CASH FOR PHONES: What to do with that old phone? Try to sell it? Put it in the rubbish and feel guilty? Keep it until the next eWaste Day? The ecoATM has the answer. To help prevent fraud you provide identification. Then the ecoATM physically scans your device and provides information on its value. If you accept the deal you walk away with cash from the machine in exchange for your phone or MP3 player. It's currently available in several US states. The easier recycling is the more likely we'll do it - details at Dvice.com and video here.
FOLD TO PARK: The Hiriko Citycar is a prototype small foldable electric car from Spain, in collaboration with the MIT. Yes, foldable. The wheels contain all the stuff that's usually under the bonnet, allowing passengers to enter and exit through the front. The front part swivels from horizontal to vertical and the rear slides forward so the car folds up easily for parking. You could store a six pack in
your one-car garage. Hiriko.com has more, and there's video here.
WRIST CONTROL: WristQue is a project in its early stages at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It's a wristband packed with sensors to detect changes in temperature, humidity and light. It also has a couple of buttons. The wristband is designed to interact with a smart building to help control the temperature in various rooms. The system can build up predictive patterns of activity and behaviour and also react to direct input from users. In a three-week trial energy usage was reduced by 24% because less air-conditioning was needed to keep all occupants comfortable. An even smarter system would allow for microclimates so each person could get the right temperature, not just endure the average for the room. New Scientist has more.
2-WAY LIGHT: BASF and Philips have created a transparent Organic Light Emitting Diode — when it's switched off, anyway. When it's switched on it provides light. Used in a car sunroof for example, it would allow occupants to enjoy natural daylight, but at night it would light only the interior of the car. This would handily replace a skylight in a building too. Physorg has details.
CLOUD WORKING: Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have created a luminous ceiling that gives the impression of working outdoors under an ever-changing cloudy sky. The lighting conditions resemble those produced by passing clouds. 50cm by 50cm tiles each contain 288 red, blue, green and white light emitting diodes that together generate more than 16 million hues. A diffuser film in matt white below each tile ensures individual points of light aren't visible. A preliminary study suggests that users find the dynamic lighting to be extremely pleasant. Computers in the cloud, workers in the cloud; what's not in the cloud? Read more at the Fraunhofer Institute.
