The power generating dog leash is the work of Goddard Technologies, and as you’d guess, it is quite different from the dog leashes we are used to seeing. This one has three high intensity LEDs and a safety button that sets off an emergency tone. Other features include an ergonomically designed handle that lets you have a comfortable grip and a quick lock brake to stop the recoil of the leash. The more interesting part of course, is the power generating the leash does.

Energy generated by the dog pulling at the leash and by the recoil is harvested in this leash, rather than let it go waste. A gear train mechanism spins a generator everytime the leash hub spins. The energy so generated is sent to lithium ion batteries, which in turn power the LEDs and the emergency tone.

Once the batteries are fully charged, they could power the LEDs for nearly 6 hours, but considering the low voltage cut off level, a more realistic figure would put the time at about 3 hours.

Source: PDDnet, Core77

Currently, polymer solar cells are far behind the conventional silicon solar cells. However, as thrusts for green energy continue, the relative low cost of the polymer solar cells could play a big role, and the huge jumps these cells are making in terms of efficiency only makes things better for them. A recently developed nano-patterned array production technique showed researchers a seven-fold increase in efficiency as compared to the conventional sandwich-style construction.

Solar cells basically work through a system of electron donor and acceptor layers. These layers are only a few nanometers thick, and were optimized by researchers for this study. P3HT, the electron donor part of the cell, was patterned by aluminum oxide and drawn into honeycomb like arrays. The P3HT was a mere 30nm thick, and had pillars 150nm tall and 75nm thick running through the structure.

The polymer chains greatly increased the conductivity of the structure, and with a higher interfacial yield, the efficiency increased by nearly 7 times, or more specifically, 6.6 times. There is still a long way to go though, even with that jump in efficiency, the absolute efficiency of the array is a mere 1.12%, but it may open up new roads.

Source: ArsTechnica, Image for Representation purposes only

The solBAT II is a device that promises to make charging your gadgets more environmentally friendly. Well, instead of hooking on to the grid, the solBAT II lets you tap on the abundant solar energy to charge your gadgets. The basic idea is quite simple, and has been used in a number of similar devices. Solar panels on the top of the solBAT harness solar power and charge an included battery.

Once this battery is charged, you can use it to power your gadgets like mobile phones and music players. It is a pocket sized gadget, making it easy to carry around. When the device is charging, a red light comes up, and when it is charging another device, a green light comes up on the solBAT.

The device comes with lithium ion batteries with a capacity of 1500mA and an output of 5 Volts. To make charging easier, the package includes suction cups for a car’s windshield, and a carabiner for the backpack. solBAT II sells for $30.

Source: Scosche, Gearlog

Aircruise concept, created by London based design studio Seymourpowell takes a new look at air travel. The concept prefers a comfortable and luxurious journey over a quick trip. While it is a behemoth in size, the Aircruise concept intends to have minimum effect on the environment.

The airship would be capable of carrying 100 people, and lift 396 tons of weight. It will saunter across the sky, and a London to New York journey that currently takes 7 hours, would take 37 hours in this one. About 330,000 cubic metres of hydrogen gas would be required to keep this in the air, and the ship will also harness solar power to keep hydrogen company.

Visualized for the year 2015, the Aircruise would be able to fly at 12000 feet above the ground, and will have a top speed of 90mph. Passengers on-board will be treated to luxuries like penthouse apartments, bars, and glass viewing floors for a look at the ground below.

Source: Mail Online

Designer Kai Linke has plans to create very unique furniture, and that from the use of plant roots. In fact, Kai Linke’s furniture will be made from plant roots, and hence, the name Roots. Creating furniture involves cultivating fast growing plants like grass, bulbs and bamboo.

As these plants grow, their roots are channeled into furniture (chair) shaped molds. Gradually, the roots fill up the entire mold, at which point, the mold can be removed and what is left is the furniture made from roots. As of now, the project is in its initial stages, and miniature molds are used.

The designer hopes that the long term project will finally result in full size chairs made of roots. An obvious reason for this being a long term project is that the roots will take substantial time in completely filling a full sized chair mold.

