Toyota prepares solid state batteries for the 2020s

Lithium ion batteries are state-of-the-art for electric vehicles. Energy density is around 300 Watt hours (Wh) per litre. At this density, cramming enough energy into a vehicle creates design problems.

Toyota claims an energy density of 400 Wh per litre for its existing solid-state batteries. By 2025, they predict energy density between 600 & 700 Wh.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140127/OEM06/301279980/toyota-preps-solid-state-batteries-for-20s / solid state Tokyo Toyota Motor Corp. corporation major advances develop development developing smaller more powerful solid-state solid state batteries battery next generation next-generation power pack power-pack succeed lithium ion battery technology litium-ion LiIon twice the energy density drive power electric vehicles more than 300 miles single charge enter production early 2020s top engineers company 20s manage managed five fold fivefold increase power output experiment experimental liter solid-state managing Soichiro Okudaira conference current coin-sized cell lab laboratory stage Toyota technology cars early 2020s Hideki Iba general manager Japanese carmaker's battery research division developments at Automotive World annual engineering engineer technical conference Tokyo more compact higher power output energy density liquid electrolyte nickel-metal hydride lithium ion batteries solid ceramic polymer electrolyte more compact stable molded more flexible shapes better packaging electric vehicle EV hybrid vehicle vehicles increase increased performance EV-mode driving lithium air batteries power output lithium cathode react interacts with oxygen less material lighter packaging /

Samsung Galaxy S5 — What can we expect?

Two things we can be sure of: more memory & faster processor.

How much RAM? Either 3GB (as in the Note 3) or 4GB.

When? Maybe as early as this month or March.

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2014/02/07/samsung-galaxy-s5-release-date-not-to-expect/#!uMXQe

http://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s5-what-we-want-to-see-1146930 / Samsung Galaxy S5 release date news rumor rumors flat flexible metal plastic smartphone smart phone cell mobile trawl trawling Web Samsung's fifth generation iteration flagship phone overview name prefix handset spin offs off top products product MWC 2014 launch release date price big smartphone manufacturers manufacturer annual product cycles now predict launch headline headlining products product rumors launch forward MWC 2014 Unpacked 5 price tag SamMobile aluminium chassis curved display metal polycarbonate metal jacket designer desinging design look feel chassis frame rumor supplier suppliers metallic phone carbon-fibre carbon fibre launch launched 64 bit 64-bit CPU A7 processor ARM executive chip CPU display sharp sharper human eye can detect color improved colour performance refresh rate video animation QHD Quad-HD benchmark test WQHD screen tech AMOLED panels panel flagship handsets technology LCD panel handset Android OS operating system Android 4.4 KitKat TouchWiz interface screenshot screenshots screen shot handset hand set Google Now home screen homescreen TouchWiz overlay Air Gestures hover multiple fingers screen perform action actions digit Tizen variants design patent application physical home button curved flexible camera fingerprint finger print retina scanner retinal scanning unlock iris recognition technology battery improved battery life /

Answer a call through the cover of this iPhone case

Credit: Moshi/The Gadgeteer

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/02/04/you-can-answer-your-phone-through-the-cover-of-this-iphone-case/ / Sensecover case iPhone 5 5s 5/5S Moshi answer your phone without even opening cover hybrid leatherette front cover embedded proprietary SensArray pads slide answer call phone smart phone smartphone without opening cover also openings front allow check time phone earpiece through cover back phone protect protected polycarbonate shell buttons ports left open easy use magnetic clasp keeps front cover closed protect screen protected color colour colors colours Brushed Titanium Steel Black finish front cover cases available $US45 dollars US $45.00 /

PVs more efficient, durable, reliable & effective

Credit: indiegogo

Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation: fabulous idea! Free energy from the Sun!

Unfortunately, there are a few inefficiencies & limitations:

1. Photovoltaics are made largely of very pure silicon. Manufacture requires large inputs of energy, & the resulting PVs are expensive.

2. For greatest efficiency, PVs need to be perpendicular to the Sun. Because of the movment of the Earth, for fixed PVs, this only happens briefly, once per day.

Problem 2 can be solved by a two-axis tracking system which allows PVs to always face the Sun. New problems this creates are expense, complexity, reliability problems with the mechanism, & susceptability to wind damage.


Credit: Solar Choice

Rawlemon has a different approach: collect sunlight with a large spherical lens, concentrating the light onto a very small (& so less expensive) PV, thus minimizing problem 1, above.


