GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

Signa’s fuel-cell powered electric bike will run for 60 miles on a single charge. More impressive is that it runs on water.

The bike itself is really just a showcase for the fuel-cell tech from the energy company. The cells uses sodium silicide in the form of a sand-like powder. Add this to water and it “instantly creates hydrogen gas.” This hydrogen is then used to generate electricity. Because no hydrogen is stored, the cells are safe, and excess electricity is stored in batteries for an extra boost when you get to a hill. The cartridges are hot-swappable and are fully recyclable.

The main advantage (apart from the safety aspect) is that you can just swap-in a new cartridge when you need it, instead of having to stop to recharge (the units weigh around 1.5-pounds each, less than most batteries). You also get better range: a battery-powered bike typically gets 20 to 30-miles on a charge. The downside is infrastructure: you can find a power-outlet pretty much anywhere in the world. Try finding a compatible fuel-cell in a backwater general-store.

The current units can be designed to put out anything from 1-Watt to 1-Kilowatt. Their futire is probably not in electric bikes but in bigger transportation. Imagine driving your car into the gas-station, popping the hood and swapping in a fuel-cell, just Like Doc Brown drops a tube of plutonium into his time-traveling DeLorean.

Pre-orders for the cells are being taken by Signa. For a bike, you’ll probably have a long wait. Full, technical press release below.

Produce High-Pressure Hydrogen From Water [Signa. Thanks, Mike!]

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Press Release:

SiGNa Unveils The Most Energy Dense Power Solution For Electric BicyclesPower system produces clean, safe and portable hydrogen power zero air pollution

NEW YORK October 5, 2010 — The race to create a hydrogen-based portable power platform sped forward when SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. demonstrated its new ultra-high-performance range extender at the Interbike International Trade Expo. This ground-breaking power platform produces hydrogen gas instantaneously and then converts the hydrogen to electricity using a low-cost fuel cell. The extender creates up to 200W of continuous power; excess energy is stored in a lithium battery for use in more energy-intensive acceleration and hill climbing conditions. A unique attribute is the high level of inherent safety as demonstrated by 3 days of continuous operation at Interbike. The hydrogen is produced at low pressure (50% the pressure of a soda can) and the only emission is water vapor.

For the rider, the extender triples the range of their e-bike with minimal additional weight. Existing e-bikes have a range of up to 20 miles without pedaling; SiGNas system reaches up to 60 miles without pedaling for each carried fuel cartridge. The energy density of each SiGNa cartridge is more than 1,000 Watt-hours/kilogram compared to advanced Li-ion batteries at approximately 65 Watt-hours/kilogram. The fuel cartridges are hot-swappable, lightweight (< 1.5 pounds) and inexpensive, making this a realistic solution for any e-bike owner.

The extender uses inherently-safe reactive metal powders to produce electric power. By integrating SiGNas hydrogen-generation technology with an e-bike, we have demonstrated an unprecedented power solution with no greenhouse gas emissions,” says Michael Lefenfeld, President and CEO of SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. SiGNas range extender was demonstrated on a Pedego electric bicycle, but it is directly compatible with most electric bicycle models.

Sodium silicide makes this portable power system possible. Sodium silicide is a safe, air-stable reactive metal powder that instantly creates hydrogen gas when it comes into contact with water. Any type of water can be used including potable water, polluted water, sea water, or even urine. Once the fuel cartridge is depleted, the rider is left with an environmentally-safe byproduct (sodium silicate) that is fully contained in a disposable or reusable cartridge.

SiGNa has adapted its award-winning powders for use in many industrial applications including pharmaceuticals and oil refining. Since sodium silicide is safe, inexpensive and easily transportable, the portable power market is a natural fit. Says Lefenfeld, SiGNas portable-power system overcomes two key challenges with using hydrogen for transportation applications adequate hydrogen storage and safe transport. SiGNa has begun by developing a system that provides power to e-bikes; we envision this platform will become a primary or back up power source for many transportation applications.
SiGNas portable power platform can be utilized in any standalone application that require from 1 W to 1 kW of power including generators, lawn mowers, golf carts, and consumer electronics.
Pre-orders are being taken now at sales@signachem.com.

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Owleye makes solar-powered bike-lights, but don’t worry if you forgot to leave one on the window-ledge all day – you can quickly juice the built-in li-ion batteries via USB.

The lamp in question is the catchily-named 1996-906. Like all Owleye’s other lights, it has solar-panel on the side which will provide enough charge for 90 minutes if left to soak in the photons for two-hours. LEave it in the sun for four hours and switch the 200-lumen LED to flashing-mode and you can enjoy six-hours of night-biking.

The trick here is that you don’t need to turn the house-lights on if its a cloudy day, or to charge the lamp overnight. With the 1996-906, you can just plug in to a handy USB-port or charger and juice it that way.

