Tag Archives: environment

Mechanic “Invents” Water Fuelled Car

Posted on by Christopher Files
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I don’t think this gentleman will be on the Christmas lists of Shell or BP anytime soon, anyway, a car mechanic from India has claimed to have designed a new and rather a cheap way of fuelling a car and it arrives apparently in the form of water.

The gentleman in question goes by the name of Mohammad Raees Markani who has been modifying an “800 cc engine” for the last five years. He believes to have found a new alternative form of eco-transportation by using a mix of water and carbides (a compound composed of carbon)

Below is a video of this apparent achievement, amazingly, a one-litre mix of this potion costs around 2p. Mr Markani explained that his car “runs on acetylene gas” which is formed from a chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water. He also stated that he needed to make various changes to the engine with the aim of helping the performance of the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIWpLTVIFSo

If true, it’s astonishing considering Mr Markani has never been to school and also cannot read or write, it has also been noted that he began to experiment with various techniques around 5 years ago and has since made an efficient engine that runs on water.

Various high-profile companies are said to be interested and Mr Markani is open to offers, if they meet his one condition, this is, any plant or factory that is established in order to manufacture vehicles that utilize this technique will need to be built in his hometown of Madhya Pradesh. Mr Markani explained that he wants “things to change in my hometown”

It will be very noteworthy to follow the development of this project and if true, could be a turning point for both eco-friendly vehicles and also the environment, well, until we run out of the water that is.

Ambri’s Quest For a New Grid Battery Hits Problems

Posted on by Christopher Files
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Rechargeable battery-based technology has steadily improved over recent years as demand has risen for lithium-ion based implementations, which include storing energy from intermittent renewable sources. The problem lies with the fore mentioned lithium based tech which are as yet both too expensive to run and also provide a shorter life span than desired for a wider scale role out of grid storage on an industrial scale.

This is where a start-up by the name of Ambri hoped to change that by committing resources with the aim of producing a new type of grid-scale battery. Unfortunately, Ambri has revealed disappointing test results for its novel technology which has led to the company axing one-quarter of its staff in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The start-up has also revealed plans to push back commercial deployment indefinitely.

Where did it all go wrong? The companies CEO, Phil Giudice explained that its down to the seals which keep Ambri’s liquid electrodes enclosed. “These liquid-metal batteries are housed inside steel cans that must be hermetically sealed with materials that hold up for many years”. Researchers have been working on this issue with the aim of developing the correct seals for the most part of this year (2015). However, after much tinkering it was concluded that current designs had failed to meet the correct performance standards which they are expected to achieve.

Ambri’s technology focuses on the usage of two liquid metals as electrodes; these are then separated by a liquid-salt electrolyte.

Another challenge which Ambri faces is the reality of challenging the market dominance of standard lithium-ion batteries, which have more or less taken over the market for electric vehicles and also for residential energy storage. These batteries continue to go up in performance and down in price, so much so that current market prices have dropped by half in the last few years. On top of this, there is also the view that “commercial and industrial use of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage could become economically viable in the next three to five years if the decline in battery prices persists.”

Ambri will need to perfect the technology behind this venture if it’s to challenge current tech at a comparable price point, if not then it will be a steep learning curve which could ultimately end in failure. I do feel there needs to be a more advanced battery power design which is kinder on the environment, after all, the huge quantities of materials and chemicals which are used to produce each battery and the disposal element all need to be factored in.

Thank you technologyreview for providing us with this information.

Incredible Deep Sea Wonderland Constructed In Minecraft

Posted on by Christopher Files
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Looking at this is satisfying, incredible and fantastically creative, oh right, need to explain it first. You know the game building phenomenon that is Minecraft, where players have the freedom to create epic structures’ and worlds, well a team of nine expert players have constructed a “deep sea” world which is in a league of its own.

