Emerging Tech

Anyone interested in DIY, energy or our ecosystem should most definitely check out the Alternative Energy Gift Guide from MAKE. They cover some key issues that we as Americans must confront head on, such as our dependence on foreign energy and oil. There’s a bunch of a kits you can browse through that will have you using the Sun as ...

Can you imagine charging your cellphone without plugging it into an outlet? No, I’m not talking about those plug and charge kits you can purchase for select phones, I’m talking about fuel cell stickers. Just slap ’em on the back of your phone and considered it charged. The Swedish-based company myFC is trying to expedite the act of charging cellphones ...

Being stranded at the gym without a charger can be a problem when you’re without one of these hand-grip chargers. An ideal solution for scrawny forearms and drained iPods, the hand-grip charger makes finding AC outlets a moot task. It’s a great stress reliever, too! Squeeze the handle and it charges the device attached to it. Sounds simple enough, right? ...

Here’s a device that’s shaped like a flower that you connect to your house via a wireless transmitter. It monitors the electricity consumed in your house in real time. Using too much energy will result in this flower’s demise, wilting at the first signs of wasted energy. Designed by Carl Smith, the Wilting Flower will reward those who remain conscious ...

Forget going to the gym to save the environment. If you’ve got the equipment, why not put it to good use by modding an exercise bike to chill and heat stuff simultaneously for your own benefit? This guy did it and now look at him, he’s shredding pounds and chilling beers. That’s right, the integrated pair of copper wires that ...

I can see how drinking rain water would be a life saver when you’re out in the middle of nowhere and your options are limited. On the other hand, drinking rain water that’s collected from your gutter doesn’t sound too refreshing. That’s what Rain Drops, the cheap rainwater harvesting system, proposes. It’s essentially a series of two liter cola bottles ...

Ford has unveiled its new take on automobile dashboards with what it’s calling the SmartGauge. The LCD gauge will debut in Fords 2010 line of hybrids, the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid. The gauge uses an all-digital screen with lively animations to prompt drivers on good driving habits by displaying a heavily stylized greenery for good behavior. It’s ...

The world’s first ever wave farm went live at the end of September in Agucadoura, off the coast of northern Portugal. Three wave energy converters resembling Soviet submarines generate electricity with hydraulic rams driven by waves. The farm was designed by Pelamis Wave Power, which hopes to increase the farms productivity by adding an additional 25 wave energy converters that ...

A mobile home is hardly a house. It’s a truck with a bed inside. On the other hand, the N55 WALKING HOUSE is the premier modular dwelling system. In addition to its ability to slowly troll surrounding landscapes, it collects energy by using solar cells and small windmills. There is even a system for collecting rain water and another for ...

Jean Shin is pretty cool. First, we saw her bizarre melted wave of vinyl records (we hope no Journey vinyl was used.) Now, we’re taking a look at Jean Shin’s TEXTile, an interactive sculpture that’s comprised of 22,528 recycled keyboard keys that are fashioned in a way to make it appear as a tapestry. At its base is a customized ...