First, Japan got the world’s first connected home garden device, and now it’s time for Nippon to get the world’s first cloud-based LED lighting system. Developed by Tokyo-based lighting tech startup Net LED Technology Corp., the so-called NetLED system will go on sale in Japan on February 20 (here‘s the company’s English website).
The 40W lights, which have a 40,000-hour lifespan, come with built-in Wi-Fi: users can control each tube over the web after installing the NetLed app on a smartphone, tablet, or computer (the iPhone app is already out, while iPad and Android apps will be released this summer). It’s possible to dim the lights (each tube has 10 different dimming levels) and to turn them on or off. → Read More
The WristQue may look like one of those cloth bracelets worn by old soul Sophomores who spent a semester in Prague and came back with dredlocks and an absinthe fetish, but it’s not. It’s actually a personal climate control system. Let me explain.
The bracelet identifies you to the building and allows it to follow you from room to room. Is the meeting room too cold? Press a button and it starts to warm up. It will also prepare rooms for your arrival, reading your patterns of movement over time. If it sounds creepy, it is. → Read More
Flying a kite to produce power may conjure up images of Ben Franklin, who sought to prove lightning was electric. Makani Power releases turbine blades into the air, seeking to harness wind energy at higher altitudes. → Read More
The hottest and coolest thermostat on the market this year was clearly the Nest. This intelligent hunk of steel looks great on a wall and, more important, helps save energy in the home. The Nest learns as you use it, ensuring your home is comfortable year-round.
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Spiderman might soon lose his dominance in harnessing spider silk superpowers. Scientists from the University of Wyoming, the University of Notre Dame and Zhejiang University in China have genetically modified silkworms to spin stronger silk using spider genes.The new material could be used for everything from bulletproof vests to replacing tough plastics. → Read More
In an unusual hybrid, British industrial designer Phil Pauley created Marine Solar Cells that harness energy from both the sun and water.
The web of energy generators capture energy off-shore, using a combination of floating photovoltaics and natural buoyancy displacement. Thanks to the reflective nature of water, the solar component’s efficiency is up to 20% greater than it would be land-locked. → Read More
Today, Cool Planet BioFuels, Inc. announced that BP Technology Ventures has made an investment in the company’s C round led by Shea Ventures. Current Cool Planet investors, General Electric, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, NRG and North Bridge Venture Partners also participated.
The amount of funding was not disclosed. → Read More
Well, it’s that time of year again when families come together to stare moodily at each other over lunch and, in theory at least, we’re supposed to be thinking about others less fortunate than ourselves. To that end, stay you hand before you switch off the office PC and head off for some seasonal shopping. For those CPUs could be put to good work for charity, no less.
The Charity Engine is a non-profit volunteer computing grid. Based on Berkeley University’s BOINC software for grid computing – as used by dozens of famous ‘citizen science’ projects such as SETI@home. Charity Engine’s version of BOINC simply donates what it makes from research projects on its grid and donates the cash to charity, while incentivising users with randomly generated cash prizes. Profit from the commissions from science and industry is shared 50-50 between the charities and prize winners. You can use the invite code for the beta: CRUNCH. → Read More
Google is ending 2011 with an investment that brings its total of renewable energy investments to an impressive $915 million.
The online search and advertising juggernaut this morning announced that it is pumping $94 million in a portfolio of four solar photovoltaic projects being built near Sacramento, California by a solar development company called Recurrent Energy. → Read More
AMEE, backed by O’Reilly and Union Square Ventures among others, set out in 2008 to map, measure and track all the carbon and energy data on Earth. That’s a big job. It’s since won contracts with the likes of the UK Government, CNN, Google, the list goes on. But what it hasn’t cracked is a consumer-facing app which gets the issue of ‘carbon footprints’ into the mind of the ordinary member of the public.
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Remember when Greenpeace totally didn’t like Facebook and its use of ‘dirty energy’ in its datacenters? Well, they’re best buddies now. Greenpeace and Facebook this morning announced that they’re teaming up on the promotion of renewable energy and “develop programs that will enable Facebook users to save energy and engage their communities in clean energy decisions”.
