Snake Robots! Slithering Machines Could Aid Search-and-Rescue Efforts

One snake robot can shimmy up slippery sand dunes and go under heavy objects. This technology will be very helpful in search and rescue missions. It can also be helpful when they explore pyramids that people are not allowed to go into. This robot is modeled after a rattle snake and the way it moves. It will help us discover new things and help people.

IBM "sunflowers" to supply off-grid energy, water, and cooling

Looking more like a thirty three tall sunflower, IBM's High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system concentrates the sun’s radiation over 2,000 times on a single point and then transforms 80 percent of that into usable energy. Using a number of liquid-cooled microchannel receivers, each equipped with multiple multi-junction photovoltaic chips, each HCPVT can produce enough power, water, and cooling to supply several homes. Swiss-based supplier of solar power technology, Airlight Energy, has partnered with IBM Research to utilize IBM's direct wam-water cooling design (adapted from use in IBM’s SuperMUC supercomputer), water adsorption technologies, and leverage IBM’s past work with multi-chip solar receivers developed in a collaboration between IBM and the Egypt Nanotechnology Research Center, to develop and produce the system.

Solarbox puts old London phone boxes to work charging your smartphone

Finally London phone boxes have a new purpose. People are working on making the telephone boxes able to charge your mobile device. They use solar panels for energy to charge the phone. They re-painted the phone box to make them look nicer. The stations are free to use so many people will use them. They estimate that you will get a 20% charge in 12 minutes. It is slightly slower than a cord but it is free to use. If you would like to see the original article go here.