Gizmag News - Laser scribing promises cheaper, more efficient solar panels

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for March the 14th, 2011. Laser scribing promises cheaper, more efficient solar panels A new manufacturing method that incorporates laser technology may result in thin film solar panels that are less expensive and more efficient than anything presently on the market. Currently, a stylus is used to mechanically etch microchannels into such panels, which electrically connect the individual solar cells and allow them to form an array. Researchers from Indiana’s Purdue University, however, are developing a technique in which an ultrafast pulsing laser is used to do the etching. Not only will it hopefully be quicker and cheaper than mechanical “scribing,” but it should also produce cleaner, sharper microchannels that offer superior performance. Read More Google adds EV charging locations to Google Maps One of the big advantages of driving fossil fuel-powered vehicles is that it's easy to find a place to fill up. In the more than a century since the world's first purpose-built gas station was built in St. Louis, Missouri in 1905, a massive worldwide infrastructure has emerged to keep our vehicles running. As automakers make the move to electric vehicles, early adopters are faced with a lack of infrastructure to keep batteries charged, however, the number of public EV charging stations is steadily growing and Google is now doing its bit to help make tracking them down easier by adding EV charging station location information to Google Maps. Read More Aikiou pet food bowls make for happier, healthier mealtimes Long before before the days of canned food and canine coffee, dogs had to work for their supper. Stimulating these natural hunting and foraging instincts is an important part of keeping your pet healthy and happy – as well as preventing your Chesterfield lounge from being torn to shreds – and this "interactive dog food dish" is designed to do just that. The paw-shaped Aikiou (pronounced "IQ") bowl is made up of a series of compartments with sliding covers where food can be concealed, turning mealtime from a slobbering free-for-all into an entertaining and challenging exercise that will help keep Fido's mind and body fit. Read More Yikebike's ingenious range extender The Yikebike is a miniature, electric penny farthing made of carbon fiber and now it's on sale, it is quickly gathering a cult early-adopter following thanks to its weight of 10.8 kilograms, that it folds so small it can fit in a backpack, and that it will run at 25km/h (15 mph). Until now, it has ticked all the boxes except one - its limited range of just 10 kilometers. Now it has released an extender battery pack so you can add additional 10 kilometer increments to the range of your YikeBike. Each battery costs US$195 and weighs 1.95kg and there's a special backpack to carry multiple batteries so it becomes a very practical solution that offers the Yikebike unsurpassed bang-per-kilogram and versatility as a commuting appliance. Though it's hard to equate the US$3600 price tag with primary transport, the addition of a Yikebike to any automobile storage compartment significantly extends the capabilities of both vehicles. The facility to carry secondary transportation inside cars has been explored many times in recent years by Honda and Ford in particular … and it makes a lot of sense. Read More Ford’s electric Comuta Concept – 43 years after its debut It’s extraordinary what pops up in the in-box each week. Those with a keen eye for fashion will note that the picture is from the sixties – the Ford Comuta was a concept presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1967. It was all-electric, had a top speed of 40 mph and a range of 40 miles, and that was 40 years ago. The upcoming electric Ford Focus has more than double the range (160 km) and double the top speed of 84 mph (135 km/h), but surely the Comuta is worth digging out of the archives for a second look. With modern motors and advanced controllers and high density batteries, the Comuta might be quite suitable for European cities such as London where road speeds haven’t progressed much since the horse and cart. Read More UC San Francisco hospital integrating robotic pharmacy The University of California at San Francisco Medical Center is now starting to use robots, not humans, to dispense medication from its hospital pharmacy. While robots are often brought into workplaces as a cost-cutting measure, UCSF claims that in this case, it's to minimize the chances of patients receiving the wrong medication. So far, it seems to be working out well – out of 350,000 doses of oral and injectable medication prepared to date, not a single error has occurred. Read More BMW's 2011 bicycle range includes M division designed Carbon Racer While it might be better known for vehicles of the motorized variety, for over 60 years BMW has also been manufacturing a range of high-end bicycles. The company’s new 2011 range provides something for everyone – or at least everyone with a well stocked wallet – with a Cruise Bike, Touring Bike and a couple of mountain bikes. And for the first time BMW has extended its M Series branding to its two-wheeled vehicles, but despite the M standing for Motorsport it’s not for a motorbike, but rather the new 2011 BMW M Bike Carbon Racer bicycle. Read More The evolution of the guitar synth peaks with the GR-55 from Roland In the late seventies, Roland took the sonic palette available to keyboard players and opened it up to guitarists, with the introduction on the GR-500. It was quite simply a marvel, but is positively primitive when compared to the latest evolutionary leap taken by the company with the GR-55 guitar synthesizer. Featuring a pair of independent synthesizer sound engines and a Composite Object Sound Modeling (COSM) engine, the device makes hundreds of different sounds available to the player – anything from pianos to strings, drums to synths, various acoustic and electric guitar and bass emulations, as well as numerous amplifiers. Read More Deliver-E Trike quietly takes on uneven ground When those of us who live in urban areas picture letter carriers – or posties, or mailmen/women – we usually think of them as people who deliver the mail by foot. The fact is, however, letter carriers in much of the world use small motorcycles to make their deliveries. If Australian inventor Simon Williams has his way, many of those motorcycles may soon be replaced by his electric three-wheeler. Not only is the Williams Deliver-E Trike quieter and cleaner than gas-powered bikes, but its two rear swing arms pivot independently, allowing the vehicle to lean into turns and stand upright when parked at the side of a sloping road. Read More Logitech's new Z906 THX-Certified Surround Sound speakers Logitech has announced that its veteran digital 5.1 speaker system, the highly regarded Z-5500, is to be retired and replaced by a newer model at the end of the month. On the face of it, the upgrades to the new Z906 system appear to be purely cosmetic. It offers similar specs to its ancestor but loses out slightly on the total RMS output, although Logitech says that it will still shake your house. The system benefits from multi-source simultaneous digital and analog input, wire-free remote and room-filling Dolby and DTS surround sound technology. Read More If you would like to refer this newsletter to a friend or colleague, please point them at our free subscription page. Please don't try to forward this email, as the formatting is unlikely to remain intact. And don't worry, we don't share email addresses. Please read our privacy policy if you are concerned. Watch for more of the best new innovations, ideas and practical technologies in your inbox. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. COPYRIGHT GIZMAG (C) 2011