Competition

While technological innovations of the 19th Century opened up the possibility of rapid circumnavigation of the globe and inspired Jules Verne to pen his famous novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, Louis Palmer is hoping a race to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days in zero emission, electric powered cars will harness public interest and inspire new ways of thinking about mobility, cars and renewable energy solutions. When the starting flag drops on August 15, 2010 in Geneva, contestants in the Zero Race will set off eastwards on a 30,000 km (18,641 mile) route that will take them through 20 countries, with stops in around 150 major cities along the way... and not only must the race teams drive zero emissions vehicles, they must also produce their own electricity back home using renewable sources. Read More

Aside from the events that take place as part of the Olympics, it seems the competition is also on for each Games to become “greener” than those that have gone before. This year’s Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver boasted a variety of green initiatives, including Canada's biggest "living roof." London looks set to outdo Vancouver in 2012, but Rio is looking to up the ante again and be the first zero-carbon footprint games when it hosts the Summer Olympics in 2016. To help the city achieve this goal Swiss-based RAFAA Architecture and Design has proposed a Solar City Tower which features an eye-catching energy-generating waterfall. Read More

Madrid will host the first European version of the Solar Decathlon competition this summer which sees teams from universities throughout the world designing, building and displaying efficient and sustainable solar homes. The overall competition winner being decided after the completion of ten trials aimed at gauging each entry's energy efficiency and sustainability credentials. Read More

Things are beginning to heat up in the race for the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE, as the kick-off date for the actual on-the-road events approaches. The fun will begin April 26th in Michigan, continue through August, and culminate in a September awards presentation in Washington, DC. A number of the contenders were on hand at the Detroit Auto Show this week, where the official announcement was made. Read More

The highly innovative TTXGP organization, which has already created several national and international electric motorcycle racing series, continues to show the way forward for the future of motorsport management. In yet another groundbreaking move, TTXGP has acknowledged the limitations of committee-based systems for framing rules, and created a wiki that allows global input to be filtered through technical expertise to frame a better set of rules for everyone. “Rules are core to keeping a championship alive with innovation and competition,” said TTXGP’s Azhar Hussain on the TTXGP web site. “It's crucial that for TTXGP to thrive, we have a rules framework that is inclusive and sensitive to the needs of all the stakeholders.”
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FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, launched its nineteenth FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) season today with the Kickoff of a new robotics game called “BREAKAWAY”. “FIRST is about giving kids the opportunity to build skill sets like analytical thinking to then develop what they may or may not use to build a robot; but they might use these skills to become a scientist, engineer, or inventor,” said Dean Kamen, FIRST Founder, as he explained how what students learn from FIRST is very different from other sports. “Ten years from today, one of these students is going to be out in the world having done something extraordinary for a major, global problem.” FIRST sees informed thinking, creative analysis, and Gracious Professionalism™ as the keys to changing society. Read More

From more than 100 entrants, 43 teams and 53 vehicles have now advanced to the most important, and possibly exciting, stage of the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize – performance and safety testing. The 43 teams represent 10 countries, 18 U.S. states, and six fuel types and all have passed the fuel-efficiency competition’s Design Judging phase. Vehicles must be able to achieve more than 100mpg or energy equivalent (MPGe), as well as being vehicles that people want to buy, meeting market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance. Read More

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Decathlon has wound up in Washington, D.C. with Team Germany taking the top honors, followed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in second place, and Team California taking out third. As we reported last week the competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and efficient solar-powered home saw 20 university-led teams from around the world competing in ten contests, ranging from subjective elements such as architecture, market viability, communications, lighting design, and engineering, to technical measurements of how well the homes provided energy for space heating and cooling, hot water, home entertainment, appliances, and net metering. Read More

Competition is underway in the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Solar Decathlon, in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The house designs entered in the competition not only capture heat and light from the sun, but also integrate design features to take advantage of cooling breezes and shading. By combining these proven energy efficient designs with the latest off-the-shelf technology, the teams aim to create homes that reduce utility bills and meet all their energy needs, while providing all the comforts of home. Read More