Renault Kwid comes with RC drone (video)

Credit: Renault/AutoBlog

Why would you want a deployable drone on top of your SUV? Renault suggests it could save fuel by finding parking spots, or checking for traffic problems up ahead.

Maybe ... just dont expect to see it in production soon.



http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-news/renault_kwid_comes_with_rc_drone_81820_20140206/ motor show concepts concept extreme accessories Renault altitude elevation height airspace level French brand Kwid crossover SUV 4 four wheel drive all wheel drive SUV off-road off road crossover sport utility vehicle concept launched launch India India's Auto Salon remote-control spy drone launch launches launched dock back vehicle's roof mission missions find parking spaces space scout for traffic problems aerial holiday snaps load loading your social media updates quadricopter drone operate control controlled operated tablet cabin passenger controls control fly pre-programmed modes use using GPS monitor path position rugged-looking Kwid crossover three door 3 three-door hatch offset seat seats seating positions three two passengers flanking the driver two-tone elastic strap-design seating Renault inspired bird birds nests nest drone option future Renaults show attraction onboard satnav /

Check your infra-red remote using your mobile (cell) phone

Push the button, TV doesn't respond. Replace the batteries. Still doesn't work. Is it the TV? The remote?

Pointing the remote towards yourself & pushing a button won't tell you anything because the human eye isn't sensitive to the infra-red emitted by your remote. But a digital camera is. Any digital camera will do, but the forward-facing camera in a phone (or tablet) is easiest. Do it like this:

• Open the camera app on your phone.
• Switch to the forward facing camera.
• Put the phone on a table, screen up.
• Point the remote at the screen & press any button.

If the remote is working, the LED will be seen to flicker on the phone screen. It will look similar to what you can see in the video:

/ infra red infrared infra-red remote test check troubleshoot trouble shoot trouble-shoot repair digital camera battery batteries standard remote controls send signal signals home theatre gear using beam infrared light sensor hardware picks up detect detects eye human beam smartphone’s camera remote phone check remote needs fresh batteries new replace replacement camera app front facing front facing front-facing camera point remote the camera press any button remote /

Electric vehicles — will they bring down the grid?

Concerns have been raised that charging electric vehicles will place unprecedented loads on the electric grid, leading to instability, brown-outs or even outright failure. However, as indicated in the articles linked below, just the reverse may be true:

http://chargedevs.com/newswire/new-study-controlled-charging-helps-manage-grid-fluctuations-and-reduces-costs/

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1047023_no-electric-vehicles-wont-bring-down-the-u-s-power-grid

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-smarter-grid/how-green-is-my-plugin

In the interim, I charge at night, when due to the inflexibility of coal fired electricity, there is substantial over-capacity on the grid. Thereby, I capture for later use, electricity which could otherwise be lost. / EV electric vehicles interaction electrical grid EVs drive up electricity prices charged peak demand new study published journal Applied Energy Carnegie Mellon University researchers research control controlled charging PHEV PHEVs battery LiIon lithium ion cell reduce cost costs integrating electrical system BEV shift loads later night cheaper power plants are available Professor Paulina Jaramillo study study’s authors author controlled charging manage fluctuations fluctuation renewable energy sources wind solar power change output wind changes blow blows clouds pass by cheap cheaper charge electric vehicle fill up petrol gasoline vehicle Professor Jeremy Michalek allowing grid operators control electric vehicle charging speed reduce costs additional savings $70 per vehicle each year system systems expect new power plant construction systems wind power solar energy electricity power PV photovoltaic controlled charging vehicle to grid vehicle-to-grid V2G technology vehicle vehicles vehicle’s battery sometimes feeds power back the grid delayed charging vehicle charges off peak off-peak hours take advantage of time-of-use time of use TOU pricing plan controlled charging varies vary charge charging rate help grid manage fluctuations generation especially important systems wind power fastest growing electricity sources system wind penetration capacity expansion market for V2G arbitrage potential limited participation reduced reduce battery increase increasing total energy processed by the battery controlled charging extend battery life by lowering average charge rates rate heat generation controlled charging take advantage high levels wind generation /

Energy storage market set to explode

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/31/energy-storage-market-set-explode/ / energy storage energy research researchers company companies market research firm IHS energy storage market annual installation 6 gigawatts GW 2017 initial base instal installation installed IHS report largest market grid connected grid-connected energy storage installations instal installed installation projects capacity additions Germany Japan top markets energy storage market Zinc-air batteries Zinc-iron redox flow batteries Liquid-metal batteries energy storage installations lithium ion lithium-ion batteries battery battery experts grid-connected energy storage market total over 40 GW installation installation 2022 /

Within a few years, a self-powered robot could be mowing your lawn

Prototype
Credit: Melissa Cannarozzi/GigaOm

Mowing grass requires energy. Some mowers use energy supplied by the user. Given a choice, most of us use some sort of motor to supply as much of the energy as possible.

So, put in a lot of energy to drive the process & at the end have a pile of unwanted grass clippings.

Tech startup EcoMow Technologies was inspired by the realization, that grass can burn, & so potentially, be a source of energy to drive the mower. Grass doesn't burn well as such, so EcoMow plans to gasify the grass as a first step.