Check out the images of this stunning world! As you can see, the first image is what looks to be an open undersea world, it reminds me of an environment akin to Bioshock where it is possible to roam the landscape.  The colours are vibrant, exciting and helps to draw your eye with the aim to immerse yourself in the world.

This image below does remind me of a lit city at night, the intricate detail looks as if a major gaming studio has published this as a standalone title.  The creators explained that ” the concept behind this project was exploring the parallels of Deep Space and Deep Sea, although Space is considered as mankind’s final frontier, even today much of the deep ocean is a mystery to us and host to creatures just as alien as those we might imagine on other planets.”

This is compelling as it allows the designers to create a world which lies in the imagination instead of being restricted by known facts. A mind can be polluted by the notion of reality, if we don’t know what lies within many of the deepest parts of the ocean, it allows the free range to design.

This image looks like Coral you would find at the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef, yes I know, tangent time, whoever’s idea it was to initially allow dumping of waste into this magnificent part of the world needs to be constructively fired from a cannon.

Last image and this one below reminds me of Tetris, don’t know why but it does, it looks as if coral from thousands of years has built up to form this underwater world.  This creation should be a wake up call to lazy but professional developers, if nine people can create this, why are there not more original concepts instead of the generic war and sport simulators.

If you like this project and would enjoy seeing it in action, then you can by downloading the project links on Planet Minecraft. Creativity at its best, there you go David Cameron, teach this to children instead of the generic, the Internet is evil and bad for you.

Minecraft Gets a Pip-Boy Gadget in New Post Apocalyptic Mod

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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A lot of hype has been going around with Bethesda’s new Fallout title. While fans eagerly await the official announcement of Fallout 4 and endlessly watch its newly released teaser trailer, you may also want to know that there is a new post-apocalyptic mod in the works for Minecraft that comes with a Pip-Boy. So if you want to get into the Fallout hype and are a Minecraft player, you may be interested in this new mod.

The mod, named Project Wasteland, received a video earlier this week. It showed what players would expect from it and how the Pip-Boy works in Minecraft’s world. From the looks of it, it really does seem pretty similar to Fallout’s version in terms of look and feel, as well as interaction.

There have been a few pics showing the mod’s post apocalyptic scenario, accompanied by a video that illustrates the day and night cycle of the environment. From my point of view, the mod really does have a lot of potential and strangely, by watching the video, it does make you feel more like in a Fallout game rather than in a Minecraft environment.

More detailed information about the mod is scarce at the moment, but its developers are bound to release more information soon. Maybe even before the official Fallout 4 announcement at E3. In the meantime, you can head on over to the mod’s forum page for more information. So what do you think? Will you give this mod a try?

Thank you Polygon for providing us with this information
Images courtesy of Dvnt

Wood Might Be the Next Resource Needed to Make Computer Chips

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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All this technology might be great to some extent, allowing you to tweet, text, chat or even order your pizza on your mobile device. But what happens when you want to upgrade your tech? Well, you generate e-waste. This is why there have been a lot of researchers thinking of ways to use new resources to produce something that might be fully recyclable.

Their results may come faster than expected and it comes from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory. They teamed up to find something more revolutionary and ecological when it comes to producing chips. But who would have thought that they would use wood as a prime resource? It really is a shocker, but their semiconductor is indeed made almost entirely out of wood.

However, don’t think that they just cut a piece of wood and stuck some circuits on it. That would be mad. Instead, they found out that chips are made almost entirely out of a support layer, which they have replaced with something called cellulose nanofibril, a material made out of wood. They also had to use an epoxy coating on the surface to make it smoother and water resistant, so getting it done wasn’t all that easy.

In the end, the researchers say that the chip is so environmentally friendly that it could be left in a forest and eventually become fertilizer. Now how about that? Is it the start of an era where we use our tech and then help nature grow by throwing the old one in the wilderness after we upgrade? Who knows.