Credit: indiegogo

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the Earth goes right on moving, so the PV has to move so that it remains in the concentrated sunlight. Moving a centimetre square PV is very much easier than moving a meter square (or larger) one. As a result, the mechanism is less expensive & virtually immune to wind damage. In any case, it is protected from wind by the large spherical lens above it.

Potentially, a problem with the Rawlemon system is heat. PVs become less efficient as they heat up. In conventional PV system, this effect is reduced, somewhat, by the large size of the collector. On the other hand, there is plenty of air space below the Rawlemon collector, facilitating heat dissipation.

At the momemt, you can sign up for a demonstration-scale version that will keep your phone charged for $99 on indiegogo.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rawlemon-solar-devices

http://www.gizmag.com/rawlemon-spherical-solar-energy-generators/30453/ / noble cause harnessing harness clean renewable energy Sun solar panels esthetic aesthetically uninspiring start up start-up Rawlemon change undeniably beautiful concentrated photovoltaic CPV PV technology Andre Broessel German architect inspired daughtter daughter’s toy marbles Rawlemon design spherical lens concentrate sunlight small photovoltaic photo voltaic panel dual-axis pivot mount track tracks apparent movement Sun Sol designer transparent sphere collect concentrate diffuse light traditional devices cannot can not providing provide efficiency boost deploy deployed used far more locations than their flat fixed counterparts claimed concentrate concentrating concentration Sun’s light one area Rawlemon design reduces solar cell surface 1 percent traditional panel range of devices market 10-cm 3.9-in 3.9 in inch Beta.ey S phone charger currently subject Indiegogo campaign funds raised earmarked product produce produced production certification cerify Beta.ey S charger charge compatible mobile cell smart smatphone phone USB 2.0 charging port battery storage capacity of 27.5 Whr Bet.ey S Special Edition Beta.ey XL designed charging tablets Rawlemon larger devices device portfolio 100-cm 39.4-in Beta.ray 1.0 generate 1.1 kWh a day per day run power laptop for about two days 1.8 kWh battery cell largest device in the Rawlemon range is the 180-cm (70.1-in) Beta.ray 1.8 that will generate up to 3.4 kWh a day, enough to run your laptop for almost a week 5.4 kWh battery Beta.ray 1.0 1.8 feature water-filled acrylic-polymer water filled acrylic polimer lenses solid lens generate thermal energy Rawlemon developing system Microtrack same technology install installed building skin produce energy during the day multimedia display at night Beta.ey release later this year Beta.ray Rawlemon Microtrack system bring to market design designer designing beauty stack up more effective efficient efficiency flat PVs PV concentrator designs design water-filled water filled spheres sphere heavy massive Rawlemon video pitch /

Cryptography breakthrough could make software unhackable

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/02/cryptography-breakthrough/ / graduate student Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Amit Sahaizero-knowledge proof mathematical protocol convincing convince someone something is true without revealing details true Sahai counterintuitive concept daring notion possible mask inner workings proof computer program programme figure out how it worked Quanta Magazine edit editor editorially independent division Simons Foundation SimonsFoundation.org mission enhance public understanding science cover covering research developments trend trends maths mathematics physical life sciences obfuscation obfuscating develop development developing developed rigorous mathematical framework concept create created unassailable obfuscation scheme commercial software companies engineered various techniques gable garbled garbling computer program hard harder understand perform performing same function hack hacking hacked hackers defeat defeated every attempt commercial obfuscatorsspeed bump computing computer science professor University of California Los Angeles UCLA attack attacking attacked attacker unlock secret secrets hidden software secure program obfuscation would be useful for many applications protect protecting software patches patch obscuring workings chip chips read encrypted DVDs DVD encrypt encrypting software controlling military drones create autonomous autonomousely your bank balance dropped passwords password secrets secret program agent into computing wild onto untrusted computers Sahai captured enemy interrogated disassemble disassembled but it couldn’t be forced to reveal your secrets Sahai pondered program obfuscation colleague colleagues potential far surpassed specific applications program obfuscator created problem problems driven cryptography problem problems conduct secure interactions Internet connection know trust program obfuscator powerful tool finding plausible constructions any cryptographic task Yuval Ishai Technion Haifa Israel obfuscation’s power computer scientists colleagues impossible too powerful to exist earliest research findings confirmation confirm co-authors posted paper Cryptology ePrint Archive demonstrating demonstrate candidate protocol indistinguishability obfuscation Brent Waters University of Texas Austin paper arcane form obfuscation power cryptographers cryptographer cryptography serious positive result universal obfuscator Boaz Barak Microsoft Research Cambridge, Massachusets cryptography community Leonard Schulman California Institute of Technology Pasadena plausible construction is huge powerful exist /

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 /