The idea is a good one – I hate buying batteries or even swapping-out rechargeables. The lights are also small, so you can keep them handy in a backpack or pocket. They’re not cheap, however. Online, this model is going for $80 a set. If you don’t need the USB option, Owleye makes cheaper, bulkier lamps starting at $20.

Owleye product page [Owleye via Urban Velo]

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

A while back, the folks at Portland Design Works sent over a couple bike lights, a set containing the Spaceship and the Radbot. After opening them up and almost blinding myself, I set out to test them, with the intent of killing them. Read on to find out if they survived.

The kit consists the Radbot 500, a 0.5-watt red LED powered by a pair of AAA batteries, and the Spaceship, running on two AAs, which shines its white LED through a “German-engineered lens” and will “withstand rain showers and meteor showers,” (according to the blurb).

I started out the test in Barcelona, but it quickly became clear that the hot temperatures, lack of rain and smooth roads weren’t going to tax these lamps. Worse, Barcelona is so well lit at night that you really don’t need lights on your bike (although the law says otherwise). So I took the pair to a rather more difficult terrain: Berlin, Germany.

Berlin is almost bankrupt, which means long stretches of unlit road and teeth-rattling cobbled streets. It is also in the North of Europe, which gives it hot, dry days (up to 40-degrees, or 100 F) punctuated by cold nights and day-long thunderstorms. It is, in short, a very tough place for bikes and bike accessories.

The lamps do their most important job admirably. They’re ridiculously bright: the red Radbot alone can illuminate a whole room at night, and that’s when its still strapped on my rucksack, pointing in the wrong direction. The Spaceship’s tight beam, a mere curiosity in Barcelona, was essential when cycling through the pitch-black Mauerpark at night, picking out a glowing ellipse on the ground in front to illuminate a safe path between the potholes and broken beer-bottles.

The lights are removable. The Spaceship clamps onto the handlebars with a wraparound collar and a finger-operated screw to tighten it. It stays in place, even over the cobbles. The Radbot comes with a few different fixings. I clip it to the Brooks tool-bag hanging from my saddle, but you can screw an adapter to the light-mount on a rack, the seat-stay or the seat-post.

Despite hanging on tight, I managed to drop both lights plenty of times (usually while trying to drunkenly fix them onto the bike, post-beer-garden). They bounced, and neither of them has even a crack (yet. I’m still trying). Both lamps have also sat outside in Berlin rainstorms: They’re waterproof.

Problems? Very few. While the Radbot needs a long, 1.5-second press on the power switch to turn it on and off (to stop it lighting up in a bag), the Spaceship doesn’t, and actually switched itself on in my bike-bag on its air-trip here. Also, to change the batteries, you need to unscrew the lights to open them. A minor pain, as the screw-shut cases are what keeps the rain out. Otherwise, they come highly recommended (especially the Radbot’s cool pulsing flash-mode). The Spaceship even doubles as a handy weapon with which to blind rival bike-polo players (I have tested this).

Available now in a set for $45.

Spaceship/Radbot 500 [PDW. Thanks, Dan!]

Photo: Charlie Sorrel

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

An English inventor has come up with an cheap, lightweight power-assist system for bicycles. It is built into a pair of modified pedals and requires no extra hardware. It also seems to be impossible.

I need your help, here, Gadget Lab readers. First, I’ll tell you what I know. The kit is called “Fast Forward” and, from the pictures, looks to be a pair of regular pedals with rechargeable batteries and motors inside. Fast Forward was designed by inventor Stephen Britt, and he is currently a finalist in the Barclays “Take One Small Step” contest. If it wins, Stephen will receive business funding.

To use them, you just swap them in for the pedals you already have. Here’s Stephen’s pitch:

These replace your standard pedals and provide you with assistance to get you up hills, or carry heavy loads. Each pedal incorporates a motor, gearbox, Li-po batteries and a control board. As you pedal the sensors detect your effort and provide assistance.

To pedal without assistance, simply flip the pedals over. They unclip and slot into a charger for charging, much like with a power tool. When fully developed they will provide a range of 10 miles and peak power of 200W. They will retail for around 200.

There’s no doubt that Stephen could build these pedals, but my question is, would they work? Surely the pedals, without toe-straps, would just spin under your feet. Even if you were to firmly cinch your feet in place, would a spinning pedal provide any assistance? It seems to me that the pedal would just try to twist your toes upwards and annoy you, and generally act like a tail wagging a dog.

But although I did just spend ten minutes with my foot in a spare pedal waving my leg around, I’m no no mechanic, let alone a physicist. So help me, readers. Could this possibly work? Answers, as always, in the comments.

Fast Forward Cycle Pedals [Barclays via Bicycle Design]

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews