11 remarkable electric folding bike concepts
by: Ecofriend, 2011-04-21 06:16:40 UTC
Dattatreya:

Whenever we think of any major urban context, there is bound to be a flashing ‘reverie’ of traffic congestions (or jams, if you like), with that excruciatingly long line of vehicles stuck nigh ‘bumper to bumper’. In a particular instance in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the historical record was set with more than 293 kilometres (182 mi) of accumulated traffic jam queues, out of 835 km (522 mi) being monitored, on June 10, 2009. The adverse effects of such jams can be manifold like reducing vehicular mileages, emanating carbon emissions, creating parking problems and even lowering work efficiency from economic point of view.

Now there can be measures implemented by the administration and the municipalities, to counter such problems, but they tend to be ineffective in the long run. So what do we average people (who by the way, are the greatest victims of traffic predicaments) do to rectify the situation? With the recent spurt of cycling enthusiasm, one of the righteous choices can surely be to adopt the zero emission, electric folding bikes, which we can literally fold when stuck in a jam, and then just walk our way through. Convenient, sustainable and infused with dollops of practicality; these are the coolest concepts we wouldn’t want to miss.

1. Volkswagen’s foldable ‘Bik.e’ electric bicycle concept:

With its jaunty demeanor and sober color scheme, this all electric bike from non other than the exalted Volkswagen is surely to tickle our ‘green’ senses. The bike can be charged from a motor’s DC current or any AC outlet, while it is touted to reach a healthy top speed of 20 kilometers per hour, and also a range of 20 km. But the unique feature is that the Bik.e can be easily folded even in a car’s trunk space.

2. Grasshopper Folding Electric Bike:

Truly alluding to the real grasshopper, this quirky yet convenient design is all electric and foldable. And wait, there’s more; it can also become a stationary exercise bike and even generates and stores the energy you produce while pedaling!

3. Yike bike Concept:

Touted to be the world’s lightest electric folding vehicle, this petite contraption can actually be folded inside a backpack. Powered by a 1.2 kW electric motor, this bike can spurt to a top speed of 20 km/h, and has range of around 10 km. Moreover, it weighs less than 10 kg (22 lb) and folds in less than 15 seconds.

4. Urban electric bike folds to slip in your car’s boot:

Another smart conception, and this time it’s from Israeli designer Yarel Yair. Named as the “Urban bike”, this hub-less, electric design is tailor made for cramped urban spaces, and competently features a zero emission mode of ride. It can be also easily folded inside a car trunk.

5. Designer Thorsten Wicket’s Concept:

Fluent transportation meets the dexterous mode of transportation, as this concept not only manages to circumvent traffic congestion, but also could epitomize the ‘carefree’ idea of parking in workspaces. This all electric contraption can be folded along its pedal section, while the whole bike will be driven by the hub motor. Pedaling will only serve to charge the batteries.

6. Carrier Bike from Korean designer Shin Hyung Sub Shin:

There can be a common misconception that because of the light nature of these bikes, they are not suitable for carrying stuff. And in a bid to prove otherwise, Korean designer Shin Hyung Sub Shin has ingeniously come up with the electric, foldable Carrier Bike. It conspicuously features a ’shelf’ area behind the pedals, which maintains its intactness, independent of the bike’s form (i.e. whether it is folded or it is in its bicycle form), and also a set of hubless wheels.

7. Diamove – Urban Folding Bicycle:

Another innovative folding electric bike, and this design gives importance to the driver’s posture. Featuring front wheel drive, the adroit design consideration helps your weight to being focused on the pelvis region rather than your wrists and feet. Moreover the bike can be effortlessly folded along its larger front wheel, giving us an impression of a stout single wheel.

8. CMYK folding electric bike:

This one may look like a ‘kiddie’ bike, but it can be powered by a 110V electric outlet, and can spurt for 50 mins after two hours of charging. And yes, it can be folded and can be pulled off in a carry bag (or perhaps even a kid’s bag!)

