Wednesday, 17 March 2010
SEED OF LOVE by Ross Lovegrove
Material: T.W.F. (fabric) MELSET (fiber)
Triaxial fabric woven with thermoplastic polyester
In contrast to conventional (biaxial) woven fabric with two yarn ends interwoven at 90 angles. T.W.F. (Triaxial Woven Fabric) is formed by a revolutionary new weaving process, in which three yarn ends are woven at 60 angles. Two warm ends and one weft end are interwoven at equal angles to produce a fabric having characteristics not found in conventional woven fabric: a light-weight, heavy-duty, tear-resistant fabric. Using a conjugate fabric with a high viscosity core and a low melting-point sheath, the fabric can be molded using a heat press process.
Point of Design (words by artist Ross Lovegrove)
“Seed of Love” is a sgeed of thought manifested as a three dimensional object for the carriage of feminine seductive objects into marriage.
A seed or a deposit of pollen from an exotic flower that rests so lightly on the back of the bride…placed there by a softly humming bee. Fiber and all its contemporary virtues of lightness, delicacy, fragility, translucency and membrane technocracy….like an autumn leaf or an x ray through sea sell revealing the finesse of its veins, fiber is emerging as a material of virtue and intelligent nature in our new age of reason.
Created hand in hand with digital software the “Seed of Love” layers structure over structure to extend the emotions of aesthetics outward from the inward and into an object that communicates desire and subtle seduction….white intimacy, white grace and silent awareness of love like clouds and air.
CARBON FIBER CHAIR by Sigeru Ban
Material: TENAX – carbon fiber
Material’s description
The world’s lightest and strongest structural material TENAX, a carbon fiber from the raw material acrylonitrile is a strong, light and supple super fiber with high electrical conductivity. This composite material, which integrates metal, resin, ceramic and other materials, has contributed to energy-savings and the creation of next generation lightweight aircraft and automobiles.
MIST BENCH by Nicolas Gwenael
Material’s description
The luminous fiber ESKA is an optical fiber made with plastic. It differs from the quartz-type and easily used in large diameter processes as well as flexible and easy to work with. The transfer functions for light through its fibers are not limited to communication applications, but may also be applied to set a soft impression.
Point of Design (words by artist Nicolas Gwenael)I wanted to create a material out of fiber that become alive and alight when interact with people. A fabric that give me the possibility to create an object which exists only when desired. The material become information controlled by the time and the movement. The information is not on the surface but within the material itself; light becomes the vital fluids that glow and flow within the transparent veins. The surface express its desire to communicate with its surroundings: the eyes of the sensors detect the movement of the visitor. As he gets closer the surface glows softly from emptiness, it follows the visitor’s movement and grow gradually to finally reveal its real identity, a long bench, a mist of light floating in the dark.The veins of light are delicately crafted by hand, the precision and consistency are required to guide the light within the right curvature of the fiber, a communion between the most advanced technology and the dexterity of craftsmanship. The complexity of technologies applied in the concept totally disappears-only thye experience remains, unique, sensorial.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bikes
Several companies in the past have showcased their plans to use hydrogen fuel cell technology to power a bicycle. Recently, Chinese company Pearl Hydrogen became the latest company to showcase the idea, at a recent technology convention in Shanghaimart. The 20″ wheel prototype weighs 32kg and is powered by a PEM fuel cell and brushless electric motor. The top speed is 25km/hour and the 600L twin cylinder fuel cells have a maximum range of 100km. Some trial orders have already been placed for 20,000 Yuan (about US$2,650). The company is optimistic that their hydrogen bike will be successful enough to begin mass producing bikes for the mainstream Chinese market, for a more affordable 4,000 Yuan (US$530). There are no current plans to ship the fuel cell bicycles overseas.
Of course there are still technical challenges to overcome, like where people will refill the fuel cells. At present there is no hydrogen refueling infrastructure in China, so customers will have to purchase refills from local suppliers. However, there is talk of expanding the fuel network in China to accommodate future hydrogen powered cars. The electric bicycle industry still has a long way to go in terms of battery technology and efficiency, so there are likely to be many electrical and mechanical flaws to discover and overcome as they produce more bikes. Bicycles take a beating, so the systems will have to be rugged enough to endure the daily commute.
Ledgibility
The bike of the future needs to be more engrained with modern everyday life. To do this it needs to be easily understood and not be viewed by the general public as a dirty pile of nuts and bolts. The use of colour can highlight functions and the design itself needs to represent exactly what the bike does and is used for.
Bamboo
Bamboo as a material represents many different things depending on the culture. In Europe more recently bamboo is at the for front of ecological construction materials and is often used in products and architecture that represent green energy and sustainability. In India the material represents friendship and in China Longevity.
