Engineers Invent Way for Cars to Harvest Energy from Bumps in the Road

Solution in Harvesting Energy from Car’s Suspension

The 255 million cars on the road in the U.S. are accountable for 40% of the fuel consumption of the country, most of which tends to be wasted. An associate professor of mechanical engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, Lei Zuo, could have a partial solution – in harvesting energy from the car’s suspension.

He explains that around 10 to 16% of the fuel consumed by the car is in reality used to drive, which is to overcome road resistance as well as air drag and the rest seems to be lost to heat together with other disorganizations. On manipulating smartly, this deficit could be lessened.

He states that for the recovery or generating energy at the time of driving, three major opportunities tend to prevail, namely the waste heat given off by the engine, the kinetic energy that is absorbed at the time of braking and the vibrational energy reduced by shock absorbers. Zuo evaluates that a car’s shock absorbers could be capable of providing between 100 and 400 watts of energy on standard roads and more on rougher roads. By contrast, a normal cell phone call utilises about 1 watt which corresponds to an increase in fuel efficiency between 1 and 5% that could add up to a yearly fuel savings of $13 billion to $19 billion.

Translating–Vertical Vibrations of Suspension/Rotational Motion/Generator-Electricity

His energy harvesting shock absorber operates by translating the vertical vibrations of suspension into rotational motion that tends to turn a generator which in turn delivers electricity to the car’s battery or electrical devices directly, decreasing the demand on the alternator. The method adopted had solved major challenges in harvesting vibrational energy in converting bidirectional, up-and-down motion in the unidirectional motion essential in driving a generator.

A distinctive mixture of gears enables the motion in both directions for the conversion into electricity, needed to double the amount of energy which could be recovered. Zuo associated with the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, clarifies that this invention enables the generator to function at a stable speed thereby reducing the load on the gear teeth, thus making the method well organized, maximizing the quantity of energy recovered.

Zuo together with his students have tested the shock absorber on the roads of the campus. Their present model, that the students had developed utilising off-the shelf components, could harvest around 60% of the existing energy which is a considerable improvement over other designs. Zuo was confident that with accurate components as well as manufacturing the system, they could reach around 85% competence.

Device Retrofitable to Space/Functions

Besides, this, he also stated that the device would be completely retrofittable with regards to space and functions and `could be integrated in the car directly without the need of changing anything in the car’. He along with his team has designed other forms of energy harvesting shock absorbers which include linear electromagnetic as well as hydroelectric absorbers.

Zuo, who had recently received an award for his performance from the Governor’s Commonwealth of Virginia Research commercialization Fund, had stated that he intends to concentrate next on the commercial viability of the energy harvesting system.

He stated that he hopes to speak on the concerns of drivers as well as automakers, who tend to have differed priorities. He further added that `when the same is presented to the drivers, they are asked – how much can one improve the fuel efficiency?’

From the point of view of the car manufacturer’s side, they ask another question – Can one replace the commercial shock absorbers? Can a better suspension performance be given?’ Zuo has commented that he intends tackling both cost as well as performance in the next round of development. Presently the method would not be cost effective for car owners who tend to drive less than an hour or so, a day.

Energy Harvesting – Helpful in Global Energy Crisis

Hence Zuo would be focusing on applications for huge commercial vehicles while working on cost reduction. In order to enhance the performance, Zuo indicated that he wanted to adjust his design by utilising a strategy known as self-powered semi-active control.

A microprocessor tends to sense vehicle conditions and adjusts the suspension settings accordingly and delivers the smoothest ride while harvesting the greatest quantity of energy. Zuo has also been working on two other areas for the purpose of energy recovery in cars, namely waste heat and regenerative braking. Though regenerative braking has already been in use for hybrid vehicles, it only makes up for about 3 percent of the cars on the road.

Zuo desires to develop a method which will probably work for conventional vehicles. The focus of energy harvesting research is often on milliwatts and microwatts and Zuo aims on the methods which could yield hundreds or even thousands of watts. He has commented that `he is particularly excited about the opportunities in large scale energy harvesting which could be helpful in solving the global energy crisis’.