Thank you TechSpot for providing us with this information
Image courtesy of Your IT Works Ltd

Would You Play DOTA2 in Third-Person Shooter Mode?

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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Well, well… I’ve been thinking about a Dota 2 FPS-style mode for a long time now (but didn’t actually do anything about it). However, it looks like a modder out there created something similar and, if you ask me, it has transforms the gameplay into something like World of Warcraft.

A redditer first posted the mod called ‘Action Dota’, as the video title states, on the /r/Games Subreddit. Its developer, redditer BMD_, then replied to the thread a few hours later. In his post, he explains what he used and how he used it to turn Dota 2 into Action Dota 2.

“This is done as a Dota 2 mod using the Source 2 Dota 2 engine, but I did completely blow away and recreate my own keyboard/mouse control system instead of using the built in Dota controls. I created my own system of motion that allows me do to things like have characters jump and strafe, and turn at an infinite rate. In fact, no unit orders are given at all in the game, nor are any hero abilities or items used.” he stated in his post.

Though it works, the project is still in the Alpha stages. The redditer tells us that the some features do not have proper physics and that the camera ‘just works’, meaning that the mod needs a lot of work before he can get the full 3D environment set up properly.

“The camera controls are extremely hacked-in (but functional), and you can probably see in the video that each player has to select a flying enigma unit at the start which I detect and then use as the object to point the camera at. There is no facility currently available for me to manually reposition the camera except by locking the camera to the created “camera” unit, which results in some unfortunate limitations.

I currently use the built-in Dota 2 LinearProjectile system (which is used in game for things like Mirana’s arrow or Puck’s orb), but I’m going to have to tear down and recreate that entirely as it doesn’t support any 3D collisions (height is ignored) or other dynamic behavior.” he added in his post.

There’s now question that other issues will crop up in it until we see a proper final Beta, but why wait until then and not start your own project? The redditor stated that he constantly releases the systems he creates for other modders to use too; feel like making your own mod now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=100&v=hDZg6Z5vecM

Apple Aims to Protect the Environment by Buying 36,000 Acres of Forest

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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We all know that Apple is concerned with the environment from its device recycling program and its components used in their products. But a recent collaboration between the company and The Conservation Fund takes it to a whole new worldwide level.

Apple is also using renewable energy to power their US headquarters and plants, as well as striving to use renewable paper for their packaging and paper. However, a study shows that large chunks of forests, namely 23 million acres, in the US have been lost to private companies in the last 15 years who do not give back as much as they take.

An estimate of 45 million more are said to be lost in the following years if nobody does anything about it. This is why Apple has stepped in and formed a partnership with The Conservation Fund, attempting to stop this lack of respect for nature that feeds egos and fills up pockets.

The partnership seems to be extremely beneficial for both parties, having Apple increasing its green footprint by managing its paper and packing more thoroughly, while The Conservation Fund can then target and conserve more forest lands in the US.

This move not only helps ensure that a lot of endangered species will still have homes in the future, but will also help keep an estimate of 2.8 million jobs in logging towns.

Apple and The Conservation Fund currently help protect over 36,000 acres of forest in the US and hope that they will keep the number rising in the future. How concerned are you with the environment?

Thank you Medium for providing us with this information
Image courtesy of MacWallpapers

Valve VR Demo Looks Similar to Myst, Only Extremely Detailed

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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Valve’s virtual reality setup only allowed you to walk in areas the size of small rooms. This is really an issue today, since a lot of titles, especially fantasy ones, come in vast environments full of rich graphics.

The solution seems to come from Cloudhead Games’ The Gallery: Six Elements, which is all about interaction. The demo can be experienced using the HTC Vive’s hand controllers in order to grip all sort of objects, having the objective to fix a creaky machine. However, there is also danger in this quest, and it comes under the shape of a giant tree monster.

