmentally-friendly horses: At the moment, this new Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology works only with prototype Priuses (eh...Priuii?) that have been rigged with an additional lithium-ion battery.

From Engadget and The Raw Feed

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Cycle Sol Bike Combines Style, Solar Power

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

Electric Football Is Back!

The Electric, Smokeless Cigarette

Two Teens Invent the Electric, Zero-Emissions Unicycle

Ford and Electric Car in the Same Sentence?

Hacking Your Hybrid

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