Blog posts of '2011' 'November'

Traditional steel and plastic robots may become a thing of the past. Otherlab, a firm that experiments in creating robots and other breakthrough designs, has been working on what they call the “Ant Roach”, an inflatable robot. Being made out of fabric means less toxic and expensive metals have to be produced. This not only conserves resources, but also reduces the cost, making the robot available to the general public. Though weighing only 70lbs, it can carry up to 1000, making it capable of transporting several people at one time.

Actuators along the joints and legs act as “muscles” that contract when they inflate. Driven by a computer program, the ant-roach can turn, walk, and all sorts of other actions with ease. Otherlab has been using “pneubotics” in other applications, such as an inflatable robotic arm that weighs only two pounds. Developments such as these can lead to better prosthetics, but also more freedom for solar and wind devices, and also greener manufacturing options for traditional technologies.

Since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, the famous streetlights on Schinkel Street in Leipzig, Germany have lit the night. Now a memorial to times past, the lights have received a futuristic update—they’ve all been switched over to LED bulbs. The lights used to need 85 watts of energy, but now will only need 22 watts, yet will still produce the same soft glow that residents and visitors have become accustomed to. And the best part is that the CO2 emissions will drop by 60.8 tons a year.

The project was overseen by Braun Light Solutions, headquartered in Berlin along with the distributor Future Light Solutions. After testing and demonstrating their design at their resource center in Canada, they went forth with the project. Their main task was to make sure all the bulbs, which were manufactured by Phillips, were the same 2700k color temperature, ensuring the same color across all the lights. Citizens of Leipzig have responded favorably to the change, making the project a success and preserving the historic value of the city.

With LEDs needing less energy to run on we may think we’ve solved all of our energy woes, but in reality that’s just the first step. Think of what’s powering your LED bulb. It’s fossil fuels, and those aren’t very green. Developments have been made in several different alternative energy fields, but now Cambridge University scientists are working with designers to harvest a resource you may not have thought of before—plants.

When plants photosynthesize, they actually give off energy that can be used in biophotovoltic panels, thus creating electricity to power appliances. The idea plants at the moment are moss and algae because they grow quick and can live almost anywhere. Several everyday objects have been rendered by designers to help show that it’s easier to incorporate this power than you think. A table covered in small modules filled with moss powers an ordinary lamp. Giant “power stations” of algae float in the ocean resemble giant lily pads and not only generate the equivalent of a wind turbine, but also generate power at night! A more futuristic design is of “solar masts” which houses giant growths of algae that will produce energy from the sun while being self-sufficient.

It’ll probably be another 5-10 years before biophotovoltic technology becomes available to the market, but they should be able to quickly compete with traditional solar panels since they’re easier to produce.

Some people just don’t like the look of the LED bulb. And some models do look a little odd compared to traditional bulbs. Surprisingly, this is enough to keep people from making the switch, even though they are aware of all the benefits. Appearance proves to be a strong factor, mostly because people are resistant to inviting anything too foreign into their homes. Panasonic has realized this and thus have created a bulb that looks almost exactly like an incandescent. But it’s an LED.

The bulb is clear and gives off a warm, white light. It even looks like it has a filament in it, but it really is an LED bulb. This particular model that’s been released is a 4.4 watt that is equivalent to a 20 watt bulb, the first of its kind. It’s not out of the question to see a 60 watt equivalent come out soon. The bulb also has a life expectancy of 40,000 hours and produces 210 lumens. It also has the added bonus of LEDs that everyone should like: it has no mercury! Mercury is a dangerous substance that makes CFLs difficult to dispose of.

There hasn’t been talk of a price yet but similar products have fallen in $20-$50 range, and prices could very well come down as LEDs continue to move into the mainstream markets and manufacturing costs become cheaper.

In May of this year, Asheville, NC began its retrofitting of streetlights throughout the city with LED bulbs. In Phase I, 700 streetlights were replaced. Now this fall, they’ve begun Phase II of the plan, extending their efforts to 2800 streetlights. By the time all four phases are completed, the city estimates they will have saved 2682 tons of carbon, or the equivalent to the absorption of 60,000 trees. This means big steps for moving towards a smaller carbon footprint!

What makes the plan unique is in the way the city council has designed it. All savings accrued from the efficient LED lights are kept to be used to pay for the initial investment of the lights and then for future energy-saving investments to make a greener city. This is only one of several green initiatives that Asheville is taking. Other plans include increasing recycling efforts and researching sustainability methods, with a goal of reducing their carbon footprint by 80% by 2050.

LED bulbs aren’t just energy efficient—they can also make fantastical light displays, like the one on the façade of the Peru National Football Stadium. This unique design features a massive light display that is activated by the cheering of the crowd. Using microphones placed around the stadium roofline, the audio signal is transmitted into the processing software that takes the audio and runs it through a series of algorithms to determine the “mood state” which is then sent to the lighting controls that respond accordingly. The system was designed by British lighting firm Cinimod Studio. The huge display depicts four different “moods,” all displayed in real time The result is a stunning light show that is also energy efficient. As LEDs become more prominent in the market, we may see more of these power saving displays in the future.

When Japan was hit by the earthquake earlier this year, one consequence that you might not have been aware of was the rolling blackouts. Basically, with many of the power plants damaged and needing repairs, there was not enough electricity to run the whole country. Basically, with many of the power plants damaged and needing repairs, there was not enough electricity to run the whole country. To compensate, different regions were allowed certain time slots in which they would have electricity for a few hours. Even with this system, there was still a tight limit on how much each household could use.

In the wake of all this, there is now a higher demand for more efficient lighting, so LED bulbs are enjoying a boost in development and popularity for their energy saving capabilities. Several new products have been developed to give consumers more variety of useful lighting options to replace older bulbs in their home. Hitachi has developed several models of ceiling lights that will be released to markets in October. NEC Lighting Ltd is also working on LED lights that light up a 330 degree range, a significantly greater range than before. Toshiba Light and Technology Co is working on waterproof LED bulbs for billboard advertising, and Panasonic is going to release over 180 new LED products. With all this production expanding the market, prices of LEDs have decreased. The new focus of lighting companies is innovation and originality in developing a range of useful LED products. With all these steps being taken to create more LEDs in Japan, it will only be a matter of time before the products make their way over to our side of the pond.