“The Gallery: The Six Elements is a first­person fantasy/exploration game built from the ground up for virtual reality, using the Unity engine; incorporating various VR and interaction hardware devices. This title will present a rich narrative experience fuelled by intuitive physical interaction puzzles, nestled within a deeply immersive environment. Drawing from our inspirations of 80′s adventure movies and classic games such as Monkey Island and Myst, the player must journey through foreign and fantastical worlds, collecting elemental powers and items that will aid them in discovering the mystery of the Machine.”

It is said that there are a few different environments in the demo as well, giving the user a lot of places to explore aside from things to collect. Though The Gallery is not yet available, it is said that it will be released along with Valve and HTC’s system at the end of this year.

Thank you Kotaku for providing us with this information

Fallout 4 to Be Released for Current-Gen Only, Possible Reveal at E3

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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There have been some talks about Bethesda’s latest title, Fallout 4, but so far nothing certain. However, a few insiders recently came forth and hinted that the company is planning to showcase the title at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year.

Bethesda is said to be working on a post-apocalyptic New York and Chicago environment for Fallout 4, though it has not yet been confirmed. What we do know, is that the title will be current-gen only.

“Bethesda is aiming for an impressive scale and atmosphere with Fallout 4, […] They’re only developing it on current gen and PC.”

The inside sources have apparently stated that 2015 is too “crowded” for a release this big, so we will not be expecting Bethesda to release the title sooner than 2016.

“2015 will be a great year for gamers,” “With all the exclusives and third-party games releasing this year, it’s going to be crowded with great titles.”

Though Fallout 4 fans will be disappointed by the release date, they should still take into account that the game will be released on current-gen. What this means is that the title would be able to take full advantage of newer technology and deliver an enhanced and detailed post-apocalyptic experience with even bigger environments; possibly some gameplay enhancements as well.

Thank you WCCF for providing us with this information

Quixel’s Jungle Environment Done in Unreal Engine 4 Reveals Stunning Visuals

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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It looks like Quixel has made a demo jungle environment using its latest Megascans technology. For those of you who are not aware, Megascans is a vast library of materials scanned with Quixel’s HDR surface capture technology.

MEGASCANS is a new breed of material library, finally bringing full real-world surface scans to the art community. Browse, preview and download 1000+ materials scanned with Quixel’s groundbreaking HDR surface capture technology and experience real diffuse, specular, normal, translucency, AO and much more.

One can argue the jungle environment built by Quixel in Unreal Engine 4 might not be as good as the CryEngine version. Nonetheless, it does add a unique visual experience and further strengthens the Unreal Engine 4’s ability to take full advantage of third-party tools.

Thank you WCCF for providing us with this information

Apple Investing $2 Billion in 100% Renewable European Data Centres

Posted on by Ryan Simmons
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Apple has announced that it is to invest $2 Billion into two new data centres in Europe, that will be powered by 100% renewable energy. The company’s CEO, Tim Cook, says that the new centres will bring great benefits to the local communities surrounding the new buildings as well as to Europeans as a whole.

The centres will be built in Athenry in western Ireland and in Viborg in Denmark, and are planned to be up and running by 2017. It’s said that the new buildings will add capacity to Apple’s online services in Europe; including iMessage, iCloud, Siri, Photos, iTunes and more.

“We are grateful for Apple’s continued success in Europe and proud that our investment supports communities across the continent,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “This significant new investment represents Apple’s biggest project in Europe to date. We’re thrilled to be expanding our operations, creating hundreds of local jobs and introducing some of our most advanced green building designs yet.”

This marks Apple’s largest ever investment into a European project, and it’s clear that it will certainly be of great benefit to the local communities that surround these new centres.

Source: The Verge 

First ‘Poo Bus’ Gets to Work in Bristol

Posted on by Ryan Simmons
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A bus entirely powered by human and food waste has gone into service.

The waste is converted into bio-methane gas through a process called anaerobic digestion, with gas being able to propel the ‘Bio Bus’ for up to 186 miles. The Bath Bus Company, the people behind the new bus, estimate that their new bus will ferry 10,000 people between Bristol Airport and Bath city centre.

