Posted on July 27th, 2010 by jxh
Bathrooms may dispose of waste, but they create it, too: The average person flushes the toilet five times a day, using between 8 and 35 gallons of water. Not only that, but Americans each use about 50 pounds of toilet paper every year.
Now, thanks to Tom Broadbent, an industrial design graduate from De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, bathrooms may start impacting the environment in more positive ways by becoming power generators.
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Filed under: Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, Trailblazers, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Civil, Environmental, Mechanical
Posted on July 21st, 2010 by jxh
A new system that detects available parking spots and indicates them for drivers could reduce traffic congestion, carbon emissions – and, with any hope, road rage.
Researchers from Spain’s Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona School of Engineering developed the system, called XALOC – Xarxes de sensors per a la gestió d’Aparcaments públics i LOCalització.
Translation? “Sensor networks for the management of public parking and location.”
Each parking spot in the system has a wireless sensor embedded in the middle of the space, which can tell whether or not the space is occupied.
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Filed under: Civil, Electrical, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Civil, Electrical, Green Technology, Transportation
Posted on June 30th, 2010 by jxh
While the Jetsons lived in the far-off year 2062, one aspect of their futuristic world will become a reality next year: flying cars
We previously reported on the Transition, the two-seater drivable aircraft that the Massachusetts company Terrafugia has been developing over the past four years.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently approved the vehicle, and the company expects it to be available by the end of 2011.
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Filed under: Aerospace, Civil, Transportation, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Aerospace, Aviation, Cars, Civil, Mechanical, Transportation
Posted on June 29th, 2010 by als
Posted on June 15th, 2010 by jxh
Local rivals Ajax Cape Town and Engen Santos play at Cape Town Stadium in January (Warren Rohner/Flickr)
South Africa is privileged to be the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup. Hosting the world’s most-watched sporting event comes with a lot of responsibility, however; and South Africa had to undertake some serious building projects to properly accommodate the event.
Six new stadiums were built in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. Each was designed with impressive sustainable building strategies.
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Filed under: Architectural, Civil, Environmental, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Architectural, Civil, Environmental, Sports
Posted on June 3rd, 2010 by axb
School is (almost) out, summer is on the horizon, and it’s time to hit the amusement parks. Luckily, when it comes to dreaming up the wackiest, scariest rides and slides, engineers have got you covered.
This summer, Noah’s Ark Water Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, will be opening the country’s first looping water slide.
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Filed under: Architectural, Civil, Computer, Mechanical, e-News | Comment »
Tags: Architectural, Civil, Computer, Mechanical
Posted on June 1st, 2010 by jxh
Gesture-based computer interfaces are finally within reach. MIT researchers have designed an easy to use system that involves a standard webcam and a multicolored Lycra glove.
The glove is covered with 20 irregularly shaped patches with 10 different colors so that the computer can distinguish the colors from each other and from background objects.
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Filed under: Civil, Computer, e-News | 1 Comment »
Tags: Civil, Computer, Technology, Video Games
