The Panasonic TC-P50V10 plasma flat-panel HDTV.
(Credit: Panasonic)Panasonic plans to invest $1 billion by 2012 to develop green technologies for the home that would include energy-monitoring systems, marking a major shift in the company's focus.
Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo said in an interview with the Bloomberg news service this week that growing consumer interest in more efficient products has led Panasonic to decide to develop new core businesses.
"Our growth is not enough . So we want to change our fighting ring from our current categories to a different field," Ohtsubo told Bloomberg.
The company plans to offer home energy management systems, as well as develop existing interests in lithium ion batteries for electric cars, solar panels, and smart appliances.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the world's leading plasma-TV manufacturer is getting rid of its star product.
As one of its green product ideas, Ohtsubo told Bloomberg about a system in development that would allow people to monitor the electricity generation of their solar panels and the electricity use of their home appliances through their television sets.
One can't help but wonder if Panasonic's interest in a new core business was in any way influenced by the U.S. Department of Energy's decision to curb Energy Star seals for supersized televisions. Very large televisions could fall out of favor if an increasingly energy-conscious public relies on the Energy Star seal when deciding which products to purchase for their home.
It also remains to be seen if this means Panasonic is going to abandon its plasma TVs in favor of the increasingly popular LCD and LED-based LCD televisions. Panasonic already does make LCD televisions, in addition to plasmas.
James May setting the cornerstone for the Lego house at Denbies Wine Estate, a vineyard in Surrey, England.
(Credit: Denbies Wine Estate)James May, co-host of U.K. car show "Top Gear," has a new gig for entertaining engineers and toy lovers alike.
The show, "James May's Toy Stories," engages the public in extreme building with favorite childhood toys and films the communal construction in progress.
While the show won't air until spring on BBC Two, photos and videos of the projects are already showing up online.
May's show includes the construction of the first house made almost entirely out of Legos. It's located on the Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, Surrey, England.
The video below, posted by Bacon Group Architecture, showcases the interior, which will include a Lego toilet, bathtub, and bed. Upon completion, May will live in the house for a weekend.
The construction challenges, which are scattered throughout the U.K., depend on local volunteers--both adults and children.
"James May is a man on a mission: he wants to get kids out of their bedrooms and away from their games consoles, he wants to drag parents off their backsides and get them all playing together again," according to BBC Two.
Many of the projects are also attempts at world records.
For example, the show's crew and volunteers attempted to build the world's longest model train setup, a length of about 10 miles. That ambition was comically foiled by people who stole pieces of track, placed pennies in the track, and ultimately caused the train's battery to burn out, according to the Telegraph.
May has already won an award for a garden of flowers made entirely from Plastacine--molding clay similar to Play-doh--that he entered in England's annual Chelsea Flower Show.
In another project, architecture students helped May construct a bridge of Meccano parts across a 40-foot-wide canal in Liverpool, England.
Meccano kits generally consist of pre-holed metal plates, gears, and wheels with accompanying nuts and bolts for building small mechanical gadgets and vehicles. The town choice was significant as Meccano opened its first factory in Liverpool in 1907. The bridge was designed by Hayden Nuttal, a design director of Atkins Structural Engineering, and the North East Meccano Guild aided the students with construction.
May is also getting back to his auto roots. The show plans to showcase the construction of a large-scale track for Scalextric cars and hold a race through the center of a town.
Single women rival single men as tech device owners, according to a Forrester Research survey released Thursday.
Obviously, to an organization filled with female tech geeks, the study was met with bemusement.
But the survey of more than 1,000 single adult males and more than 1,000 single adult females in the United States and Canada had some interesting gems.
Did you know that single women prefer laptops while single men prefer desktops? Among the adult singles surveyed, 47 percent of women said their next computer would be a laptop, and 29 percent said it would be a desktop, while 47 percent of men said their next computer would be a desktop and 38 percent said it would be a laptop.
Forty-four percent of all single women surveyed own a game console, compared to 53 percent of single men, confirming reports from International Game Developers Association and Entertainment Software Association illustrating that women do play video games.
When it comes to handheld-game devices, 27 percent of single women surveyed count themselves as owners while 29 percent of single men said they have one, according to the study. Single women, meanwhile, surpassed single men slightly on digital-camera ownership, 78 percent to 76 percent.
Alas, less than 20 percent of single women said they followed technology news, compared to less than 40 percent of single men.
(Credit:
Forrester Research)
Husqvarna plans to show off a solar-powered version of its robotic lawnmower this weekend at the Green Industry and Equipment Expo 2008.
The Stockholm, Sweden-based company originally announced the robot last spring in Europe. This will be its U.S. debut. And what better place to tout a new robotic lawnmower than at a green expo in Kentucky, a state famous for its grass?
Like its original robotic lawnmower, Husqvarna's Automower Solar Hybrid is capable of autonomously maintaining a property of up to a half acre and runs on a rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery.
(Credit:
Husqvarna)
The 22-pound robot works from a perimeter set with a wire that is slightly buried or staked in place below the grass-cutting level.
If the robot is set to mow during daylight--and honestly, how many people mow at night?--the Solar Hybrid version can draw on solar power while it does its job, extending the time between recharges.
Like the original Husqvarna Automower, the Solar Hybrid version has built-in safety features. The robot automatically shuts off its blades if the mower is lifted, can be locked, has an alarm to deter theft, and uses sensors to work around large objects such as lawn furniture.
Are people going to shell out the cash for a robotic lawnmower given the state of the economy?
Considering how expensive lawn services or gasoline for a regular mower can be, the robot might actually be the more frugal option over the long run. We'll have to wait and see once Husqvarna reveals the price. The original Automower sells for about $2,000.
"Ron" Tajima of Japan has figured out a clever hack for his Wii Fit balance board and Roomba.
He calls his latest creation the "Surfin' ba."
Instead of just showing off with fancy footwork, Tajima also demonstrates how he did it. As with his other Roomba hacks, Tajima attaches a serial Bluetooth adapter he developed himself to the Roomba.
This is Tajima's third Roomba hack. His others are a version of a Wiimote-controlled Roomba, and the Pacmba, a Roomba with LED lights.
(Via Electric Pig)
This August, you may be dodging something other than Frisbees at the beach or your boss at the office.
The Hexbug Crab has built-in light sensors that are programmed to run from light, just like a real crab does.
(Credit: HexBug/Innovation First)Innovation First is releasing the Hexbug Crab, the latest in its line of Hexbug microrobotic toys that sell for about $9.99.
While the minirobot is geared toward kids, it's easy to see the Hexbug Crab gaining a place alongside office stress balls in cubicles across the country.
Like other Hexbugs, the Hexbug Crab can be left to roam around and respond to its environment. Think of it as a little pet that doesn't need to be fed.
"Feelers" on the crabs legs are actually robotic sensors that help it avoid obstacles. It responds to loud clapping or banging sounds by running away. The Hexbug Crab, however, is slightly more advanced than Hexbug's robotic bugs. This one will also have light sensors and be programmed to scurry to the darkest spot it can find, just like a real crab does.
The 75-employee Greenville, Texas-based company also seeks to promote robots in general. It maintains RobotEvents.com, a site that tracks news of educational robotic and technology projects for children and teens.
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