Mohammed Saddiq, General manager of GENeco, the organisation the creates the gas, told the BBC:

“Gas-powered vehicles have an important role to play in improving air quality in UK cities but the Bio-Bus goes further than that and is actually powered by people living in the local area, including quite possibly those on the bus itself.”

Now I’m sure we’ve all travelled on some smelly buses, but let’s hope there’s never a fuel leak on this one, because I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be able to get a bus smellier than a leaking ‘poo bus’.

Source: BBC News

 

New Self Cooling Solar Panel Design Will Increase Efficiency

Posted on by Kyle Williams
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The last thing that comes into my mind when thinking about solar panels is how they are cooled, after all they are designed to have the sun shining on them for 65% of the day every day. Solar power cells need to stay relatively cool for the sake of both efficiency and longevity, but active cooling (like ventilation) isn’t practical; it’s expensive, and may block the very rays the cells are supposed to collect, which defeats the point of a solar panel all together.

Now, very clever researchers at Stanford University have created a new form of Solar Cell, one that cools itself without needing additional help. The new design consists of placing very small cone and pyramid shapes into the collector’s silica surface, bouncing hot infrared wavelengths away whilst letting in the visible light that generates the most energy, which is a win win if you ask me.

Scientists say that the results are very nearly ideal, the solar panel takes in more energy whilst reflecting most of the heat that hit it, prolonging the panels lifespan and cost efficiency. The team at Stanford University have a long way to go yet, including actual outdoor testing, but they see this new design hitting a commercial level in the not so distant future.

Thanks to Engadget for supplying us with this information.

Images courtesy of Engadget.

Solar-Powered, Smartphone Charging Benches to be put in Boston

Posted on by Chris Smith
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Soofa is a smart urban furniture company developed by Changing Environments, (an MIT Media Lab spin-off) and they’re bringing the Silicon Valley feel to Boston. As we’ve learned, this companies trendy name is derived from the acronym SUFA (Smart Urban Furniture Appliance) with the ‘double o’ added for a modern feel.

Being described as an ‘urban watercooler’, Soofa hopes to bring strangers together in a commonplace whilst providing an almost-essential service in todays technology age.

Soofa Co-Founder Sandra Richer explained her companies intentions to Mashable:

“There isn’t too much knowledge or perception around renewable energy these days because people are removed from it — it’s either on the roof or set aside somewhere that you don’t see it. We wanted to change the way people see its immediate benefits by putting something out into public spaces.”

Boston already has six benches in full operation with a further four set to be placed in the next few weeks. As it stands, Soofa currently has 100 of these benches ready to roll out with plans for further production.

Richer also commented on the ever-growing demand for such technology:

“It’s hard to get investors to back something that is a new market, but we’re already gotten so many requests from corporate campuses, education organizations, retailers and cities, from Tel Aviv to places in Italy, Germany and Hong Kong, so now we’re focused on how to scale quickly” Mashable

Interested in looking at your own bench for your workplace, common hangout spot or company? A cast iron bench will set you back around $10,000 USD, but others are said to be significantly cheaper. Obviously this price is nothing to scoff at, especially if you’re looking to implement quite a few of these in one venue. When this issue was raised, Richer commented:

“The smart benches will be on the pricier side because of the electronics, but we want it also to be affordable enough to encourage adoption.” Mashable

Being adopted as a full business around one year ago, the company was formed as current thanks to a partnership with Verizon and Cisco to help get it off the ground.

Soofa are said to be developing other style products to be suited to further environments. It’s highly likely you’ll be seeing more of these around in America and globally in the near future.

Image courtesy of Slashgear

Denmark Created 1:1 Scale In Minecraft

Posted on by Peter Donnell
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The team at Geodata agency have recreated the whole of Denmark in 1:1 scale in the world of Minecraft. Simon Kokkendoft and Thorbjørn Nielsen used data taken from their Geodata Agency to make a block-for-block remake of the country.

