According to a study by BP, global energy consumption has seen a 5.3% increase within the last year, the largest jump since 1973. Our digital lifestyles have contributed to the rise in energy consumption — it takes 35 times more energy to produce a pound of smartphone than to make a pound of book. While strides have been made to increase the output of solar panels and biofuels, some cities are turning to the energy found beneath their feet.

Geothermal energy relies on the near-constant heat source running underneath the earth’s crust, which can be converted into different forms of power. By tapping into the crusts natural fissures, heat from deep underground — in the form of hot water and steam — can be channeled as a low-cost and renewable energy source. While geothermal sites theoretically can transmit energy to far away places, current technology benefits cities along continental plate boundaries or where hot springs are present. (more…)

Breakthrough in solar cell technology as claimed by Taiwan researchers. A team of Taiwanese and Swiss chemists has developed new dye components that it said can potentially enhance the efficiency of solar cells.

The National Science Council (NSC) said the dye can improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized photovoltaic (PV) cells, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

Such a feat can lead to very cheap solar cells and greatly contribute to the development of the photovoltaic industry, the CNA report quoted the NSC, which funded the research, as saying. (more…)

The kids at Philips have just announced something called InstantTrust, a UV water purification system that heralds “the first time water can be disinfected instantly, efficiently and independent of water temperature,” according to the typically understated Dutch press release.

We can’t pretend to fully understand how the technology works exactly (something about using ultraviolet light to wreak havoc on a microbe’s DNA, which sounds pretty awesome) but we do know that clean drinking water is incredibly important — and that up until now, purifiers have been relatively slow, and you couldn’t run hot water through them. (more…)

While great strides have been made in the development of humanoid robots, such as Honda’s ASIMO, giving robots a human face with natural expressions and movement has proven a difficult task. While some look to create lifelike faces and expressionswith motors under

A 3D image of a human face projected onto the back of a plastic mask

While great strides have been made in the development of humanoid robots, such as Honda’s ASIMO, giving robots a human face with natural expressions and movement has proven a difficult task. While some look to create lifelike faces and expressions with motors under artificial skin replicating the function of facial muscles, German and Japanese researchers have joined forces to come up with a different solution called Mask-bot that sees a 3D image of a human face projected onto the back of a plastic mask. (more…)

Battle Sports Science is pleased to launch Impact Indicator – a revolutionary concussion-detecting device, which is worn by athletes on the chinstrap of their helmets.

Impact Indicator measures the G-force, duration and severity of a ‘hit’ by using intelligent software & micro sensors. An external LED indicator instantly activates when a hit of 240 HIC (Head Injury Criteria) is registered. An impact of 240 HIC means the player has a 50% chance of concussion. Once activated, the player can be removed from play and assessed by the coach and medical staff prior to returning to play. (more…)