The Battery
paper battery offers future power
Flexible paper batteries could meet the energy demands of the next generation of gadgets, says a team of researchers.
They have produced a sample slightly larger than a postage stamp that can store enough energy to illuminate a small light bulb.
But the ambition is to produce reams of paper that could one day power a car.
Professor Robert Linhardt, of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said the paper battery was a glimpse into the future of power storage.
The team behind the versatile paper, which stores energy like a conventional battery, says it can also double as a capacitor capable of releasing sudden energy bursts for high-power applications.
While a conventional battery contains a number of separate components, the paper battery integrates all of the battery components in a single structure, making it more energy efficient.
Integrated devices
The research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
"Think of all the disadvantages of an old TV set with tubes," said Professor Linhardt, from the New York-based institute, who co-authored a report into the technology.
"The warm up time, power loss, component malfunction; you don't get those problems with integrated devices. When you transfer power from one component to another you lose energy. But you lose less energy in an integrated device."
The battery contains carbon nanotubes, each about one millionth of a centimetre thick, which act as an electrode. The nanotubes are embedded in a sheet of paper soaked in ionic liquid electrolytes, which conduct the electricity.
The flexible battery can function even if it is rolled up, folded or cut.
Although the power output is currently modest, Professor Linhardt said that increasing the output should be easy.
"If we stack 500 sheets together in a ream, that's 500 times the voltage. If we rip the paper in half we cut power by 50%. So we can control the power and voltage issue."
Because the battery consists mainly of paper and carbon, it could be used to power pacemakers within the body where conventional batteries pose a toxic threat.
"I wouldn't want the ionic liquid electrolytes in my body, but it works without them," said Professor Linhardt. "You can implant a piece of paper in the body and blood would serve as an electrolyte."
But Professor Daniel Sperling at University of California, Davis, an expert on alternative power sources for transport, is unconvinced.
'More difficult'
"Batteries and capacitors are being steadily improved, but electricity storage is much more difficult and expensive than liquid fuels and probably will be so forever," he said.
"The world is not going to change as a result of this new invention any time soon."
Professor Linhardt admitted that the new battery is still some way from the commercial market.
"The devices we're making are only a few inches across. We would have to scale up to sheets of newspaper size to make it commercially viable," he said. But at that scale, the voltage could be large enough to power a car, he said.
However, carbon nanotubes are very expensive, and batteries large enough to power a car are unlikely to be cost effective.
"I'm a strong enthusiast of electric vehicles, but it is going to take time to bring the costs down," said Professor Sperling.
But Professor Linhardt said integrated devices, like the paper battery, were the direction the world was moving.
"They are ultimately easier to manufacture, more environmentally friendly and usable in a wide range of devices," he said.
The ambition is to produce the paper battery using a newspaper-type roller printer.
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Vespa's Historical Culture
The Vespa designed in 1951 by Corradino D'Ascanio was generated as a design to push Italy out of the austerity of post-war years and for a long time in the 60's represented freedom for a huge youth movement that craved an outlet to express themselves. This romanticism still lives on for Vespa today but is certainly dwindling. No other scooter holds this level of gravitas but with the emergence of new technologies people in urban areas are demanding a knew form of ecologically friendly, small foot-printed vehicle to get them from A-B as quickly as possible.
In the Streets of China, Electric Bikes Are Swarming
By AUSTIN RAMZY / BEIJING Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009
Of all the things that have changed in China over the past 30 years, transportation has undergone one of the most obvious of transformations. Where city streets once swarmed with bicycles, they are now full of automobiles. Cars clog intersection and expressways. Their exhaust clouds the sky and the air is full of the sound of horns. But zipping through the congestion is the vanguard of another transportation revolution: vehicles that use no gas, emit no exhaust and are so quiet they can surprise the unwary pedestrian.
In China, electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. While China now has about 25 million cars on the road, it has four times as many e-bikes. Thanks to government encouragement and a population well versed in riding two wheels to work, the country has become the world's leading market for the cheap, green vehicles, helping to offset some of the harmful effects of the country's automobile boom. Indeed, as engineers around the world scramble to create eco-friendly, plug-in electric cars, China is already ahead of the game. Says Frank Jamerson, a former GM engineer turned electric-vehicle analyst: "What's happening in China is sort of a clue to what the future will be."
Right now the future buzzes along at a sedate pace. Government regulations limit the top speed of e-bikes to about 12 mph. But manufacturers are building bigger and bigger machines with speed regulators that are easily removed. E-bikes that are basically pedal-powered machines with an electric boost are common in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but e-scooters with heavier motors and top speeds of around 30 mph, fast enough to rival mopeds, are growing in popularity.