Despite what what is written in the linked article, the grass won't actually be burned. Rather, it will be heated in the absence of air to release a combustible gas, a process called gasification. Gas produced in this way can be used to drive an internal combustion engine. Gasification can also produce gas from coal or wood chips.

http://gigaom.com/2014/01/31/within-a-few-years-a-self-powered-robot-could-be-mowing-your-lawn/

More about gasification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasification / EcoMow powers itself power energy electricity grass harvests creator creat creators barriers entering enter consumer market develop developing development model World War II fuel rations rationing Europeans alternative means power cars burned wood chips as fuel George Mason University graduate student Jason Force technology grass pellets wood chips chip system lawn mower lawn mower power grass harvest harvested self guiding guide self-guiding self guided vacuum cleaner Roomba now self-guided self-guiding EcoMow Technologies mechanical chemical engineering test testing tested consumers consumer inverstor investors developing software robot complex complicated big challenge EcoMow too risky safer product safety safe run over pets children street cause accident $2 million development cycle consumer customer consumer customers another product larger mower harvest hay fields fuel pellets sold sophisticated guidance system chemist chemistry consumer model found support among investors production produce prototype consumer mower small model designed /

Disruptive battery price drop to continue

Electric vehicles (EVs) are generally expensive when compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles of apparently similar performance & size. Limited range is also a problem for many potential buyers.

Cost & limited range of EVs is a consequence of the price of lithium ion (LiIon) batteries, which are, at least for the moment, the only viable energy storage option. Tesla's cost-is-no-object approach produces a superlative vehicle. If an EV has enough batteries, range is no longer a problem, & performance is spectacular.

It is widely believed that the LiIon battery market is "mature". I.e. that a degree of stability has been achieved & price drops in future will be relatively slow. More recently, it has been suggested that disruptive market pressures, such as forward-pricing & pre-emptive actions to grab market share, will continue to prevent market maturity. Price drops in the range of 20% per annum have been suggested.

For EVs, Dr. Rudolf Krebs of Volkswagen has said that they will be price competive with ICE vehicles in 2015. Elon Musk has promised a "mass market" EV, "Hopefully 2016, but I would say no later than 2017."

Business Spectator on the LiIon market:

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/1/20/smart-energy/disruptive-battery-price-drop-continue?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=557876&utm_campaign=cs_daily&modapt= / ABB electric vehicles vehicle e-mobility Hans Streng cell battery prices coming down transform auto energy markets market drop falling precipitous precipitously dropping gradual effect e-mobility industry volumes volume increasing increase exponentially climb leap prices decline exponential recent price movements report reported different media price declines decline per cent observed in the market extrapolation extrapolated erosion basis of disruptions supply chain companies company Samsung Panasonic forward pricing forward-pricing pre emptive preemptive pre-emptive actions grab market share cut throat cut-throat longterm battery-battle battery battle samsung panasonic battery price war high-level insight prevailing EV forecasts sharpen the battle in battery prices Dr. Rudolf Krebs heads Volkswagen E-mobility program price electric vehicle equivalent combustion-motor combustion motor vehicle Increase EV volume battery price battery-price decline battery prices declined 14 per cent YoY and 30 per cent battery prices to go down straight extrapolation disruptions Bloomberg analysis battery price battery-price decline 40 per cent steeper decline normal erosion exponential effects storage capacity prices year on year year-on-year YoY mature market decline avalanche effect similar to what happened in the PV industry collapsing prices LCD industry exponential disruptive effects trendwatch analysis Germany current battery prices Tesla projections compare price levels price curve far from mature market erosion-profile erosion profile typical early market disruptions driven strategic moves anticipated market explosions ABB Conversations CleanTechnica /

Get off the couch, it's killing you

Credit: NextDesk/YouTube


Credit: ABC Catalyst/YouTube / lesson learn learned fit fitness active life spend hunch posture time spent hunched computer countless hours feckless seat sit sitting seated procrastination benefits exercise muscles slackened slack fat seeped seep insidiously blood liver ventricles stupor infiltrated brain sedentary inactive health unhealthy inactive inactivity studies day daily movement patterns pattern typical modern exerciser exercise run runner running walk walking runs sits hours afterward moving less over all does not work out exercise program programme health consequences swift consequence pervasive punish punishing noteworthy recent experiment conducted scientists University of Massachusetts institution institutions group of healthy young men donned don clunky platform shoe 4 inch 4-inch heel right foot ground hop men hopped about using crutches muscle muscles fully sedentary research scientist scientists biopsy biopsied muscles both legs finding found multiple genes now being expressed differently two legs gene activity DNA repair mechanisms compromise compromised disrupted insulin response decreased depressed dropping oxidative stress increasing rising metabolic activity within individual muscle cells slowing after only 48 hours of inactivity similar similar experiments experiment lab animals animal laboratory casts cast placed back legs rapidly developed noxious cellular changes throughout their bodies immobilized muscles produced substantially less of an enzyme dissolves fat bloodstream result animals humans human animal fat accumulate accumulate migrate heart liver potential potentially leading to cardiac disease diabetes see result results such inactivity scientists scientist National Cancer Institute eight years following almost 250,000 American adults participants answered detailed questions questionnaire how much time they spent commuting watching TV sitting computer exercise exercising general health none suffered from heart disease cancer diabetes watched TV much higher risk premature death measure of sedentary time upright Diabetes Care scientists Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne Australia, had 19 adults sit completely still stand up rise every 20 minutes walk leisurely treadmill two minute blood sugar spiked insulin levels movement two minute short two-minute stroll blood sugar levels remained stable jogging improve blood sugar regulation standing walking important scientists concluded simply breaking up the long interminable hours of sitting University of Massachusettsbvolunteers stood all day balance physical confidence have improved aerobic workouts have been shown to improve brainpower /