9. Go cycle folding electric bike:

Already touted to the world’s most advanced folding electric bike, this fastidiously contrived conception is put forth by former race-car designer Richard Thorpe. Christened as the GoCycle, the bike can actually sprint to a top speed of 15mph, with a range of 20 miles. Featuring a light weighted yet sturdy motor, which is connected to the front fork assembly rather than the wheel. Other improvements that seriously makes it advanced, include - a completely enclosed chain to prevent oil stained clothing, a super-lightweight injection-moulded magnesium alloy frame, a rear shock absorber to ease riding over potholes, and pit-stop style quick release wheels front and back.

10. Electric Bike Concept Ver2 EBIQ:

Now the bike Concept Ver2 EBIQ conceived by designer Yuji Fujimurah certainly has a distinct and rather futuristic look. But it’s not only about the aesthetics; this contraption can be juiced by lithium-ion batteries, and it rather folds along the narrow cuboid-block frame to transform to a suitcase like shape.

11. Pulse electric foldable bike by Timothy Daw:

The Pulse electric foldable bike really has the potential to become the master of all trades. Powered by two 26V lithium-ion batteries for 75 miles of assisted biking, the bike also incorporates a plethora of advanced features like traffic indicators, headlight and break light for complete safety in cramped urban streets. Moreover the sturdy 250W motor can help one maneuver the bike in uphill areas and windy conditions.

'Fog Harvesting' could help soothe the world's water woes
by: Ecofriend, 2011-04-21 17:57:31 UTC
Pragyab:

Shreerang Chhatre, an engineer and entrepreneur at MIT, works on fog harvesting. This method is inspired by a beetle’s physiology. Stenocara gracilipes, a beetle found in the Namib Desert on the west coast of Africa, collects water droplets from the fog on its bump and rolls it down to its mouth for drinking. Fog harvesting is a scientific method based on the above technique employed by the beetle. It can help in solving the problem of water scarcity in the poor countries.

In Stenocara gracilipes, the shell has bumps that attract water and troughs that repel water. The water collects on the bump and rolls through the trough without absorption into the beetle’s mouth. A similar kind of attraction and repulsion mechanism was developed for the fog-harvesting device. The device used for harvesting is a fence-like mesh panel, which attracts water from the fog. A completely impermeable surface is not practical to use, as it creates wind currents that drags water away from it. Use of mesh helps in collecting large amounts of water with little absorption. The water droplets flow into a receptacle for storage.

Though fog harvesting has proved to be a success in the laboratory, turning it into a globally successful enterprise requires finance. Chhatre is searching for potential groups which can use this technology in order to solve their water problems. Communities, schools or businesses in the developing world can adopt this technique for water collection in order to reduce their energy costs.

This technology has generated interest and a few trail runs in Gautemala have been successful in providing water to a village of 150 people. Provided the technology becomes popular and sufficient number of devices is sold, this method will become economical.

Fog harvesting is still in the initial stages of development, but its success can help solve the water crisis of the world.

Via: MIT News

Hypermiling Race Car Gets 2,564.8 MPG
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2011-04-19 17:56:52 UTC

At the Shell Eco-marathon, a race of fuel efficiency, the team from Université Laval in Quebec took top honors with a race car that squeezed out an amazing 2,564.8 mpg.

At the Eco-marathon, speed and performance aren't important, but going as far as possible on a single gallon of gasoline is.  The winning team has held top honors for three years in a row with their Alerion Supermileage three-wheeled, one-person vehicle.

The Alerion looks like it belongs on a monorail track.  It consists of a carbon fiber frame designed to put aerodynamics first and it only comes up to about knee-high from the ground.

While such a design is completely impractical in real-world situations, this team could teach the major automakers a thing or two about maximizing aerodynamics and efficiency.  After all, the second place finishers were 766.1 miles behind them.

via Wired

 

Repurpose Electronics Instead of Recycling
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2011-04-21 15:48:11 UTC

A lot of electronics recycling events are scheduled on and around Earth Day each year. And, if you have old computers, cell phones, or other electronics gear, it is far better to take it to be recycled rather than adding it to the landfill.

