As breathtaking as large, panoramic photos often are, the process of creating them is, to many photographers, a much less attractive prospect. While painstakingly stitching together images from a recent vacation, Technische Universität Berlin graduate Jonas Pfeil came up with a better idea: a spherical camera, called a camera-ball, that can take 360-degree panoramas in a single snap. Once the softball-sized sphere is tossed into the air, a built-in accelerometer tells when the ball has reached its zenith. Then a microcontroller triggers simultaneous action by 36 two-megapixel cellphone cameras, capturing a mosaic of images.

Anyone who's ever worked up a sweat running for the school bus knows it takes energy to move. Now, a young inventor in England has come up with a way to capture the ambient kinetic energy of footsteps--or dance moves--and use it to generate electricity.

Pavegen tiles are rubber, waterproof squares made from recycled tires, and 80 percent of their inner workings are made from recycled materials, too. When people step on them, the tiles harvest the energy and convert it to electricity. ]]>

Anyone who’s ever worked up a sweat running for the school bus knows it takes energy to move. Now, a young inventor in England has come up with a way to capture the ambient kinetic energy of footsteps–or dance moves–and use it to generate electricity.

Pavegen tiles are rubber, waterproof squares made from recycled tires, and 80 percent of their inner workings are made from recycled materials, too. When people step on them, the tiles harvest the energy and convert it to electricity. Five percent of that power is used to light up an LED light in the tiles’ center; the rest can be used to light signs, street lamps, and pedestrian markings, and to power alarms or speaker systems. It’s like a Dance Dance Revolution that converts those burned calories into electricity instead of sweat!

Laurence Kemball-Cook, a 25-year-old recent engineering graduate, has tested Pavegen in a busy school hallway.

Click here to view the embedded video.

His invention currently is getting its first big commercial workout at Europe’s biggest shopping mall, the new Westfield Stratford City mall in east London–right next to the Olympic stadium. Twenty PaveGen tiles are being laid into a walkway that more than 30 million people will use this year. The tiles could provide enough power for half the mall’s outdoor lighting needs.

Watch how dance moves on Pavegen tiles can light up the floor:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So don’t waste time – as J Lo sings, time to get on the floor (and power your school or home)!

2011 was another busy year for engineers all over the world. From inventing a device that turns air into water to exploring the oceans in a tiny submarine, scientists and engineers are exploring uncharted territory.

Like last year, we at eGFI have chronicled the most awe-inspiring innovations and stories, so in case you missed one, we present:

The Most Popular, Interesting, Weird, or Just Plain Cool eGFI Blog Posts of 2011

Computer chips and electronic circuitry made from diamonds? Sounds like just bling, but nanodiamond-based components for microelectronic devices not only are very robust; they’re inexpensive.

Developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University, the devices are made by depositing a thin nanodiamond film on a layer of silicon dioxide and then vacuum-packaging it.]]>

Computer chips and electronic circuitry made from diamonds? Sounds like just bling, but nanodiamond-based components for microelectronic devices not only are very robust; they’re inexpensive.

Developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University, the devices are made by depositing a thin nanodiamond film on a layer of silicon dioxide and then vacuum-packaging it. Electrons flow through the vacuum between the components rather than through materials like solid-state chips, so they don’t produce as much heat. Potentially, they can operate at higher speeds while using less power than silicon-based devices, says Jimmy Davidson, a research professor of electrical engineering. They’re also very tiny. One diamond carat would create a billion chips, so they’re cost-competitive with silicon, and sturdy enough to withstand temperatures ranging from 900 degrees to minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Possible applications include military electronics, circuitry for spacecraft, and sensors that operate in high-radiation areas. In fact, Davidson says, his nanodiamond chips would be ideal for fail-safe circuitry in nuclear reactors. Perhaps Pink Floyd said it best: Shine on, you crazy diamond.

Story originally appeared in the November 2011 issue of Prism magazine

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What do the blockbuster movie Avatar, high-performance sports gear, the Angry Birds phone app, and pollution-eating bacteria have in common? They are among a host of fascinating innovations developed by engineers and featured in the newest edition of the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Engineering, Go For It magazine.

The publication is now available in our online store. You can find a free preview of the magazine here.

Imagine if someone gave you up to $41,000 in cash to realize your dreams. That – plus full tuition and other education-related benefits –is what the SMART scholarship offers students majoring in science, engineering and mathematics. SMART scholars also get paid summer internships and a job placement after graduation. ASEE invited eight current SMART scholars to spend a day in Washington, D.C., and talk about what got them into engineering. Bios after the jump.

Shwetak Patel wants to help you conserve energy in your home. A professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, Patel is also a 2011 recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship (also known as the "Genius Grant") for his work developing sophisticated, user-friendly energy sensors for homes and offices.

Patel's unique technology uses advanced algorithms to determine how much energy each household device is consuming by picking up their individual activity patterns.]]>

Shwetak Patel wants to help you conserve energy in your home. A professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, Patel is also a 2011 recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship (also known as the “Genius Grant“) for his work developing sophisticated, user-friendly energy sensors for homes and offices.

Patel’s unique technology uses advanced algorithms to determine how much energy each household device is consuming by picking up their individual activity patterns. By simply installing a few wireless sensors, residents can tell which of their appliances is using the most energy and to monitor water and electricity consumption throughout the day.

In addition to saving the earth and your wallet, Patel imagines other applications for his sensors, like monitoring human motion in a building to improve home security and elder care.

Image courtesy of The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Amanda Crosby, right, and Belinda Dods of New Zealand celebrate placing the final screw on the deck of their house

What does it take to build a solar village, where homes not only are designed to create more energy than they use but are comfortable and cool to look at, too? Some 19 student teams from U.S. and international colleges found out this past weekend as they began installing their entries to the 2011 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. The answer: lots of hands-on work involving hammers, wrenches, plumbing, and construction cranes.

The flurry of activity capped the students' two-year effort to prepare for the competition (we covered the 2009 one here), which this year takes place from September 23 to October 2.

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

Electrical & Computer Engineering

“After an introductory summer engineering program at Georgia Tech my junior year of high school, I knew engineering would be my major. My academic path has been very diverse…It was not until I considered graduate school and my current work designing intelligent robotic surveyor systems for unexplored terrain that a special, lasting interest was formed.”

Melissa Duarte, a Rice University graduate student, with a "full-duplex" prototype

Engineers at Rice University have accomplished a feat that should bring happiness to all smart-phone users: "full-duplex" technology, a breakthrough that could instantly double the capacity and speed of existing wireless networks without the need for additional cell towers.

Much like people, modern wireless devices are not able to both "talk" and "listen" at the same time, meaning they must send and receive data on different frequencies. With full-duplex, however, information can be transmitted simultaneously in two directions.