Gadgets Blog

The effort to keep business expenses low while trying to transition to a more green lifestyle has prompted a British super market to look to their parking lot to power their lights and run their cash register. And the idea may catch on for other power needs as well.

Sainsbury’s installed a new kinetic plating system in the parking lot lanes which generate power as a car drives over them. The way it works is that as a car moves over the plates, it’s hydraulic action turns a power generator creating up to 30 kilowatts of electricity. And apparently there’s enough flow through business that the energy generated is running the store’s power for lighting and cash transactions through their point of sale computer systems.

Additionally, Sainsbury is collecting rain water to use in the toilets, and larger floor to ceiling windows are making the interior brighter to lower needs for lighting. There are also plans of funneling unsold food to a biomass plant to generate further green power. But it’s the user of the kinetic plates that has the British government thinking similar technology can be harnessed to power street lights all over the city.

That’s an excellent example of how better ideas can not only save energy and better the environment, but create jobs for installing and maintaining it as it powers the system.

Hat Tip - The Guardian

I usually like birds, that is as long as they’re in the proper environment.  I’m not exactly fond of them when they decide to use my car as target practice though.  There are just those times when birds go from being pretty melodious creatures to being a pain.  Well if you have a situation where the birds are causing trouble on a flat surface of some kind, that’s a little out of reach for you, you could pick up this solar device.  It’s a great alternative if you aren’t ready just yet to whip out a gun and camp out.

The device has a 5 foot diameter that it can keep birds out of.  It does so by doing a helicopter type motion and keeps birds on their toes.  It works for birds of all sizes, including the larger sized birds.  It aggravates them just enough that they will fly off.  It has 3 AA batteries within it, that are rechargeable and allow for it to work during the night hours.  You can purchase the Solar Powered Bird-B-Gone Bird Repeller for $87.99 from Amazon.

Source: CraziestGadgets

For those of you that still love good old Mario, this is a USB drive you’ll definitely appreciate.  This little Shroom will hold your data and look cool while doing it.  Not only that, but you can also pick up a  USB extender that allows for it to be plugged directly into a small brick square.  Strongly resembling the ones out of the game that you would bump to make that precious shroom pop out, to give you just a little extra light.  All the while making your hands look huuuge and the rest of your grow a bit as well.

For the price, I’m not exactly thrilled how much storage it has.  However, I might be willing to overlook it, based on how much geek appeal it has.  The drive is 4GB, which will get you a decent amount of space.  You can purchase the drive on Etsy for $65.  Then there is the Mario Brick USB Extension, the cables can extend anywhere from 1ft on up to 6ft.  Those will cost you $25 a piece on top of what the drive will cost you.

Source: GeekyGadgets

I think that most of us can relate with Dilbert, who works in a world with no background except for the occasional cubicle. This comic strip is a definite commentary on how the workplace is an almost unnatural place to work at, a near-hellish oblivion that sucks the life from you.

Perhaps this was the reason why Spanish architecture firm Selgascano designed the “office in the woods”. Without overcomplicating its description, it really is an office in the woods. But if you really want more information, it is available after the jump.

The tunnel-like shape has a curvaceous acrylic window that is about 20 millimeters thick, and the non-transparent area is layered fiberglass and polyester. The end result is an environment that allows the workers to actually see the beauty of nature while they are at work. It definitely boosts morale better than a year’s worth of casual Fridays.

In case you are concerned that all this transparency would let in too much hot sunlight, there is a cooling system. A pulley system at the end of the unit moves a certain slab up and down, so there is plenty of cool air coming in and out.

Hopefully Selgascano’s ideas will be incorporated at offices everywhere, but that really is a pipe dream, isn’t it? Still, I’m certain that worker motivation would be greatly increased if they could see the world outside of them.

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This isn’t the first time that we have reported on concept automobiles of the future. Most of them aren’t really what comes to mind when we think of a car, as they tend to be small one-manned drones.