But, there are also hardware hackers, robotics enthusiasts, Makers, and others who would like to get those components to use for their creations. Due to privacy and security concerns, donated materials cannot be given to these people. Hard drives and memory cards may have some data on them, but those can be separated, and the useful electronics can find new life in a new creation.

Some groups are now organizing to hold swap events before the big recycling collections to have an opportunity to have some of these materials find new purpose and new life, rather than having them shredded. In Ann Arbor MI, a group called GO-Tech is planning a materials swap like this the day before the annual local electronics recycling event.

If you're a Maker and that's not enough stuff for you, or you aren't near a repurposing event like this, we also recently noted on TreeHugger that the online store Think Geek has a scrapbox subscription program that will send you a box of "borked stuff" that they can't resell or donate, but that enterprising people might be able to make use of.

image: CC BY 2.0 by Randy Pertiet

Robot Finds Recyclable Material Among Construction Waste
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2011-04-21 17:41:04 UTC

Currently, about 100 percent of construction waste ends up in landfills, although much of it could be recycled or reused.  A Finnish robotics company called ZenRobotics wants to change that.  It has created a robot to sort through construction waste and find recyclable material and deposit it in appropriate bins.

The robot is essentially an arm with a gripper on the end that's connected to a computer that provides metal detection, weight measurements, 3-D scanning, tactile feedback and spectrometer analysis to identify and sort the materials.  The robot is stationed by a conveyor belt where the materials are loaded.  As the material goes by, the robot picks it up, analyzes it and if the robot identifies the type, places it in the appropriate nearby bin.  If material isn't recognized, it keeps traveling on the belt and is deemed trash.

So far, the robot can correctly identify about half of the material it goes through, but there is huge potential for improvement as new measuring technology becomes available.

The robot is a breakthrough for both recycling and robotics because before now, most robots have been limited to basic, repetitive tasks, but this new robot is being asked to analyze and recognize materials and learn as it goes.

via PhysOrg

How Green is the iPhone? Infographic Explains.
by: TreeHugger Science, 2011-04-20 16:49:00 UTC
Photo by Yutaka Tsutano via Flickr CC Geekaphone just completed a study looking at the eco-impacts of the iPhone. Sure, Apple has its consumer-facing sustainability reports for most of their products, including the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. But it's always good to hear another party weighing in. And considering Apple has sold over 100 million iPhones, that measurement is very important. Fortunately for us, Geekaphone not only completed a report, but wrapped it up into a handy i... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Green Glue Cuts Noise Transmission by 90%
by: TreeHugger Design, 2011-04-20 14:16:28 UTC
Images credit GreenGlue We do go on about the importance of urbanity as a solution for reducing carbon emissions. Our post Soundproofing and Climate Change noted that condos and apartments used 70% less energy than houses (they are smaller and have far less surface area), and that was before one even considered their transportation intensity. But the biggest complaint that people have about multifamily living is noise. That's why Green Glue is so interesting: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

At Replenish, Opting for New Designs Over Improving Old Ones
by: Greener Design, 2011-04-21 12:00:04 UTC

 Jason Foster, founder of Replenish, talks about bringing innovation to the bottled cleaning products.

Autodesk Software Shows Impact of Material Choices
by: Greener Design, 2011-04-20 18:31:16 UTC

 Autodesk gives designers a new way to understand the environmental impacts of their choices.

Green Luxury Wares
by: Yanko Design, 2011-04-21 07:01:48 UTC

At the 2011 Paris Maison and Objet trade show, the authority on luxury tableware, Pigment France, debuted a new collection of products made from sustainable material. Sustainable and high-end service ware are two concepts rarely presented together, but this event marked not only the cardinal introduction of the banana plant derived material Green Blade to the market, but also showed that luxury can be ecoconscious.

Green Blade- a biosourced decorative sheet made from banana plant trunks.

Designer: Pigment France

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