Solar car hits U.S. in round-the-world jaunt

Last October, the SolarWorld GT solar-powered car set out from Darwin, Australia on a drive around the world. It has since driven 3,001 kilometers (1,865 miles) across Australia, logged 1,947 km (1,210 miles) crossing New Zealand and been shipped across the Pacific Ocean. This Friday, it will embark on the U.S. leg of its journey, as it sets out across America from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The SolarWorld GT is the result of a collaboration between solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld, and Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany. The four-wheeled, two-door, two-seat car gathers solar energy through photovoltaic panels built into its roof, with its solar generator offering a peak performance of 823 watts. Custom hub motors are located in both of the front wheels.The vehicle manages an average speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), with a claimed top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).

In order to demonstrate that solar powered cars needn't be a radical departure from what consumers are used to, the street-legal GT's dimensions are similar to those of a conventional automobile. Unlike a regular car, however, it weighs in at just 260 kilograms (573 lbs) and has a low drag coefficient of 0.14. The vehicle was designed and built by a team of 30 Bochum students from the fields of mechatronics, computer science, and mechanical and electrical engineering.

The SolarWorld GT will be making various stops throughout the southern U.S. between now and March 9, when it is scheduled to arrive in Florida. It will then be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, to continue driving across Europe, Asia and Africa. It should hopefully arrive back at Darwin late this year. Assuming it does, it will set the Guinness Record for the longest distance covered by a solar car - approximately 34,000 kilometers, or 21,080 miles.

Comments

Silent headset lets users quietly commune with computers

Advances in voice recognition technology have seen it become a more viable form of computer interface, but it's not necessarily a quieter one. To prevent the click-clacking of keyboards being replaced by noisy man-machine conversations, MIT researchers are developing a new system called AlterEgo that allows people to talk to computers without speaking and listen to them without using their ears. At first glance, the AlterEgo headpiece looks like the product of a design student who didn't pay attention in class. Instead of the familiar combination of an earpiece and microphone, the device is a cumbersome white plastic curve like the jawbone of some strange animal that hangs off the wearer's ear and arcs over to touch the chin. It might look strange, but it's based on some fairly sophisticated technology. Inside the Alterego are electrodes that scan the jaw and face from neuromuscular signals produced when the wearer thinks about verbalizing words without

Qualcomm showcases the Snapdragon S4 ahead of Mobile World Congress

We’ve already heard about Qualcomm’s latest processor, the Snapdragon S4 , which will be quad-core and utilize LTE. Qualcomm took the time to give us some details ahead of Mobile World Congress. The new SoC now supports up to three cameras (two in the back for 3D and one front-facing), 20-megapixels, and recording video at 1080p (30fps). We can also expect zero shutter lag, 3A processing (autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance), and improved blink/smile detection, gaze estimation, range finding and image stabilization. Last but not least, it supports gesture detection/control, augmented reality , and computer vision (via Qualcomm’s FastCV). Hit the break for a couple of videos featuring image stabilization and gestures.

Say Hello To Darkness In WhatsApp With Dark Mode

WhatsApp has rolled one of the most requested feature, Dark mode for all users across the globe. It is available as a part of the latest update on Android and iOS devices. Dark mode is a new design feature in WhatsApp that offers a fresh look on familiar experience and designed to reduce eye strain in low light conditions. There are many people in the planet who find dark backgrounds easier to look at for long time period, Dark mode is for them. Dark mode consumes less power especially your device has an AMOLED display. Above all, Dark mode looks cool and offers you a refreshing change from the White color theme. Enabling dark mode in WhatsApp is very easy. Here's the steps: 1. Open WhatsApp from the home screen. 2. Tap More Options. (Three vertical dots on the top right corner of the app) 3. Choose Settings. 4. Select Chats from the Settings menu. 5. Click On Theme. 6. In the Choose Theme dialog box, select Dark to turn on Dark mode. Choose Light to turn

Daily Tech News

Search This Blog