Facebook also committed to using clean and renewable energy to power its own operations. → Read More
As you may have heard, Google is getting into the holiday giving spirit these days, as it late last night announced that it has dished out an additional $40 million in philanthropic grants, targeted at science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), girls’ education, and even fighting slavery. (You can read more in Google.org SVP Shona Brown’s blog post here.)
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Car sharing network operator Zipcar this morning announced the exercise of its option to purchase a majority ownership interest in Barcelona-based Catalunya Carsharing, better known as Avancar, after investing in the company almost exactly two years ago.
In fact, the option had been extended for an extra year after Zipcar decided last year it wouldn’t yet exercise it, opting instead to give Avancar a loan that could be converted into equity. → Read More
Car sharing network operator Zipcar this morning announced the exercise of its option to purchase a majority ownership interest in Barcelona-based Catalunya Carsharing, better known as Avancar, after investing in the company almost exactly two years ago.
In fact, the option had been extended for an extra year after Zipcar decided last year it wouldn’t yet exercise it, opting instead to give Avancar a loan that could be converted into equity. → Read More
Getaround, the peer-to-peer car sharing company that won this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt NYC startup competition, this morning announced that it is poised to make its debut in the greater Portland metropolitan area by February of 2012, following an initial launch at Portland State University on the 1st of January.
To facilitate the launch, Getaround was selected by the Federal Highway Administration to participate in a joint initiative with the city. → Read More
Siemens this morning announced that it will acquire all of the stock of eMeter in an effort to enhance its smart grid offering. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. eMeter will be part of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector, which is housed within Siemens. → Read More
Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint, has a new project that he is spending half his time on (he continues to spend the other half as VP of Product Innovation at Intuit, which acquired Mint two years ago for $170 million). His new project is called Swift, and it is his vehicle (if you will) to exlore the feasibility of building a personal maglev vehicle transit system.
“The goal is to see if I can develop a new transportation system to displace cars in most urban and suburban settings,” he told me recently, “with the goal being 5x the speed, and bringing the cost of maglev from today’s costs of $50m / mile down to $4-5m / mile, which would be the same as adding one lane of asphalt/concrete road. Not sure if it will pan out, as I’m deep in the science and simulation phase.” → Read More
German researchers are testing a unique form of public transportation that borrows the best from busses, electric cars, trains and trams without contributing emissions. The vehicle, named AutoTram, is fully electric, but instead of running on a single charge, it charges when it stops, gaining enough power in 30 seconds to move another mile.
The project comes from the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems IVI in Dresden and aims to offer the convenience, routing flexibility and affordability of a bus, minus the noise and exhaust. It also addresses the problem of lengthy battery charging cycles. While most cars are only in use for a few hours per day, public transportation vehicles can be in action around the clock, offering nearly no battery charging opportunities. → Read More
Among yesterday’s service shutdowns at Google, which included underperforming and deprecated Web properties like Knol, Wave and Gears, there was also news of the end of RE<C.
What’s RE<C? Just one of those ambitious “we can save the world with Google money!” type projects that gave the search giant the appearance for caring about more than the influx of ad dollars. In this case, RE<C was focused on lowering the cost of renewable energy. Or, as the acronym indicates, to make “renewable energy” (RE) less than (cheaper than) coal (C).
As it turns out, that was easier said than done. → Read More
Well, it looks like Coda Automotive — makers of the zero emissions all-electric Coda Sedan — and General Electric (a name that requires no introduction) have teamed up to sell the Coda Sedan and the GE WattStation Wall Mount EV Charger in the same retail outlets.
Many of us are already feeling that a shift toward electric vehicles is the responsible decision, but a change that big means replacing and changing huge chunks of our lives. A brand new all-electric vehicles means you’ll be remembering to plug in every night instead of stop by the gas station on your way to work. It also means you’ll need a charging station. Thanks to this deal between Coda and GE, you can pick up a charging station at the same time you buy your new all-electric Coda.
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