Seek Thermal:Thermal Imaging camera Gives Your Smartphone Night Vision

Seek Thermal: Thermal Image Enables to see in the Dark

Thermal imaging enables one to see in the dark and even through walls in a ways which would be impossible for the naked eye. The thermal imaging technology functions by observing and differentiating between the infrared radiations emitted from various object.

There could be various reasons for using a thermal imaging camera which could range from tasks around the home to instances of searches and rescues. In the daily functions, it could be utilised in tracing water damage within ceilings and wall, as well as identifying the source, in discovering energy efficiencies in sealing around windows and doors or even in locating clogs within pipes.

It could also prove to be helpful to hunters, sailors or campers. A new form of infrared cameras which can clip straight into the smartphone has brought about this change. The camera – the Seek Thermal had been out for a while in the US but is now available in the UK and several other European countries for $250 which is a bit high but its versatility makes up for it.

The Seeks tends to plug into the power socket of the phone and is unusually modest. Though the model tends to be small, it seems tough enough and is covered with a protective waterproof case.

A Small Camera Attached to Smartphone – Thermal Imaging

Seek Thermal provides the thermal technology which was earlier only available to the military and other professionals. It is a small camera attached to the smartphone to provide thermal image of things around, portraying a temperature snapshot of the surrounding setting.

There are various usages for Seek and for DIY and home repair individuals, the camera could be utilised in helping to resolve issues in the pipes or to identify where heat tends to escape around windows or doors and much more.

Besides these, Seek is also useful for home security, to check for unwanted animals or humans prowling around the place especially at night. Fire up the app and one will get a live thermal image on the smartphone screen where the detection range is -40 degrees C to 330 degrees C and has a 20 degree to 36 degree field of vision.

It has the potentials of identifying heat sources as far as 2,000 feet away or as close as 8 inches. The Seek does not seem to have its own battery but instead depends on the power from the phone.

The advantage of it is that there are no additional wires needed and the need to recharge between uses does not arise. The downside is that the phone battery probably will make a huge hit when it is in use.

Thermal Camera/Thermal Xtra Range

The Seek Thermal system comprises of a camera attachment for the Android of iOS device with an app which portrays whatever the camera tends to capture.Seek sells two smartphone cameras attachments, the Thermal camera and the Thermal Xtra Range – XR, both of which are available for iOS or Android devices.

Difference between the two is that the XR can view objects twice as far as the original camera with the same clarityand has a manual focus feature. In case of iPhone, one would require a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or 8 and for Android, the need to run Jelly Bean 4.3.1 or later.

 Once the Seek Thermal app has been installed, using the camera is very simple as plugging it into the phone. The app then will launch automatically and in case of Android, one may need to authorise it to connect with the camera. The setup seems easy and takes only a few seconds when one intends using the Seek

Intel Skylake Processors Launched at IFA Tech Show

Intel’s Processor - Skylake

The latest range of processors, Skylake has been launched recently, which would be targeting everything from high powered gaming gears to computers, the size of USB stick as well as smartphones. The Core family of the `sixth generations is keen on improved performance, graphics-power and battery life due to a new microarchitecture. The chips have been designed in handling 4K in a better manner.

However the US Company may not find it easy in convincing users to get new devices.Microsoft has been offering one of its latest operating system – Window10 as free upgrades to the consumers, recommending that its software should not be more demanding on processors than Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Several household in the past had bought new PCs when the need to upgrade the operating system came up, but this time they may not do so. Moreover, a slowdown in the economy of China as well as the continued weakness of several European markets could be the cause of the companies and the governments in delay of upgrading their kit.

 Besides, Intel has also noted that there are over 500 million computers that are being used which are four years old and above.

60% Active Power Reduction/60% Performance Increase

Tech industry analyst, Jack Gold has explained that a large number of people who tend to have an older PC and who will upgrade to Windows 10 will only do so on a new computer and the biggest thing that is attractive is that its power requirements have gone down quite considerably.

This would enable new form factors with thinner, lighter smaller devices which will not need a fan. Less consumption of power will probably enable around 10 to 12 hours of life without the addition of extra weight in batteries.

