Plug into any power outlet with ELVIIS smart EV-charging system

07:53 February 27, 2012

A smart system for charging electric vehicles currently under development and known as ELVIIS would allow drivers to plug their EV into any power outlet, and identify the best energy deal

A smart system for charging electric vehicles known as ELVIIS may leave the electric car industry all shook up - and for the better. The ELVIIS cross-industry research project would not only enable EVs to be recharged from any available outlet, but also use mobile and smart grid technology to establish the best energy deal for the consumer.

Short for Electric Vehicle Intelligent Infra Structure, ELVIIS is a research consortium including Volvo Car Corporation and Ericsson that aims to overcome the practical shortcomings of EVs that may stand in the way of mass market uptake, looking beyond the car itself to the spheres of mobile and smart grid technology.
As part of the ELVIIS project, a Volvo C30 Electric has been fitted out with a 7-inch color touchscreen from which the company's "smooth charging" concept can be controlled. Having plugged in, the driver uses the touchscreen (or separate phone or tablet) to choose between various presets for charge duration or total energy drawn. It's at the stage the mobile technology kicks in to optimize the process, invisibly from the driver's point of view.

First, the charge point is identified using GPS technology. The car will then communicate with the electricity grid based on user settings to establish the best energy price. The grid coordinates between connected cars (as well as other energy uses) to optimize the work it has to do.
This should mean that drivers needing a brief but urgent charge will be prioritized over those parking up for a some time - similar to broader strategies being employed in smart grids that seek to even out the peaks and troughs in energy consumption over the course of the day. This increases grid efficiency, and increases the usefulness and viability of renewable energy sources that aren't guaranteed to contribute at all times.
There are one or two other neat user-centric touches. The driver will be notified of any interruptions to the charging via a message sent to their mobile phone. And drivers will be able to have the bill of the charge redirected and added to their utility bill, which should ease suspicious minds when house guests ask if they can plug in their new EV.

The system will be fitted to a total of five Volvo C30 Electric cars and tested over the course of a year. Energy company Göteborg Energi and IT researchers the Viktoria Institute are the remaining partners in the ELVIIS project.
The ELVIIS-fitted Volvo Electric C30 is currently on display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, so if you're in the area, it's now or never.

Good bye.........polutioned taxies............

Mia's plug-in electric delivery van puts driver front and center

07:22 February 27, 2012

French/German electric vehicle manufacturer mia has developed a small plug-in delivery van with a top speed of 68 mph and a battery range of up to 80 miles

The mia U is a single occupancy vehicle of some 10.46 feet (3.19 meters) in length, although the manufacturer can equip the vehicle with two seats if desired at the cost of reducing the 53 cubic feet (1,500 liters) of cargo space behind the driver seat. The contents of the microvan can be accessed via the rear door or a lateral sliding door on either side of the driver. It's capable of a top speed of 68 mph (100km/h) thanks to its 18kW (peak) asynchronous electric motor, which also delivers a maximum torque of 58 Nm.

There are two battery options available. The 8 kWh LiFePO4 Lithium iron phosphate battery pack gives a range of up to 56 miles (90 km) and is fully charged in just three hours via a standard 230V/16A plug, although the manufacturer says that a quick 10 minute top up should be good for at least five miles (eight km) - hopefully enough for the homeward journey. A 12 kWh battery pack will extend the vehicle's range to up to 80.77 miles (130 km), and charge time is five hours.

 There's nearly 15 cubic feet (420 liters) of storage at the back. The 8kWh version weighs 1,732.8 pounds (786 kg), which increases to 1,843 pounds (836 kg) for the 12kWh model.which doubtless contributes to the microvan's extremely economical power consumption and low running costs

Chaotic Moon Labs’ Board of Imagination: Worlds first mind-controlled skateboard

Posted on February 24, 2012

Another brilliant innovation has just appeared on the web; Chaotic Moon Labs’ Board of Imagination, the worlds first mind-controlled skateboard.

I won’t go into much depth here as there are a couple of well written, detailed articles available on the web, I’ve posted links for these at the bottom of this post. If you want to skip all the boring stuff just watch the video below, it explains everything.





Basically this is the latest invention from Chaotic Moon Labs, they have built a similar product before using the Kinect motion system called the Board of Awesomeness.
The Board of Imagination is controlled by the Emotiv EPOC neuro-headset, one of several commercially available BCI devices designed to control other devices and gadgets using your brain waves.

In order to make the board move one must wear the EPOC headset and spend some time training it to your individual thoughts. When all said and done the headset will recognise the specific thoughts you are thinking in order to make the board accelerate or brake. The complete system comprises:

Although the guys at CM.LABS have no plans to bring this product to market, they are planning to open source the code and materials list needed to build your own. If you do want to build you own you had better check out their video:

DON'T THINK ANYTHING PERSONALLY............

Electroencephalography

Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain.^[2] In clinical contexts, EEG refers to the recording of the brain's spontaneous electrical activity over a short period of time, usually 20–40 minutes, as recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp. Diagnostic applications generally focus on the spectral content of EEG, that is, the type of neural oscillations that can be observed in EEG signals. In neurology, the main diagnostic application of EEG is in the case of epilepsy, as epileptic activity can create clear abnormalities on a standard EEG study.^[3] A secondary clinical use of EEG is in the diagnosis of coma, encephalopathies, and brain death. EEG used to be a first-line method for the diagnosis of tumors, stroke and other focal brain disorders, but this use has decreased with the advent of anatomical imaging techniques with high (<1 mm) spatial resolution such as MRI and CT. Despite limited spatial resolution, EEG continues to be a valuable tool for research and diagnosis, especially when millisecond-range temporal resolution (not possible with CT or MRI) is required.

Derivatives of the EEG technique include evoked potentials (EP), which involves averaging the EEG activity time-locked to the presentation of a stimulus of some sort (visual, somatosensory, or auditory). Event-related potentials (ERPs) refer to averaged EEG responses that are time-locked to more complex processing of stimuli; this technique is used in cognitive science, cognitive psychology, and psychophysiological research.