Abdolhadi Mirhejazi’s Naturmobil: A New Way to Think About Horsepower!

No, you’re eyes are not deceiving you. This vehicle really runs on genuine horsepower, and it even has a patent! Whoever thought mankind would return to the horse as inspiration for transportation alternatives, in the effort to free us from oil dependency? Well, Dubai-based Iranian inventor Abdolhadi Mirhejazi has done just that with his DIY Naturmobil from Fleethorse, LLC, which has been getting some press over the past year, for its shall we say, innovative approach to transportation design. With top speeds of up to 80 km/h the vehicle operates with a horse walking on a slightly inclined conveyor belt, which moves the gears serving six motorcycle wheels, with enough energy left over, to power a small battery for headlights and to act as backup power when the horse gets fatigued and needs to rest (the horse is constantly monitored to keep track of body temperature and heart rate). This process can even maintain enough power to run two LCD monitors on the side of the vehicle, for video advertisements. As you can imagine, a project like this needs constant funding for development, so Mirhejazi and his marketing manager are seeking investors, and planning to exhibit the Naturmobil at the upcoming Invention and New Product Exhibition in Pittsburg, California this coming June.

Although this may not be the most practical solution to oil dependency and auto-based pollution, it certainly offers a unique take on how we could design our modes of transportation to have less negative environmental impact, rather than sticking with the status quo. You never know, by implementing some rigorous lateral thinking, concepts like this may lead the R&D teams at Toyota, Honda and GM, to come up with radical new technologies for the cars of the future. Probably without the horses though…

Via XPRESS of Dubai

Future Technology Inspired by Nature

As it often happen, the future technology actually comes from nature.

An incredible amount of energy is spent every year in air conditioning of building that if well designed
Could be self temperature controlled.

Researchers from EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) are studying the structure of termites mounds, by 3D scanning them.

“We’re certainly not suggesting that people should live in termite mounds!” Dr Soar tells us “we are studying the mounds to look for a method by which environmental conditions can be controlled and then seeing if we can harness this using innovative manufacturing processes.” If successful the work could lead to a revolution in construction: “Imagine, instead of today’s solid bricks and walls, smart bricks and smart walls incorporating capillary-like structures that can move and control moisture, gases and temperature.”

“The researchers hope to develop new construction methods based on rapid manufacturing processes that would enable buildings to be ‘printed’ out of extruded materials. Such ‘freeform construction’ processes would give architects the freedom to design complex organic forms with microstructures and properties unlike anything that can be manufactured conventionally. “This could make the dream of passive systems, which keep our homes comfortable using only renewable energy, a reality,” comments Dr Soar.”

Cheaper Solar Cells

A team of researchers from Durham University in Northern England are currently working on a new revolutionary kind of solar panel material that could possibly start the massive use of solar energy in the world. One of the main drawbacks in the use of solar energy is the price of solar cells. So the team directed by Professor Ken Durose has been researching for 4 years to find a less expensive material for the future solar cells. They are currently developing a new type of light-absorbing material to produce thin layer solar photovoltaic cells.

The thin-layer PV cells would be used to make solar panels that could be fitted to roofs to help power homes with any surplus electricity being fed back to The National Grid.This could lead to cheaper fuel bills and less reliance on burning fossil fuels as a way of helping to generate electricity.

“If solar panels were cheap enough so you could buy a system off the shelf that provided even a fraction of your power needs you would do it, but that product isn’t there at the moment.“The key indicator of cost effectiveness is how many pounds do you have to spend to get a watt of power out?“If you can make solar panels more cheaply then you will have a winning product.”

It looks like this new type of solar cells would be of great interest for vehicles, as they would be cheaper, lighter and able to adapt to any complex surfaces, which is impossible to do with curent cells.