Technology post 5/1

Construction Finished on Floating Mega-Solar Plants

        Construction has been completed on two floating solar power plants located in Kato City, Japan. The Kyocera Corporation and the Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation partnered up to build the instillations. It will provide electricity to an estimated 920 households. The vast floating power plants represent an attractive, and more safe option for electricity generation. The water-located solar cells will generate more electricity than their roof-based counterparts, as they are constantly cooled by the water beneath them. The two facilities are comprised of 11,256 255-watt Kyocera modules and are capable of withstanding typhoon conditions. It is thought that the shade produced by the vast power plants should reduce both algae growth and water evaporation. Another much larger facility planned will boast roughly 50,000 modules and have an output of around 15,635 Mwh per year.

Technology post 4/24

World's First Battery-Powered Rocket 

        In the hopes of increasing the number of satellite launches to over 100 a year, the Rocket Lab company has developed a "battery-powered" rocket engine to lift its Electron launch vehicle. Rocket Lab's idea for making a lighter, simpler liquid rocket is its Rutherford engine. It's an electric turbo-pump engine that burns liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel. Unlike conventional engines, the Rutherford uses a gas-powered turbine to run the pump is replaced with a brush less DC motor and lithium polymer batteries. The company says that the Rutherford is also notable as the first oxygen/hydrocarbon engine to use 3D printing for all its primary components. Rocket Lab says that when the system is up and running, the Electron booster will be able to lift a payload into orbit using less fuel than a 737 flying from New York to Los Angeles, and will cost US$4.9 million per launch. 

Technology Post 4/2

Berlin-based startup Soundbrenner introduced the Pulse wearable metronome, which keeps the beat by vibration or light and can be programmed for multiple players. The Soundbrenner Pulse can be programmed with a smatphone app. The Soundbrenner Pulse app allows the user to customize beat settings. Looking like an oversized smartwatch, the Pulse is designed to be worn on the arm or leg by a single musician. Multiple units can also be synced for groups of up to 10 people. At its heart is a vibrator that provides feedback with an eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motor that is said to be six times more powerful than the vibrators found in conventional smartphones and smartwatches. According to co-founder and CEO of Soundbrenner, Florian Simmendinger, setting the Pulse up is very simple. Using the Beats Per Minute (BPM) tap feature, the musician just taps out the tempo on the face of the pulse, and the capacitive touch sensor combined with a proprietary algorithm reproduces it as vibrations or a flashing LED with customizable colors. For finer control, the bezel of the device can alter the beat setting, and for the very control minded, there's the Soundbrenner smartphone app, which links to the Pulse via Bluetooth. In addition, it can store setlists, customize beats, synchronize up to 10 Pulse units, and act as a Smart Coach for practice and motivation. The company says it will be available both iOS and Android phones upon release. The battery will approximately last 4-5 hours. The Soundbrenner Pulse is currently the focus of an Indiegogo campaign running through April, with an early adopter price of US$129 and a retail price of US$149. If all goes according to plan, it's expected to ship in November.

The video below introduces the Soundbrenner Pulse.