While of course the whole project has been done with fun in mind, the teams ambitions are focused on the environment and educational purposes. They’re hoping that their work will be taken into Denmark’s schools, allowing studios to learn about everything from urban planning to environment preservation.

It is a great idea to let people get hands on and explore the country. Of course they haven’t reproduced every build and office block, but the landscape that the country is built upon, allowing citizens a clear look at the terrain around them and to understand why and how people use the land.

With Minecraft more popular than ever with a younger audience, I can’t think of a better medium to help them convey their message.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/6rMebJWiNUQ[/youtube]

Thank you TweakTown for providing us with this information.

Images courtesy of TweakTown.

 

AMD and BlueStacks Team Up To Bring Dual-OS Android In Windows Environments

Posted on by Gabriel Roşu
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A partnership between BlueStacks and AMD has been announced at Mobile World Congress which will bring a new BlueStacks dual-OS Android solution optimized for AMD APUs. It is said to delivering Google Android OS experience to select Microsoft Windows-based AMD-based tablets, 2-in-1s, notebooks and desktops in select retail stores.

“The ability to span two OS ecosystems gives end-users access to both Windows and Android apps, but the key is providing for the seamless integration of entertainment and productivity across those ecosystems,” said Steve Belt, corporate vice president, Product Management, at AMD. “Introducing our solution in retail puts AMD and BlueStacks in a unique position to offer in-store customers the option to include access to this great experience at the time of purchase of their new systems.”

The advantages of BlueStacks running on a Windows PC powered by AMD consist of a familiar Android UI, including settings, configuration and customization controls, along with the ability to run Android apps within a window or at full-screen resolution leveraging direct access to AMD graphics processing power. Other advantages consist of support for hundreds of thousands of Android apps direct from various Android app stores, as well as synchronisation between the same apps being run on the user’s stand-alone Android devices, interoperability through direct file sharing that enables Android apps to access files stored within the Windows file system and Support for sensors like built-in cameras, accelerometer, gyroscope and others.

The key factor which presents the bigget advantage of using the retail solution is that it won’t require the user to disengage from one OS before using another. The retail solution also supports easy synchronisation of the two environments through BlueStack’s FoneLink service, which enables AMD Windows-based PCs to become an extension of Android mobile devices and vice versa.

A retail version is expected to be released in the second half of 2014, having it be available at several key retail ENEA partners.

Thank you AMD for providing us with this information
Image courtesy of AMD

Humans Have Used Up Yearly “Budget” Of Natural Resources For 2013

Posted on by Ryan Martin
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The concept of the Earth having “ecological limits” is hardly a new idea. Put simply there is the assumption that the Earth can only provide a certain amount of natural resources and cope with a certain amount of pollution in a sustainable way. The idea of Earth Overshoot Day, explained by the FootPrintNetwork.org, is that every year we exceed our annual sustainable limit and every year that limit is coming earlier. This year we reached the Earth Overshoot Day on August 20th 2013 while in previous years it came much later (earlier is worse/later is better).As the two images show we are now essentially “over our limits” for the rest of the year. If you imagined the Earth like a bank account we would effectively be overdrawn from now to the rest of the year. Though there is one key problem which is that we have been overdrawn for over 30 years now causing sustained permanent damage every year and we are becoming overdrawn “faster” every year.

Of course it isn’t all doom and gloom and it is possible to change the way we interact with our world for the better. This isn’t a “carbon scaremongering” tactic to levy extra taxes upon people but this is an effort to explain to people that we must use resources more cautiously and we must treat the environment like the fragile being it is. In effect we must start living within our means, not on our current course of destructive over-consumption.

To read more about Earth Overshoot Day and its significance please see here.

Images courtesy of FootPrintNetwork