The e-bike boom owes much to Chinese policy. The government made developing e-bikes an official technology goal in 1991. Major Chinese cities have extensive bicycle lanes, which means riders can avoid the worst of rush-hour congestion. In cities such as Shanghai, local governments have drastically raised licensing fees on gas-powered scooters in recent years, effectively driving hoards of consumers to e-bike manufacturers.
The relative simplicity of the machines and their components has encouraged a huge number of e-bike companies to open in China. In 2006 there were 2,700 licensed manufacturers, and countless additional smaller shops. Rising to the top of the heap is not easy. Leading manufacturer Xinri (the name means "new day") was founded in 1999 by Zhang Chongshun, an auto parts factory executive who recognized the potential of the field. In its first year Xinri built less than 1,000 bikes; last year it churned out 1.6 million. Xinri's Zhang puts in thousands of miles on the road a year, visiting as many as six cities a day to investigate local market conditions. But ultimately what makes Xinri successful is that electric bikes have hit a sweet spot in the Chinese economy. As Chinese grow richer, they want more convenient means of transportation. But not everyone can afford a car. "Motorcycles are too dangerous, cars are too expensive, public transportation is too crowded and pedal bikes leave you too tired," says Hu Guang, Xinri's deputy general manager. "So people buy e-bikes."
The company's ads show Jackie Chan riding an e-bike alongside a model in a glamorous European capital. Reality is much more mundane. E-bikes are commonly used by migrant laborers who schlep across town from their quarters in the suburbs to work sites across town, with their drills and saws strapped to their bike racks. Police stations are often fronted by a row of blue and white patrol e-bikes. Delivery workers from McDonald's and KFC haul plastic cases stuffed with Big Macs and fried chicken to office parks. "At first, I picked an e-bike because I couldn't stand the sickening smell of gas from my scooter," says Zhang Dengming, 50, a construction supervisor in Shanghai. "But after a while, I realized that e-bikes are actually much safer than motorcycles, and better for the environment. Although e-bikes are generally slower than gas scooters, I find them fast enough for my daily commutes. Their price, which is typically just over 2,000 renminbi ($290) is also more acceptable, so I don't feel as bad when they get stolen."
Last year Chinese bought about 90% of the 23 million e-bikes sold worldwide. Experts say that next regions to likely embrace e-bikes are Southeast Asia, where gas-powered scooters are popular, and India, where rising incomes mean personal transportation is starting to be in reach of hundreds of millions. Japan has seen steady annual sales of about 300,000 for several years, and in the cycle-crazy Netherlands e-bikes are beginning to take off. In the U.S., where bikes are still overwhelmingly used for recreation rather than transportation, e-bike sales are expected to break 200,000 this year, or about 1% of China's sales. E-bikes weren't always so popular on the mainland. Early models were even slower than today's; range was limited and batteries died in less than a year. Now they can travel as far as 100 km on a full charge, more than enough for a day's riding. But batteries remain the weak point. Most e-bikes rely on lead-acid batteries, cheap century-old technology unsuitable for the growing demands of daily commuting. "The battery is the key limiting factor," says Jonathan Weinert, a transportation expert who wrote his doctoral dissertation on electric bikes in China.
While lead-acid batteries are improving, Weinart says that electric bikes will create a larger market for lithium-ion batteries — a newer, lighter technology whose development is key for the future of electric vehicles. Already Giant, the world's largest manufacturer of pedal bicycles but a small player in the Chinese e-bike market, has made headway in northern Europe selling high-end e-bikes that use lith-ion batteries. "To the extent that the electric bike industry can help get battery costs down, test the technology and get it in the market, that may lead" the development of electric vehicles with more than two wheels, Weinert says.
Chinese market leaders like Xinri and Yadea have partnered with top schools like Tsinghua and Peking universities to improve battery technology. And like a slew of other Chinese companies, some e-bike makers are already working on electric cars. Yadea plans to create electric cars for special uses such as shuttling sightseers at tourist destinations. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Xinri provided e-bikes and an electric car for use by police at the Bird's Nest stadium.
Electric cars will require more powerful recharging stations than the standard wall outlets used to juice up bikes. But when four-wheeled technology becomes road-ready, it will find a willing customer base in China. "The Chinese have a hundred million people on electric bikes," says Jamerson. "That means a hundred million potential customers" for electric cars. When he worked at GM, which filed for bankruptcy on June 1, Jamerson said he once suggested the company give away an electric bike with every new car, just to get customers used to the idea of a means of transportation you plug in every night. His bosses thought he was joking. When the electric revolution final comes, China's e-bike makers could have the last laugh.
—with reporting by Jessie Jiang/Beijing and Natalie Tso/Taipei
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