Lifeboat Foundation

An international team led by researchers at the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR) has engineered a system for creating remote controlled cyborg cockroaches, equipped with a tiny wireless control module that is powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell. Despite the mechanic devices, ultrathin electronics and flexible materials allow the insects to move freely. These achievements, reported in the scientific journal npj Flexible Electronics on September 5, will help make the use of cyborg insects a practical reality.

Researchers have been trying to design cyborg insects—part insect, part machine—to help inspect hazardous areas or monitor the environment. However, for the use of cyborg insects to be practical, handlers must be able to control them remotely for long periods of time. This requires wireless control of their leg segments, powered by a tiny rechargeable battery. Keeping the battery adequately charged is fundamental—nobody wants a suddenly out-of-control team of cyborg cockroaches roaming around. While it’s possible to build docking stations for recharging the battery, the need to return and recharge could disrupt time-sensitive missions. Therefore, the best solution is to include an on-board solar cell that can continuously ensure that the battery stays charged.

All of this is easier said than done. To successfully integrate these devices into a cockroach that has limited surface area required the research team to develop a special backpack, ultrathin organic solar cell modules, and an adhesion system that keeps the machinery attached for long periods of time while also allowing natural movements.

But blueberry land and other parcels of rural Maine are being increasingly eyed for housing development, and Sweetland feels the wild blueberry sector is under pressure, especially when blueberry market prices drop.

He hopes that a new “crop” growing in tandem with berries could help boost the local industry and preserve farmland. That would be solar panels that have been installed across 11 acres of the land where Sweetland farms blueberries in Rockport, Maine.

The University of Maine is studying this example of dual-use agrivoltaics. The solar installation was developed by the Boston-based solar developer BlueWave, and it is owned by the company Navisun, which makes lease payments to the landowner. Sweetland tends, harvests and sells the blueberries, and shares profits with the landowner.

Aviation is responsible for around five percent of human-induced climate change.

Commercial aviation has become a cornerstone of our economy and society. It allows us to rapidly transport goods and people across the globe, facilitates over a third of all global trade by value, and supports 87.7 million jobs worldwide. However, the 80-tonne flying machines we see hurtling through our skies at near supersonic speeds also carry some serious environmental baggage.

My team’s recent review paper highlights some promising solutions the aviation industry could put in place now to reduce the harm flying does to our planet. Simply changing the routes we fly could hold the key to drastic reductions in climate impact.

“This makes agri-PV systems increasingly attractive for agriculture, because it provides a way to keep domestic agriculture competitive with the international market and to enable farmers to earn additional income,” explains Max Trommsdorff, project manager at Fraunhofer ISE. “At the same time, we can drive the expansion of renewable energies, reduce pressure on scarce land and increase resilience to weather extremes and climate change in different farming systems.”

Nevertheless, only a few projects have been realised so far. Those involved in the project see one of the crucial hurdles in the existing legal framework. These include inadequate incentive systems and comparatively complex approval processes. In addition, there are growing concerns about the acceptance of the local population and the attractiveness of the landscape.

Such economic, legal and social hurdles are to be compiled within the framework of the project. Subsequently, the participants want to work out proposals for solutions on how to reduce and overcome these hurdles. The focus should be on the optimal use of the potentials and the avoidance of wrong decisions in the application of agriphotovoltaics.

Researchers have developed a new type of high-efficiency photodetector inspired by the photosynthetic complexes plants use to turn sunlight into energy. Photodetectors are used in cameras, optical communication systems and many other applications to turn photons into electrical signals.

Researchers developed a new type of high-efficiency photodetector that is similar to the photosynthetic complexes plants use to turn sunlight into energy. The new design integrates a simple organic detector into the propagation region to produce efficient polariton-to-charge conversion over distances of up to 100 microns. (Image: Bin Liu, University of Michigan)

“Our devices combine long-range transport of optical energy with long-range conversion to electrical current,” said research team leader Stephen Forrest from the University of Michigan. “This arrangement, analogous to what is seen in plants, has the potential to greatly enhance the power generation efficiency of solar cells, which use devices similar to photodetectors to convert sunlight into energy.”

Circa 2016

A radically new form of lithium-oxygen batteries avoids many of the problems that have prevented the uptake of what is, in theory, the ultimate transportation battery. If the work can be scaled up, it could mark the end of gasoline-powered cars.

The cost, weight, and insufficient lifespan of batteries represents a major obstacle to electric cars replacing internal combustion engines on our roads. There are two paths to address this: One, like Aesop’s tortoise, involves slow incremental improvements in existing lithium-ion batteries, collectively bringing down the cost and extending the range of electric vehicles.

Continue reading “Lithium-Oxygen Battery May Spell The End Of The Age Of Oil” »

The production of nanodiamonds from PET plastic paves the way toward a new form of recycling, and even has implications for exoplanets that rain diamonds.

Microsoft’s Ranveer Chandra explains how the company has developed different technologies to bring internet connectivity to the middle of farms.

The global rush to recycled batteries is excellent news for automakers, however, there isn’t nearly enough scrap to feed them all.

The wave of new factories poses a significant risk for the recycling industry itself, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

“Nobody is really looking at each other, and they seem to think there will be a lot of scrap and end-of-life batteries,” Hans Eric Melin, the founder of a UK-based consultancy Circular Energy Storage(CES), told Bloomberg.