Posted on August 31st, 2010 by jxh
If you need examples of cool things engineers can do in college, consider this: mechanical engineering students from Ohio State University work together building alternative-fuel race cars as part of the Buckeye Bullet team.
Not cool enough? Well, the team just broke the electric car land speed world record with their most recent vehicle, the Buckeye Bullet 2.5.
Racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last week, the Bullet 2.5 reached a peak speed of 320 miles per hour and logged a two-way average speed of 307.66 miles per hour.
Read More
Filed under: e-News, Electrical, Mechanical, Transportation | Comments Off on Undergrads Build World’s Fastest Electric Car
Tags: Cars, Energy, Green Technology, Green Transportation, Mechanical, Transportation
Posted on August 20th, 2010 by axb
You’ve no doubt heard of electric hybrid cars, but a human-powered hybrid? Not only is it real and most likely coveted by the Flintstone family, but you may be able to own one as soon as next year.
With four passengers cranking the handles, the HumanCar can run on kinetic energy alone, and with fewer participants it relies partially on electricity.
How much more fun (and social!) would highway driving be if everyone used a car like this? Can we get a Yabba-Dabba-Doo?!
Video after the jump.
Read More
Filed under: e-News, Environmental, Transportation | 2 Comments »
Tags: Cars, Environmental, Green Transportation, Transportation
Posted on August 5th, 2010 by jxh
Switching to electric cars has a lot of advantages: it would reduce city pollution, decrease our dependence on oil, and save us money from rising gas prices.
And now there is Blink, an electric charging station that will hopefully pave the way of an electric vehicle revolution.
Read More
Filed under: e-News, Electrical, Environmental, Transportation | Comments Off on New Charging Station for Electric Cars
Tags: Electrical, Environmental, Green Technology, Green Transportation, Transportation
Posted on July 27th, 2010 by axb
If you’re planning to visit the western coast of France anytime soon, be sure to keep an eye out for a 40-foot-tall mechanical elephant. Perhaps taking inspiration from steampunk fiction and Jules Verne, French engineers, artists, and craftspeople have cobbled together a movable mammoth using 45 tons worth of reclaimed wood and steel.
The Great Elephant is part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes project, and exhibit of fantastical creations, which aims to inspire the imaginations of citizens and tourists alike. And it’s not just for decoration, either: this robust creature can carry up to 49 passengers on a 45-minute walk around the city of Nantes.
Read More
Filed under: e-News, Mechanical, Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tags: Art, Mechanical, Robotics, Transportation
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.
Read More
Filed under: Civil, e-News, Electrical, Transportation | 1 Comment »
Tags: Civil, Electrical, Green Technology, Transportation
