Rampaging Robot

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

Originally posted at News - Health Tech

Florida-based lighting company ClearLite is introducing a new CFL bulb with an unbreakable safety shell that prevents mercury from escaping, a feature that addresses some health concerns with CFLs.

The SX-4000 silicone skin remains intact even if the ArmorLite bulb inside shatters, according to ClearLite, which is rolling ...

Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool has received $19.3 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding as part of its Smart Grid Investment Grant program, the company announced Thursday.

Whirlpool, which markets appliances under the brand names Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and Bauknecht, joins General Electric in what ...

Originally posted at Green Tech

(Credit: TerraCycle)

A New Jersey-based environmental firm has developed audio player speakers made from recycled chips and candy bar packages.

TerraCycle is using its large waste-collection program to turn Doritos and Cheetos bags, as wells as Mars candy wrappers, into funky, foldable speakers.

The Frito-Lay Speakers have a 3.5 ...

As it does with most trends, Samsung is pursuing eco-friendly cell phones with vigor. It already gave us the Samsung Reclaim, and now we finally have a chance to review the Samsung Blue Earth. ...

Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast

The Yamaha EC-f is an electric motorcycle concept designed for ease of use.

Green scooters at the Tokyo Motor Show - photos

Just as carmakers develop electric cars, motorcycle manufacturers also see the writing on the wall, showing off a collection of electric bikes ...

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

The Toyota FT-EVII is a new electric concept car based on the iQ platform.

Although a leader in hybrid cars, generally conservative Toyota has seemed uninterested in developing electric cars--until now. At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota unveiled the FT-EVII, an electric car concept.

Toyota does ...

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

A rocking chair with an integrated OLED lamp would in and of itself be cool enough to feature here on Crave, but the Murakami Chair is different. The power to run the light, you see, comes from your own rocking motion.

As you rock, nano-dynamos built into ...

Samsung Blue Earth

The solar-powered Samsung Blue Earth handheld was finally released to the public today--in Sweden, at least. The touch-screen phone with the solar charger on the back is also set to launch in other countries soon; they are France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Portugal, just to ...

Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast

Artist Mr. Lou created this OrigAudio speaker design, called Cityscape.

We've seen foldable cardboard speakers before by MUJI and others, but the lively patterns on these OrigAudio versions caught our eyes (or should that be ears?). The foldable, self-powered speakers (no batteries or external power required) come in designs ...

Infiniti's first hybrid will be the 2012 M35.

Nissan/Infiniti has so far only dabbled in hybrids, choosing to buy technology from Toyota for the Nissan Altima Hybrid. The company is really attempting to leap past that technology by going straight to electric vehicles, with the ...

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

On Thursday, Popular Mechanics magazine will unveil its 2009 Breakthrough awards. Included on the list is a series of innovators, as well as a number of products, including this lawn mower, the Hustler Zeon, which is the world's first all-electric, zero-turning-radius mower. It can cover an acre of grass on a single charge.

Popular Mechanics magazine on Thursday will unveil its fifth-annual Breakthrough Award winners, an august collection of designers and products that could do much more than their share to change the world for the better.

From famous inventors like Dean Kamen to a flying car for the Third World to bacteria-powered batteries--and much in-between--the awards are meant to highlight technologies that will shape the way people around the world live and how they interact with everyday products.

Each year, the magazine's editors scour the country for a worthy group of winners, and this year, in the end, Popular Mechanics settled on one leadership award winner, one next-generation honoree, eight Breakthrough innovators and 10 Breakthrough products.

View the full gallery

"In all cases, there's a really practical application that we see coming about," said Jerry Beilinson, the magazine's deputy editor, "so these aren't theoretical scientific applications. (They're going to) change the world and have a really positive aspect on people's lives."

Beilinson said that after five years of identifying technological breakthrough products and innovators, certain themes have emerged in the editors' preferences. Among the most important, he said, is alternative energy and products and designers that push that category forward.

"If I look back (at the last few years of doing the awards), we looked at aviation and we looked at medicine," he said. "But over the last few years, I think the things that have been clear themes that we've been looking at that have emerged (are) alternative energy and appropriate technologies for the developing world."

And while the themes can be forward-looking, the individual awards celebrate a "moment in time," he said.

"We're sort of picking the moment at which it's become real, and passed the threshold and seems like its worthy of an award," Beilinson said. "But most of these kinds of things do take some time to develop."

For this year's Breakthrough Leadership award, Popular Mechanics honored Dean Kamen, an inventor with more than 440 patents who may be best known for creating the incredible but commercially disappointing Segway personal transporter.

Originally posted at Geek Gestalt

The free Ecofont typeface promises to consume up to 20 percent less ink.

There are lots of ways to save money on pricey printer consumables.

You can configure your print driver to output two pages on a single sheet of paper. You can enable "draft" mode to use ...

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

You know that old Motorola Razr that's been sitting in your nightstand for the last year? If you live near Omaha, Neb., you can march up to the EcoATM at the Nebraska Furniture Mart, toss it in, and automatically get an in-store trade-up coupon or gift card.

The self-serve e-cycling station electronically inspects phones, assigns them real-time secondary market value, and provides in-store payment--if the handset still has any monetary worth. If not, consumers can choose to assign the device to the recycle bin, and then it's on its way to getting recycled or refurbished.

The kiosk at the Omaha store is the first such station to be installed by San Diego-based start-up EcoATM, and it's serving as a test case in advance of a scheduled larger rollout.

The company, formerly called ReMobile, declared the Nebraska machine an immediate success when it went into operation September 21--both in the number of recycled devices collected and the trade-up purchases.

On its first day, 23 phones went into the recycle bin. In addition, "the EcoATM at NFM bought back over $100 in phones on day two, including a perfect BlackBerry Curve," Twittered EcoATM's Eric Rosser, who said in an interview he thinks retailers will appreciate the automation of the EcoATM and consumers will value the speed and convenience.

The company plans to install kiosks at wireless stores and big-box retailers in San Diego, Texas, Washington state, and Vermont this quarter, Rosser said, with a "massive rollout" set for the second quarter of next year. Eventually the EcoATMs should be able to recognize other gadgets, such as MP3 players, digital cameras, notebooks, printers, and storage devices.

The machines rely on a camera-based system to detect signs of wear such as cracked screens, missing keys, and scuff marks, and to determine a device's approximate value. If it's not worth anything, consumers could still get a free gift for their efforts--in Omaha's case, a waterproof phone case. And in a green nod, EcoATM will plant a tree for them.

Is it time to make the leap to LED lights for the home? Perhaps, but only if you're willing to make a return-on-investment calculation.

Lemnis Lighting on Friday said that its Pharox60 LED light is now available in the U.S. online and soon will be for sale on ...

Originally posted at Green Tech

The Touch Wood mockup (top) and prototype based on the SH-04A model (bottom).

If you don't think plastic is fantastic, here's some good news: Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has created a new prototype cell phone made from cypress wood.

The Touch Wood handset is crafted ...

Even the world's sexiest Prius is still just a Prius.

Apparently, the 2010 Toyota Prius was feeling a bit frumpy and has decided to shake things up with a new look. So, the humble hybrid has gone under the knife of Japanese vehicle modifiers Tommi ...

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

Place this one in the "interesting idea, bad execution" category.

Label With Green is a concept design by Shao Wei Huang, Chia-Yi Cho, Yu Pei Kuo, and Chung Kai Chiang that I spotted on Yanko. The idea is that you'd get a package of solar stickers, ...