SpiderFab 3-D robotic printer
Since the 1970’s, space-based solar power has been a futuristic fantasy but the advent of 21st century 3-D printing may bring it a step closer to reality. (Video)
Continue reading… “Will 3D printing bring space-based solar power to reality?”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1_mPe8Y0V4[/youtube]
Solar power is a great way to keep robots running indefinitely, in theory. And it’s absolutely possible to do it, provided your robot doesn’t need to do anything urgently, you have a ludicrously powerful light source, or your robot is very efficient and spends a lot of time in the sun. That last category has potential for solar powered micro air vehicles, including the University of Maryland’s Robo Raven, which has just gotten kitted out with solar panel wings.
Continue reading… “Robo Raven – the first solar-powered robotic bird”
Stella, solar-powered family car.
Eindhoven University of Technology students have unveiled what they claim to be the world’s first solar-powered family car. The vehicle is called Stella and it resembles a squashed, wingless airplane. The vehicle can seat four people and can travel up to 600 kilometers, powered by solar panels mounted on the roof.
Continue reading… “World’s first solar-powered family car”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi14nhBACEk[/youtube]
For several years Scott and Julie Brusaw have been working on their Solar Roadway, a road made of solar panels. And, now, they’re finally ready with their first full trial: a 12 by 36 foot parking lot in north Idaho, about an hour from the Canadian border. Funded with a $750,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration, the 5,700-watt installation is set to be completed in April, and will be a key step in proving viability.
Continue reading… “Solar Roadway – a road built out of solar panels to charge our cars”
SolarCopter
A team of masters students from the U.K. have built what they call the world’s first “solar copter.” It is a quadrotor that flies solely on solar power. It is only capable of short flights at the moment. But once the team adds a storage system they say it should fly longer. (Video)
Continue reading… “SolarCopter – world’s first solar powered helicopter”
Solar Power is now a viable reality in India.
While the passage of time makes solar cost competitive for many Americans right now, the question of cost competitiveness is not a simple one for solar. It depends on location, installation costs, and what kind of power solar is competing against. In Africa, solar has already become cheaper than kerosene in many locations. And now Renewable Energy News reports that solar is becoming cheaper than diesel generators in India as French-company Solardirect has bid to supply the energy grid with solar power at a rate cheaper than the average for diesel generators…
Continue reading… “Solar Power becomes cheaper than diesel generators in India”
Large batteries could be used for storing excess power from the electrical grid for future use.
New Stanford University research could point the way to large-scale, long-lasting power grid batteries. These kinds of batteries would be especially useful for making technologies like solar and wind power more practical, allowing vast amounts of storage to be stored for periods of time in which the skies are calm or overcast.
Would you believe this could be the new look of solar power?
7th grader Aidan Dwyer was walking in the woods during the winter, and looking up, he noticed something about the bare branches above him. They didn’t appear to be growing randomly. So he took some measurements of the angles of the branches, crunched some numbers, and wouldn’t you know it, he found that the ubiquitous Fibonacci Sequence was behind it all. He suspected there was a reason behind this. That trees were using this pattern to gather more light.
So he did an experiment. Using the same number of solar cells, he built two working models. One was a traditional, flat array will all of the panels on a single plane. The other used the Fibonacci Sequence to create the same spiraled pattern he observed in the trees. The results? The little man himself reports…
Continue reading… “Genius 13-Year-Old has a solar power breakthrough”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.