Solar Powered

Walk barefoot on an asphalt road and you'll soon realize how good the substance is at storing solar heat – the heat-storing qualities of roadways has even been put forward as an explanation as to why cities tend to be warmer than surrounding rural areas. Not content to see all that heat going to waste, researchers from the University of Rhode Island (URI) want to put it to use in a system that harvests solar heat from the road to melt ice, heat buildings, or to create electricity.  Read More

A trio of companies has joined forces to develop a truck cabin air conditioning system that uses solar energy generated from panels on the trailer’s roof area for its power. The i-Cool Solar system can save around 1.8 liters of light oil per hour when the truck is idle and reduce fuel consumption by about 1 percent when the truck is moving. If planned trials go well, we could see these units on highways in spring 2012.  Read More

Cream brought the country blues classic Sittin' on top of the world to an international audience in the late 1960s... and now you can watch it on YouTube while you're sitting there. Through its subsidiary Ncell, the Swedish telecommunications group TeliaSonera has launched 3G services in the Mount Everest area of Nepal – which makes the company the providers of the world's highest mobile data service.  Read More

Researchers from MIT's Field and Space Robotics Laboratory (FSRL) have designed a portable, solar-powered desalination system to bring drinkable water in disaster zones and remote regions around the globe. Designed to be cost-effective and easy to assemble, the prototype system uses solar panels to power high-pressure pumps which can deliver up to 80 gallons of clean water a day in a variety of weather conditions.  Read More

Cutting edge New York artist Josh Hadar has created a three-wheel electric bike that is sure to turn heads. Based around a sprawling, chopper-like frame similar to that used in his earlier pedal powered designs such as "Uncle Stew's Trike", Hadar's new creation has a range of up to 30 miles and puts out 15 kilowatts at its peak, which, when combined with the weight of four 12-volt lead-acid batteries and two chunky wheels at the rear, is reportedly more than enough to put you on your derriere.  Read More

When not in use, a guitar tuner is unlikely to see the light of day and is destined to spend much of its life inside a gig bag or hard case. But not giving Tascam's new tuner access to nice, bright sunlight is very bad form indeed. The battery inside the tiny TC-1S is solar charged so if it goes flat, then so do you...  Read More

As part of Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup, the London-based architects responsible for the 2007 reconstruction of Wembley Stadium, Foster + Partners, has designed an energy efficient stadium to be built in the Qatar capital of Doha. When completed, the Lusail Iconic Stadium will boast enough room for 86,250 spectators and will be surrounded by parking and service areas shaded by canopies of solar collectors, which will produce energy for the stadium when it’s in use, as well as generating power for neighboring buildings.  Read More

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Vulture program, which aims to develop and demonstrate technology to enable a single high-altitude unmanned airplane (UAV) to operate continuously for a period of five years, has entered phase II. Under the terms of an US$89 million contract, Boeing will develop a full-scale demonstrator called the SolarEagle that will make its first demonstration flight in 2014. The aircraft will have highly efficient electric motors and propellers and a high-aspect-ratio, 400-foot wing for increased solar power and aerodynamic performance.  Read More

Built to provide music outdoors, Eton's Soulra solar-powered sound system has a rubberized exterior to help withstand the odd bump and being splash-proof too, it's designed to cope with unpredictable weather conditions. When the sun does shine, folding out the high-efficiency solar panel will keep the music playing on whilst also charging the docked device.  Read More