Thermoelectric energy #CES2012

Perpetua is a company that has made a breakthrough in thermoelectric energy.  Tons of applications to pull small amounts of energy from heat sources to run sensors and provide charges to battery packs etc.

This taken from their technology section on the website

"Historically, thermoelectric generators have been constructed with discrete pairs of brittle thermoelectric materials sandwiched between solid porcelain plates, resulting in a rigid and bulky package.

In sharp contrast, Perpetua’s innovative approach applies thin semiconductors onto a flexible substrate using cost-effective and scalable semiconductor manufacturing techniques. Such manufacturing techniques enable Perpetua to combine large numbers of thermocouples easily and reliably, resulting in modules with much higher voltages than conventional thermoelectrics."

Essentially the product could be used in any place there is a great temperature difference between the hotter surface you are going to attach the device to and the ambient air temperature. The technology seems quite adaptable to difference applications and would appear to be customizable given its flexible nature.  All I can think of is all of the heat sinks and radiators that just spew that energy out into the environment.  The idea of capturing that energy and using it is very alluring.

Cubelets: Modular Robotic Toys

Cubelets when I saw them reminded me immediately of the Capsela toys of my childhood. Now admittedly the guy in this video is kooky but it works to sell a toy.

I suggest watching the video it explains more then any photo I took or any words I could put down on paper.   These are the kinds of things that my daughter needs to play with and I suggest any small kids you know should play with them as well.  Hands on learning is so rare in school you simply need to add it on your own.

Xi3 Modular Computer #CES2012

Last year I noticed Xi3 for the first time.  I like the concept and the company and the way they were marketing it.  One of my first idea's for the product was using hives of the tiny computers and I was curious about racking these guys up and using them for all kinds of things.  Well it looks like Xi3 had some of the same ideas in the works.  Take a look

Tray upon tray of hive-like computers.   Now the average person has no use for this many computers but imagine your home network living in a cabinet like this

Make the cabinet smaller and this is a scaleable A/V cabinet for your future needs.  Bolt on a few of the Z3RO modules and you can start adding screens for different dedicated viewing needs.

If you haven't already you need to take a run over to the website and take a look at the videos.  It is well worth the 30minute investment and it may just get you thinking about networks differently.

Audi Concept Car (Urban)

So I don't pretend to know much about cars and in truth unless my california brother was there I probably would never have taken a trip over to the Audi booth but I found myself following him.

The booth was crazy alien-like with ultra white lights shining down on a white floor. And there it was surrounded by a knee height glass wall as if to keep out tiny invaders was the Urban prototype. 

I honestly had never heard of it nor did I know anything about it.  But as you can see from the pic there was a QR code on the floor.  I took advantage of it quickly as there was a lot of shuffling on and off the pristine white flooring. Not to mention I felt as thought the excessive white lighting would actually cook me if I stayed there too long.  Here is an excerpt:


"Two e-tron electric motors provide the propulsion – providing the ultra-light Audi urban concept with the ability to accelerate powerfully. A lithium-ion battery supplies the energy – ideal for extended city tours."

Here are some other photos I snapped while there.  I am no professional photographer so critique if you want. It is unlikely to help me get better photos in the future.

Here is the August 2011 release from Audi.

#CES2012

I realize I have been remiss in posting and well there is no excuse for it.  If you are prepared to forgive me we can move on to my recent trip to CES.

If you don't think you can forgive me I guess its just better if we break up now cleanly so there isn't weird awkward silence later.  We can both pretend to say things we don't mean and then you can leave and slam the door.  Go ahead. I won't judge you.

Ok now we can get back to business.

At CES this year I was not overly stunned by anything. However I noticed a few things most of the folks that cover the event seemed to leave out. I am going to post a series of short posts on each of the booths I found interesting and recap a couple of companies I saw last year that seem to have become more robust companies and came back stronger this year. 

I will also detail the huge mistake becoming a CEA Tech Enthusiast turned out to be and why I think they have decided to cancel this membership tier.

More coming up!