Researchers at USC have made some progress in improving lithium ion batteries, with tests suggesting a three-fold increase in energy storage and fast recharge times. Their technology is…well..honestly, the description had too many ‘nano’ items in it and that made me a bit skeptical…it’s a bit of a media buzzword that I grow wary of. But, well, here goes. They used nanoparticles, nanospheres, nanowires, and nanotubes (naturally). Yeah. Well, if you want to juicy technological details of how they did it, follow this link. The most important thing to realize is that this is just one of many efforts being made to improve battery technology…and there are a LOT of competing teams of scientists and engineers getting really close to bringing this to your home. Expect vastly improved batteries in a matter of just a few years (if that).
Ice Parkour – winter free running
Cool video by stunt man Ronnie Shalvis…ice parkour! He makes it look so easy and effortless. I wonder how many bones this guy has broken in his life.
World’s fastest electric boat
Now this is cool…a 100+mph electric powered speedboat! It features twelve electric motors (six per prop) and a 240kWh lithium-ion battery pack. That pack is wired to produce 400V, and can provide a mind blowing 6000A! But then, a boat like this is built for marketing purposes primarily, speed secondary, and range, well, range isn’t really a consideration for these vehicles yet. At full speed, you get about ten minutes run time. 🙁
(via gizmag)
Latest Google Glass news
The Google Glasses project continues to move ahead, and while I expect the coolest uses will take a while to materialize (augmented reality, mainly, due to software challenges), Google just released a video (below) that helps show how people will use these at first. It’s exactly what I want for skiing (how it can integrate with goggles will be a challenge though) – but it’s the ability to take photos or videos on the fly, without digging out a smartphone, that’ll be really cool. I can’t wait! (link for full article)
A boat for the 1% – the ‘Xhibitionist
Well, here’s a boat (concept) for those who omit the word ‘subtle’ from their vocabulary and lifestyle. It’s the 75 meter long Xhibitionist superyacht, with a heliport, hot tub (of course), car showroom inside, matching supercar, yeah, you get the idea. Kinda over the top, ya know? While the design is distinctive, it’s lacks the elegant lines that other super yachts like the late Steve Jobs’ posses. Still, I have no doubt there’s some mega-billionaire chomping at the bit to have one (or two!) of these built ASAP.
(via Autoblog…strangely enough)