Intel had timed its launch to coincide with Berlin’s Ifa tech show. Gregory Bryant, Intel executive, had informed BBC prior to the event that `versus the fifth generation core, it’s about a 60% active power reduction and at the same time a 60% performance increase.

This is due to a technology known as Speed Shift which enables the processors to shift gears faster than before to reduce the amount of time they are kept running, at their most power hungry frequencies when not needed.

Chips Enhanced to Handle New H.265 Video Codec

He further adds that they have been on a multiyear march to vividly improve the graphics performance with an increase of 40% generation-on-generation.

He observed that the chips had been enhanced to handle the new H.265 video codec which is a new compression standard that enables 4K video files to be streamed with less data without losing the quality of the picture and 4K videos are four times the resolutions of 1080p high definition.

The adoption of H.265 has been kept pending till now since some processors tend to struggle to handle it. Intel has focused on one niche of consumers who tend to enjoy pushing their processors to the maximum and for the first time it is supporting the `overclocking’ of some of its mobile device chips.

It involves pushing the processor in performing calculations quickly than they were set to, resulting in giving off more heat. Earlier, Intel had locked its mobile chips to avoid this. Jack Gold has commented that `Intel claims around 10% of the PC market is extreme gamers and that’s who it is for, for those wanting to cool their laptops with liquid nitrogen and other substance and get the maximum out of them.

Plans for 50 Various Variants of Skylake Processors

Intel has informed that it plans to release around 50 various variants of Skylake processors in the coming months but has indicated that the manufacturers need to promote their new computers by talking about add-on facility instead of depending on the new specs of the chips.Some of the suggestions comprise of –

• Include an Intel RealSense depth camera that could be utilised to enable users to log in a Windows 10 computer by looking at the sensor and would be harder in fooling than the traditional 2D webcams 
• Provision for the firm’s Ready Mode technology that enables users to activate a computer with their voice 
• Adding a WiGig chip to enable laptops as well as tablets to get connected to external displays and other peripherals with the requirements of plug-in cables. 

These improvements could be added to the computers powered by older chips. However, since these are possible in becoming a commonplace along with the rollout of Skylake, one analyst had agreed that it could make sense in focusing on them. Founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, Patrick Moorhead has said that `consumers are on the lookout on what they can do differently on their systems when compared to what they could do presently.

The strategy of promoting what they could actually do with the computer as against the chip’s speeds and feed is smart’. The next challenge of Intel is to attempt in ensuring that the production of the chips tends to go effortlessly. The first of the new PC according to Intel should be on sale later this year.

Boeing’s New Laser Cannon Kills Drones Mid-Flight

Boeing’s New Laser Cannon – Silent & Invisible

Boeing’s new laser cannon, though silent and invisible can slay enemy drones by taking them within a minute. The Compact Laser Weapons System – CLWS has the potential of tracking down an unmanned aerial vehicle – UAC and eradicate a threat.

 Video of its Compact Laser Weapons Systems demonstrations had been released by Boeing and the laser had taken part in ultra-cool Exercise Black Dart in August which focuses on innovative tech to tackle hostile drones. The CLWS tends to focus on the trail of the target drone for around 10 to 15 seconds, setting it on fire and destroys it.

In the video , Isaac Neal, Boeing engineer describes it as ` a welding torch being put on target from several hundreds of meters away and if one were on the receiving end of laser energy, they would have no idea from where it was coming or what could be happening’.

The CLWS is said to be a two kilowatt laser which centres a directed energy beam on a target and is so accurate that it can target a specific location on a drone where the laser beam tends to be silent as well as invisible.

Identifying & Tracking Air and Ground Targets

The system has the capabilities of identifying and tracking air and ground targets as they move around by utilising a mid-wave infrared sensor, having a range of around 40 kilometres.

In the video it indicates that the laser takes about 15 seconds to destroy a drone. The laser is said to be controlled with an Xbox 360-like controller which is connected to a laptop equipped with the targeting software and takes only two war-fighters to move the laser across the battle space to deliver focused firepower. The laser can be moved in a few boxes and set up in few minutes.

