GM exhibit, 
skycar another angle
Baba
Ganoush the clone. It was shivering alittle when i took this picture.
(apologies, i could have taken one from the same angle so you could see
how similar they are, but as thinker pointed out, cats do their own
thing). That said, someone at that company must really love
meditteranean food.
Nextfest contd. - solar, NASA, brainball
The
GE Solar exhibit was interesting, it explained how hygridding works, by
showing how the energy flows from the panels to the inverter, to the
battery and finally to the electric grid. For more on the different
types of solar systems and how they relate to the grid, check out solarbuzz.
There wasn’t too much info in their stall and unfortunately was not
able to talk to a rep, but i met a very helpful gentleman from the NY
academy of sciences. They are working together with other organizations
especially in healthcare with an eye towards achieving the UN millenium
goals. Check out their site here.
Factoid on the stall: CFL’s (Compact Flourescent Lamps) use 70-75% less energy than incandescent lamps.
We then moved on to the Interactive institute exhibit,
the guys here were very helpful in explaining their technology. One
such gentleman was named Magnus. There was a lamp and a translucent
cord, you could see the blue wiring in the cord. When the lamp is
plugged in, you could see how you are drawing energy from the grid.
Magnus explained how when you connected a stereo you could see the way
the bass takes up more energy. It makes for an interesting visual
though, imagine a club where the wiring is set up, and you can see the
energy thumping to the music. No that was not the point of their
invention, it was more to make people more cognizant of how much energy
they actually use. IMO energy is sometimes taken for granted. Just
drive through any town in the us. and see just how many lights are on
that do not really have to be. Magnus then showed us the solar shade.
The PV(photovoltaic) panels are light and integrated with the shade to
capture solar energy during the day, and the shade would illuminate the
room at night. The battery was not visible at all, it was sewn into the
fold of the shade at the bottom. They also had textiles that respond to
heat, such that you could play tic-tac-toe with your cup of coffee with
other guests. They are also the guys behind brainball, a game where you
make a ball move on the table by being more relaxed. click here for more of their incredible inventions.
NASA Exhibit.See pics below of the Mars rover (it is solar powered) & link.
Spoke with Rich Wlezien.
Q: What technologies developed by NASA can we look forward to seeing in the consumer/public market?
A:- Replacing cell towers with unmanned remotely operated planes to support mobile communications.
- Use of satellite technology to detect forest fires (These happen often in the US)
- Applications in border security
- Hurricane tracking.
Magnus and the Solar Shade.Note that the visible PV cells would be facing the outside of your window. :)