The Cube is nothing different, but I admire Carlos Mendez’s vision for cars. Mendez noticed that most cars are way too large and heavy compared to their driver, so he set out to create a “vehicle designed more to a human scale”.

What makes the Cube unique is that the user determines what it will look like and alters it according to his or her needs. Think of the base as something like a Lego car, and it is up to the user to add the roll bars, windshield, roof, or a bed for hauling stuff.

Mendez’s Cube is also environmentally sound as it is completely electrical powered. I’m guessing that mass-production of the Cube would probably solve traffic problems as it looks like it takes up half as much width as an ordinary vehicle.

Decreased width is also a theme amongst future cars. However, I still question how we would transition to that. Would we really live in a world where special lanes are made for cars like the Cube? I suppose the old lanes would be for the “antique wide” cars. Only time will tell for that one.

Mendez hopes that his Cube will be the model car of the future, sort of like the Model T became the standard that began the age of automobiles. Again, only time will tell for that one.

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There have been several different versions of chairs with built-in speakers.  Usually they have about the same shape and come in the very typical black.  On occasion they toss in a little blue, but that’s about it.  There are even a few very feminine bright pink versions.  The great thing about this MUR-01 Music Chair is that it gives a slightly different color combination, that makes it look a little less like it could only be used in a college dorm.  Although it still would blend right in with the college environment.

The chair has a built-in 2.1 channel speaker system, with a woofer and amplifier located at the back of the chair.  One down side of this chair is that it doesn’t have a battery pack of any kind, which means you’re stuck plugging the chair into the wall when you want to use the speakers.  It just gives you one more cord to potentially trip over or cause someone else to trip over.  The chair also comes housed with RCA and stereo inputs to hook your music up to.  It’ll be available in Japan in mid-July for 19800 Yen or about $200.

Source: Ubergizmo

Yes, we have covered a lot of alarm clocks here at Coolest Gadgets. Alarm clock technology has changed very little since its first incarnation, as it is just a loud sound programmed to get you up at a time that you would prefer to be sleeping. Most “improvements” are usually a louder sound, or some kind of activity to make the user alert, like the Dynamite Alarm Clock. I’ve seen one that uses scents to aid the early riser, but this was just a concept for now.

Zeo has come out with the first alarm clock device that I have seen that actually wants to help you sleep. In fact, this product is billed as a Personal Sleep Coach. Sleep coach? I’ve heard of a life coach, but this is not ridiculous. Check out more after the jump.

The user of the Personal Sleep Coach must wear a headband that will track sleep patterns with a sensor. This sensor can detect electrical signals from the brain, and wirelessly transmits its results to the display. Your sleep record is saved on the SD card that you can see sticking out of it.

From there, the user can upload the information to the myZeo Personal Coaching Web site, and learn about ways to improve their sleeping program. Not a bad idea. This is probably the only alarm clock that I would want by my bedside, as I sometimes have a problem with my sleeping.

At last, someone has made an alarm clock that I don’t want to curse. Of course, some of you might have a problem with the $399.00 price tag.

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Lights are usually meant to illuminate and not much else, however, this light seems to take things a couple steps further.  It hangs far above your head, spotlighting where you sit.  All the while if you peer above you’ll notice the alarming resemblance to an eye.  Giving you that feeling that someone or something is staring down at you from above.  Play an hour too many of Portal and you’re going to be cowering under your desk, wondering how GLaDOS made it into your house.  Then having the horrifying thought that you’ll never make it to the cake in the kitchen.

This light is a part of the 2009 DMY Berlin Design Festival and was created by Simon Schiessl and Felix Hardwood.  It’s, as you can see, powered by a whole lot of high-powered LED lights.  Technically, what you would think is a lamp is pretty much just a massive bulb.  You take a regular pendant light fixture and screw it in like you would a normal light bulb.  They did actually create this light and not just create something pretty in Photoshop.  However, it’s not quite to the retail point yet.

Source: Gearfuse