Volvo introduced new system by carbon fiber body panels contain tiny nano batteries

Volvo has come up with a solution to replace heavy batteries in cars, the technology could also be used in electric vehicles to replace larger batteries that are needed. The new system is made up of carbon fiber body panels, that contain tiny nano batteries and super capacitors, the panels batteries are recharged using a regenerative braking system, the diagram below shows how the system will work.

Volvo has said that this new system charges faster than standard car batteries, they have been testing out this new platform on a Volvo S80, and they replaced the trunk of the car and some other parts. There is an added benefit to using these panels, their is a significant weight saving which means that the vehicle uses less of the battery, thus giving it a longer range and improved performance.

Volvo also placed a new panel under the hood of the car, and this panel alone is capable of replacing a vehicle’s 12v battery, so the technology could also be applied to standard cars as well as electric vehicles. It certainly does sound very interesting, and the technology could be applied to existing electric vehicles by other manufacturers, which would allow them to increase the range of their vehicles and also make them more energy efficient by reducing the weight.

Via - Gizmag

Submarine car purchased by Elon Musk for $886,000

The serial entrepreneur and current CEO of Tesla Cars Elon Musk, has purchased the iconic James Bond submarine car for an estimated $886,000 with plans to fit an electric motor into the shell and transform it into a transforming submarine car.

Unfortunately the iconic James Bond submarine car used in the movie “The Spy Who Loved Me” is basically just a film prop and does not contain any submarine components or the ability to transform from a car and was guided underwater by a stuntman equipped with scuba gear for the film’s action sequences. Yesterday a Tesla Motors spokeswoman confirmed that the submarine movie prop, modelled after a Lotus sports car, had been bought by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk. 

Who is now looking to transform the movie prop into a fully working transforming submarine car equipped with an electric motor. In a statement provided by Tesla Elon Musk explained: “I was disappointed to learn that it can’t actually transform,”-”What I’m going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real.”

And it will be interesting to see whether the billionaire entrepreneur will be able to transform the iconic James Bond car into a real-life working model similar to that which allowed Roger Moore to drive the Lotus Esprit off a pier and into the water and then transform it into a submarine to then drive it back out onto a beach under the gaze of bemused sunbathers.

Via - CNN

Microsoft sold out more than 80 million Xbox 360 consoles

The Xbox 360 has been an incredibly popular product for Microsoft, and now Microsoft has announced that they have sold over 80 million Xbox 360 consoles. The Xbox 360 was launched in the US and Canada on the 22nd of November 2005, the console also launched in the UK and Europe in December, and also launched in Japan at the same time.

In 2010 Microsoft announced a new updated version of the Xbox 360, they also launched the Xbox Kinect, which again helped the company sell even more consoles. Last month, Microsoft was beaten by the PlayStation 3 in the monthly sales, this is the first time in 32 months that sales of the PlayStation 3 have been higher than the Xbox One.

Microsoft is getting ready to launch their next generation console, the Xbox One, which will go on sale in November, it will be interesting to see if the Xbox One can become as popular as the Xbox 360. The new Xbox One places its emphasis on entertainment, rather than just gaming, whether this will be a winning strategy for Microsoft remains to be seen.

Via - IGN, Ubergizmo

Raspberry Pi unveiled new NoIR Infrared Camera

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has today unveiled a new Raspberry Pi NoIR Infrared Camera they are developing for use with their awesome Raspberry Pi mini PC which is available to purchase for around $35. The new Raspberry Pi NoIR camera developed has started thanks to the Raspberry Pi community which were very carefully modifying the currently available Raspberry Pi mini PC camera by removing the delicate IR filter.

Now to help developers with the projects the Raspberry Pi Foundation has today announced that they are in the process of developing the new infrared camera board which has been specially designed for low light projects and environments. 

The name of the new camera board NoIR stands for “no infrared,” which is a reference to the nonexistent IR filter. Check out the videos below to see the results you should be able to get from the Raspberry Pi NoIR Infrared Camera once it is launched later this year. The new Raspberry Pi NoIR Infrared Camera is expected to be available next month however no official release date has been set but the new Raspberry Pi NoIR will be available to purchase for around $25. 

However as soon as any new information about the new Raspberry Pi NoIR Infrared Camera is released by the Raspberry Pi Foundation we will keep you updated as always.

Via - Raspberry Pi : Engadget

Akitio released new Neutrino Thunderbolt external storage device featuring a 512 GB SSD

Akitio is a company that makes a number of external storage devices for computer users. The company has announced a new version of its Neutrino Thunderbolt external storage device featuring a 512 GB SSD on the inside. The company says this is the first 512 GB SSD storage solution it’s completely bus powered in the industry.

Being bus powered means that users can plug the 512 GB SSD storage device into the Thunderbolt port on their Mac computer and access data or write data to the internal SSD without needing a power adapter or outlet. The company already offers versions of the storage device with 120 GB or 256 GB of storage.

The external storage solution ships with the required Thunderbolt cable. The manufacturer also promises that the SSD storage solution is able to reach read speeds of 520 GB/s on bus power alone. The storage solution has integrated high-performance SATA controller and a large internal heat sink for passive cooling. That means the storage solution has no fan making it very quiet. The storage device is also designed to be stackable allowing multiple drives to share the same footprint. The 512 GB version is reportedly available now for $599. However, it’s not listed on the Akitio website as of writing.

Via - Akitio

Sony Xperia L Android 4.3 update coming in next month

Sony Xperia L Android 4.3 update, the news comes from Sony Mobile Argentina, who posted on Facebook that the update will be released in the middle of November. The Sony Xperia L launched back in May, the handset features a 4.3 inch display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, when the device launched it came with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Other specifications on the Sony Xperia L include a dual core 1GHz Snapdragon MSM8230 processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of built in storage. The Sony Xperia L also features an 8 megapixel Sony Exmor RS camera, which can record full high definition video in 1080p, the handset also comes with NFC and a microSD card slot that can take up to 32GB cards.

As yet we do not now if the Android 4.3 update will be released worldwide at the same time, it is possible that it could land in other markets before the middle of November. As soon as we get some more information on exactly when the Sony Xperia L Android 4.3 update will be released we will let you know.

Via - Xperia Blog