Sighenz - Part 2

Philips introduce the world’s first LED replacement for fluorescent tubes that requires no rewiring.

Royal Philips have just introduced a new instant fit LED replacement tube intended to greatly reduces the cost of replacing existing fluorescent tube lighting compared to other energy efficient LED technology alternatives.

The commercial sector has for a long time been better than the residential sector at both reducing cost, and energy use, by dropping incandescent for fluorescent lighting. However, lighting a commercial building like a factory or a large store still requires vast quantities of power, and changing from fluorescent lighting to a LED based solution has until now required a large investment that will take a long time to recoup.

For just this reason Philips has developed a new InstantFit LED lamp that fits in to existing lighting fixtures, and that requires no rewiring. LED tube lamps use up to 50 percent less energy compared with common linear fluorescent tube lighting and also require less maintenance due to their long lifetime.

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Vertex connectivity could maximize network bandwidth

Representation of Vertex connectivity (Image: MIT)

The demand for more bandwidth on existing connections has been increasing rapidly the past few years and an explosion of new services depend, more then ever before, on a constant connection and higher amounts of data. Existing connection methods is becoming bottlenecks, and the cost of replacing them is starting to hold back development.

Now a new approach to understanding a basic concept in graph theory, known as “vertex connectivity,” could lead to future communications protocols that pushes as much bandwidth as possible from existing networks solutions.

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Nokia and In-Location Alliance to improve indoor positioning

Nokia Indoor Positioning — Nokia Research Center has developed Indoor Navigator to provide precise indoor location information on a handset, without needing GPS. (Image Credit: © Nokia)

Nokia this week announced the new In-Location Alliance that will be working on the innovation and promotion of a new standard-based short-range wireless technology, that will make it possible to locate objects or positions indoors with extremely high accuracy, using mobile devices. The In-Location Alliance includes more than 20 tech companies across different industries, with Nokia being one of the founding members.

Nokia, wanting to become the “Where platform”, already have quite a few positioning services in the works, and have talked about Indoor position for a while. To speed up the adaptation, and with hopes to create a unified standard, Nokia now seek a cooperation with other high profile name from the mobile industry such as Broadcom, CSR, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Sony Mobile Communications. Neither Apple or Google is however part of this new Alliance.

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Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 has arrived in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics has finally announced it’s highly anticipated GALAXY Note 10.1 for the U.S. market. The device is available for purchase now across the U.S.at authorized retailers, and extends the GALAXY Note category. Samsung hopes to continue the success of last year’s worldwide popular smartphone with this new 10.1 inch model.

The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 delivers the functionality and precision of a pen and paper, by combining the S Pen with a 10.1-inch large display. It also comes preloaded with Adobe’s premium creative application, Photoshop Touch, that is optimized for Samsung’s S Pen to deliver best precision and control possible

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Ford invests to speed up electrification

C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid: Coming this fall. A projected electric-mode miles per gallon equivalent to three times that of Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid per EPA testing methods. 95 MPGe, total range of 550 miles. (Image: © Ford)

Ford has just announced their investing $135 million in the design, engineering and production of key components like advanced battery systems for its next-generation hybrid-electric vehicles, going into production this year.

They are also dedicating a 285,000-square-foot research and development lab in Dearborn, Michigan to focus almost entirely on hybrids and electrification. Formerly known as the Advanced Engineering Center, the building will be renamed the Ford Advanced Electrification Center and will house most of the approximately 1,000 engineers working on Fords hybrid and electrification programs.

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Nissan reveal the Nissan NV200 London Taxi

Back in September 2011, Mayor of London Boris Johnson called for a zero-emission taxi in London by the end of the decade. Today Nissan just unveiled the Nissan NV200 London Taxi, a vehicle that might just make that target achievable. The NV200 London Taxi will offer significantly reduced CO₂ outputs compared to current taxi models. Something that should make the Mayor smile as it shares the same focus as his Air Quality strategy for London.

The NV200 will come in two version. One features a 1.5 dCi 89 HP EuroV diesel engine and a 6-speed manual drivetrain, that achieves 53.3 Miles per Gallon on a combined cycle. This achieves almost a 50% fuel saving compared to the, until now most efficient TX4, with it’s combined cycle figure of 35.3 Miles per Gallon. An all-electric e-NV200 concept is also set to undergo trials in the Capital.

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NASA Curiosity rover successfully land on Mars

The Curiosity Rover 3D render (Image © NASA)

After traveling for 36 weeks from earth, and approximately 567 million kilometers (352 million miles), it was all down to the last 7 minutes to determine if the long travel was worth the wait.

By some called “7-minutes of terror”, the NASA Curiosity rover had to survive a complicated and intricate procedure to finally touch down on the surface of Mars. After months of waiting, now finally the scientists and engineers can breath a sigh of relief as the rover is securely seated on the surface of Mars.

The intense period called the entry, descent and landing (EDL) phase of the mission began when the spacecraft reached the top of the Martian atmosphere. At this time the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, carrying the Curiosity rover was traveling at about 5,900 meters per second (13,200 miles per hour). EDL ended about seven minutes later, with the rover placed stationary on the surface.

The NASA controllers, and the rest of the world, relied on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter to provide confirmation of a successful landing. Odyssey was turned to the right direction before the landing procedure started so it could listen to Curiosity during the landing. The rover touched down on Mars at 1:31 a.m. EDT.

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BMW C evolution e-scooter, an eco-friendly concept vehicle

With increased demands for individual mobility, and with more people moving in to the big cities, the need for an efficient, but environmentally friendly urban transportation solution is needed. You could of course buy a bicycle, a solution that has been available even longer then cars. A regular bike will take you where you want to go in your local area at zero carbon emission, and at the same time it gives you exercise. Yet today a lot of people still have a tendency to take the car, even for going to the local shop a 10 min walking distance down the road.

BMW Motorrad has seen the signs of the times and is expanding its business activities to include the facet of urban mobility. The first stage of development was an e-scooter concept vehicle presented at the BMW Motorrad Innovation Day 2011. Shortly after this, the corresponding design study of an e-scooter saw its premiere, the BMW Concept e. The latter embodies the aesthetic vision of an electrically powered scooter. On July 27th 2012 in London, BMW Motorrad presented the highly promising third stage of development. The near-production ready prototype of an e-scooter that might soon become part of everyday road traffic in cities throughout the world, the BMW C evolution.

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Amazon announce plans for media development center in London

Glasshouse Yard, London - United Kingdom — Glasshouse Yard, London – United Kingdom

At the beginning of last year Amazon purchased LoveFilm, a European film subscription service, and then followed up by acquiring Pushbutton, a company that specialize in designing and building user interfaces. Amazon have now announced plans to combine the two UK-based media companies and their teams, and create a new international center for digital media development near Silicon Roundabout in central London, England.

Amazon might be a US firm with it’s headquarters in Seattle, but they still say London was the obvious choice for their new digital media development center. According to Amazon, Great Britain has led the way in pioneering on-demand services, which allow users to rent films and television over the Internet. It’s also worth noting that both LoveFilm and Pushbutton were founded in London.

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