Another two main advantages of laser weapons is that they have unlimited magazines provided, power and cost for each shot seems to be a quite lower. Boeing has been having many laser systems in progress from lasers like the CLWS which tends to specifically focus on drones through lasers which aim other threats like small fast attack boats, mortar and rockets.

Protecting & Defending Sensitive Areas in U.S.

The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator – HEL MD, Boeing’s laser mounted on a truck which can destroy mortars when they are mid-flight. This laser had been demonstrated by Boeing last year. The CLWS is much smaller and portable.

The Laser system is expected to be ready for sale in the next year or two according to Boeing. Beside the CLWS being utilised in defeating drone threats in war zones, it would also be protecting and defending sensitive areas in the U.S.

Areas such as the airports and government buildings tend to be targeted by drones. For instance, a man had been arrested for flying a drone at the White House, this year in May and the security experts are worried that a drone could probably carry threats like biological or chemical weapons. The CLWS could also be useful in protecting sensitive areas from the prying and spying views of drones.

Based on the speed and distance of the target, Boeing‘s weapon can fire its laser within an inch or more of what it intends to hit. Since the laser tends to move at the speed of light, it is easier to be accurate and there is no need to lead the target and the speed of the gimbal is the main limitation on targeting façade.

Quantum Dot Technology May Help Light the Future

Quantum Dots – New Generation LED Lighting

Developments at the Oregon State University, in the manufacturing technology for quantum dots could soon lead to new generation of LED lighting.Quantum dots are nanoparticles which could be utilised in emitting light and by accurately controlling the size of the particle and the colour of the light.

They have been utilised for some time and can be expensive, lacking optimal colour control. The manufacturing technique that have been developed at OSU would be able to increase to large volumes for low-cost commercial applications providing new ways of offering the accuracy essential for better colour control.

This could create a more user friendly white light while utilising less toxic material together with low cost manufacturing procedures which tend to take advantage of simple microwave heating. It would help the country in reducing its lighting bill in half.

Compared to the cost of incandescent as well as fluorescent lighting and the cost, performance and environmental improvements could eventually create solid state lighting systems which consumers prefer and help the nation in reducing its lighting bill by half, according to researchers.

Same technology could also be merged in improved lighting display, computer screens, televisions, smart phones and the other systems.

Applied to Various Products & Technologies

Significant to the advances that had been published in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research, is use of both a continuous flow chemical reactor and microwave heating technology that is theoretically identical to the ovens which are part of every modern kitchen.

The constant flow system tends to be fast, cheap, energy efficient and would cut manufacturing costs. Microwave heating technology could report a problem that had held back wider use of these systems, so far, which is the accurate control of heat needed during the procedure.

Microwave approach would translate into development of nanoparticles that are exactly the right size, shape and composition. According to an associate professor and chemical engineering in the OSU College of Engineering, Greg Herman, states that `there are various products and technologies that quantum dots can be applied to but for mass consumer use, possibly the most important is improved LED lighting.

Eventually they would be able to manage in producing low cost, energy efficient LED lighting with the soft quality of white light which people would want and at the same time the technology would use nontoxic materials and reduce the waste of materials which are used and translates to lower cost and environmental protection.

Research Supported by Oregon BEST/National Science Foundation

According to Herman, some of the top existing LED lighting being produced presently at industrial levels tend to use cadmium which is highly toxic and the system now being tested and developed at the OSU depends on copper indium diselenide which is a much more benign material with high energy conversion efficiency.

Some earlier systems creating these nanoparticles for use in optics, electronics and biomedicine tend to be slow, expensive and at times toxic as well as often a waste. There is also a possibility of other applications of these systems. Cell phones and portable electronic devices could use less power and could last longer on a single charge.

`Tuggants or compounds with certain infrared or visible light emissions could be utilised for accurate and prompt identification which include control of counterfeit bills or products. OSU has been working with private sector in the development of this technology. The research is being supported by Oregon BEST and the National Science Foundation Centre for Sustainable Materials Chemistry.