kinetic

Want some kinetic energy with those fries?

It's been criticized for contributing to the obesity epidemic and condemned by PETA, but now a Burger King franchise in the New York metro area has announced that it wants in on the green movement. The high-traffic restaurant in Hillside, N.J., will install a speed bump designed to harness the kinetic energy produced by the hundreds of cars that pass through the drive-thru daily.

As they wait for their Double Whopper, customers will roll through a section of the drive-thru lane lined with metal plates that move down and up as cars head to the next window. The … Read more

Charging gadget redefines power-walking

The nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator) from a company called Tremont Electric harnesses personal kinetic energy as a person walks, transferring it into electricity to the portable electronic device plugged into it.

Using this method, the PEG can charge the average portable device up to 80 percent in about an hour.

Aaron LeMiex, the inventor and founder of Tremont Electric, came up with the idea for the device while hiking 1,500 miles of the Appalachian Trail more than 10 years ago.

The PEG is 9 inches by 1.5 inches, weighs about 9 ounces, and is made of recycled materials. The PEG isn't a battery, so users can not store their kinetic energy to be used for charging later. Instead, it's more of a kinetic energy real-time converter that must be plugged in to the device as it's moving for the kinetic energy to be transferred as electricity immediately to the device.

The PEG, which has a standard USB 2.0 output, is compatible with 90 percent of portable electronic devices including MP3 players, GPS units, and digital cameras, according to Tremont Electric. (The compatibility list includes BlackBerry, iPhone, iPod, LG Chocolate, Magellan GPS, Nintendo DS Lite, Palm Treo, and most cell phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sanyo, and Sony.)

There's no need to wear the device, as with some other kinetic energy harvesting devices. Simply carrying the PEG in a backpack, purse, or briefcase while walking provides the opportunity to harvest enough kinetic energy for the electricity.… Read more

Volvo Start/Stop system: Another cool technology we won't be getting

Stealing a move from the hybrid playbook, Volvo will present three cars at the Geneva auto show that improves fuel efficiency by turning the engine off when the car is at a standstill.

The European DRIVe versions of the C30, S40, and V50 are equipped with 1.6-liter diesel engines, paired with manual transmissions, and feature Volvo's Start/Stop system. When a driver puts the car in neutral while stopped and releases the clutch, the engine automatically turns off. The engine automatically restarts the next time the driver presses the clutch. The Start/Stop technology reduces fuel consumption by 4 percent to 5 percent in mixed driving conditions, and as much as 8 percent in urban traffic.… Read more

Atlas Kinetic phone forces you to move

Remember the Bang & Olufsen Serene that looks like a modern art museum piece? Designer Ricardo Baiao's Atlas Kinetic concept cell phone takes that bizarre look to a whole new level, with a power source that's just as unusual. It's like one of those Seiko Kinetic watches that make use of oscillating weight to power a mainspring, except that this one provides basic phone features and allows you to make calls and send text messages. There's no danger of self-destructing lithium cells, so perhaps Nokia may want to snap up one of these as part of … Read more