Creations from the designer were displayed at Cologne 2010.

Source: Dezeen

From the way things seem, the spray-on liquid glass, or the “SiO2 ultra-thin layering” is quite a magical thing. Created by Turkey’s Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials, and patented by Nanopool, the coating is a very thin film of glass; just about 100 nanometers thick.

It is non-toxic and free from nano-particles, resins or additives, with just the quantum forces holding molecules in the coating together. This coating could potentially protect almost any surface from water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. This means the applications are nearly endless, from agriculture where it protects plants and seeds, to sterilization, and even protecting clothing from stains.

They haven’t given out a whole lot of details on the creation/ constitution of this layering, but it has Silicon dioxide from quartz sand added to water and ethanol, and a mystery process that finally yields the thin layering. The material is already undergoing tests or having trial uses at a number of places, and if it really is the magical creation that it appears to be, it is soon going to be everywhere.

Source: TreeHugger

Its ridiculous name aside, the Ekokook concept would have you working hard in the kitchen, to get rid of the waste. Designed by Faltazi, the concept fights solid, liquid and organic waste to make the kitchen more of an environmentally friendly place.

Dealing with solid waste would require brute force. You put odorless waste like glass, paper, plastic and metal into bins provided for each, and then get a little workout while you smash down each of these to the minimal size using your muscle power. A steel ball breaks glass, a screw deals with metal and bottles, and a shredder-crusher combo shreds paper and turns it into briquettes.

A double sink in the kitchen handles the liquid waste (water). The second sink gets water from which grease has been filtered, and sends it to two pitchers. This can then be used for watering household plants or other similar purposes.

Organic waste like food scrapings is handled by earthworms. The bin rotates slightly every day, and the worms feast on the waste to create lumbri compost in three months. Hopefully, there’s a good way to keep those worms in the bin, and to handle the gases that would be released from composting.

Source: YankoDesign

These Glass Pyramids basically are solar cells wearing better clothes. Developed by The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE), each of these little pyramids is a concentrating solar power system. At the center of each pyramid is a small photovoltaic cell.

Tracking mechanisms ensure that the pyramids face the sun throughout the day. When solar energy falls on these glass pyramids, they magnify the incoming light and incident it on the solar cell.

They can be used as an energy-generating glazing that would generate power, without hindering natural light for the interiors of a building. They might actually serve to increase the natural lighting, thereby reducing need for artificial lights.

CASE also intends to put to use the thermal energy trapped in these cells and not converted to electricity. This energy would be used for heating and cooling systems. As of now, these Glass Pyramids are not commercially available, but they would soon be with support from interested manufacturers.

Source: Inhabitat

The tiny House Arc prototype is the creation of Joseph Bellomo Architects. This tiny prefab house can be flat packed requiring space of just 4×10x3 feet, and is created in a way that would be easy to assemble for a normal person.

Intention of the architects was to create something similar to an “IKEA house, only easier to put together.” Though it can be flat packed into those small dimensions, the house has 150 square feet of space and weighs 3000 pounds. House arc has a lightweight frame made of steel tubes, but also employs some concrete blocks.

When completed, the house is expected to withstand tropical winds and weather. Going by the renderings we see, the roof of the house has solar panels so it would be able to generate a good part of the juice it would require.

The prototype is intended for a client in Hawaii, though the architects are also looking for sponsors to send these homes to Haiti.

Source: Jetson Green

Weird as it may sound, engineers at the Princeton University have found a way to harvest power from Silicone Implants. Simple body movements like walking could help generate power. Researchers say the bio compatibility of silicone has already been proven with cosmetic implants, which makes us think of some bouncy power generators and the hazards of putting in a power plug there to charge a mobile phone.

These silicone rubber sheets transformed into piezoelectric materials can however, be worn outside the body, or implanted inside. Using a combination of silicone and nanoribbons made of lead zirconate titanate (PZT), these sheets can convert an impressive 80% of the mechanical energy into electric energy.

There are a number of applications these silicon rubber sheets could work on. Shoes or dresses that could power gadgets, or implants inside the body that could power pacemakers are among the few uses these may be put to.

Source: Popsci