Just 12 teams remaining in Automotive X PRIZE

Things are heating up in the Automotive X PRIZE with just 15 vehicles representing 12 teams from 6 countries left in the competition. Nine teams were eliminated during the Knockout Qualifying Stage, which took place at the Michigan International Speedway from June 20 to 30. Ultimately, vehicles in each of the three classes will have to exceed 100 MPGe (miles-per-gallon equivalent), meet emissions and performance requirements, and complete on-road challenges in the fastest time possible, if they want to win their share of the US$10 million prize.

The Knockout Qualifying Stage consisted of several events. They included:

• A technical inspection, wherein vehicles were inspected for road safety, and to check that they matched up with the teams’ original design submissions
• An on-road fuel economy test, in which vehicles were subjected to a number of driving conditions, and had to get at least 67 MPGe and less than or equal to 300 grams per mile of CO2 emissions
• An on-road range test, in which Alternative Class vehicles had to travel at least 67 miles (134 for Mainstream Class), at an average speed of 55mph, on a single charge and/or tank of fuel
• A dynamic safety test, wherein the vehicles were assessed for 0-60 acceleration, braking, accident avoidance, highway acceleration, and lateral acceleration

The next step in the X PRIZE is the Finals Stage, running from July 19th to 30th, where the top finalists for each class will be decided. The 12 teams that will be competing include:

Mainstream Class

• Edison2, Charlottesville, Virginia (two versions of their combustion-engined Very Light Car will be competing against one another)

Alternative Class - Tandem

• Commuter Cars, Spokane, Washington (Electric)
• Edison2, with a third version of the combustion Very Light Car
• Spira, Carrollton, Illinois/Banglamung, Thailand (Combustion)
• X-Tracer, Switzerland (Electric)

Alternative Class - Side-by-Side

• Amp, Cincinnati, Ohio (Electric)
• Aptera, San Diego, California (Electric)
• Li-ion Motors, North Carolina (Electric)
• RaceAbout Association, Finland (Electric)
• Tata Motors, Coventry, UK (Electric)
• TW4XP, Germany (Electric)
• Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington (Gas/electric)
• Zap, Santa Rosa, California (Electric)

Gizmag will be on the ground in Michigan during the Finals Stage to bring you up-to-date information on how the competition is progressing, along with a closer look at some of the teams.

The winners of the competition will be announced in September, with the winner of the Mainstream Class taking home US$5 million, and the winners of the two Alternative classes splitting the rest of the prize money.

In the meantime, updates on the standings can be found on the Automotive X-Prize site.

New eco-marathon for energy-efficient light aircraft

A new annual competition in Vichy, France will take place for the first time this July in order to develop and bring attention to sustainable energy-economy in the motorized ultralight aircraft (ULM) industry. Calling to mind the wacky inventiveness of the Red Bull Flugtag, the Eco Marathon ULM aims not to achieve furthest flight through human power, but with the least possible fuel. Competitors will undoubtedly hope to amaze more than amuse.

Two categories are open; the first aimed primarily at students and institutions is to produce a radical or free-thinking prototype; the second aimed primarily at manufacturers, is to produce a more conventional serial model suitable for mass production that demonstrates their latest applied research. Both traditional and alternative fuels can be used, or a combination of two in a hybrid model, and although the event calls itself an “eco-marathon” the winner will not be judged on length of flight, or by time – the objective is not to beat speed records or to arrive first, it is to consume the smallest quantity of energy by flying a known distance.

Yuneec E430 electric aircraft

At first reading there is only one rule – that the aircraft must comply to the French ultralight regulation – and organizers hope this lack of restraint will allow for greater creativity. However further reading reveals a few other requirements – an on-board radio must be in constant communication with ground control, parachutes are mandatory, plus an on-board GPS is required to track and record the rectangular flight plan over 12km. Time, distance and speed will all be recorded, as well as electricity consumption. Additionally aircraft sound level and CO² emission will be measured and rewarded. The competitor must run the course three times, and an average taken of two flights. The deciding factor will be kilojoules counterbalanced against the ratio between empty weight and gross weight following a full refuel.

In addition to the air marathon there will also be a static “Trade Fair of Driving Energies” to showcase the use of renewable energy sources applied to automated vehicles. Exhibitors, competitors and manufacturers will explain their technical choices for submission, and publicize their products.

The Eco Marathon ULM, managed by the Vichy Ulltralight Club and the French Fédération (FFPLUM), will take place on July 9th, 10th and 11th 2010 at the Vichy Charmeil aerodrome in Vichy, France. It is hoped that the event will serve to encourage innovation and new thinking in the field of fuel-efficiency and the future of modern transport, to promote results of research within the industry and raise awareness of technical careers, and to improve environmental efforts in terms of energy consumption and atmospheric emissions.

Microsoft InstaLoad lets you insert batteries in any direction

For batteries to work, they need to go in the right way. It's one of those fundamental rules that we all pick up from an early age, but Microsoft has just announced an innovation that turns all that on its head – literally. Known as "InstaLoad" battery installation, the technology allows you to insert a battery without having to worry about positive and negative polarity. That's idiot-proofing of the highest order!

InstaLoad is designed to save time when using portable devices that need regular battery swaps and would have obvious benefits for (the many) poorly designed gadgets out there that require a microscope to see the polarity diagram.

Microsoft says that "unlike existing electronic solutions designed to address battery-polarity installation, InstaLoad is a mechanical invention that does not drain battery power or require expensive electronic circuitry."

The contact system is suitable for most devices that have barrel-type compartments and use CR123, AA, AAA, C or D size batteries (disposable or rechargeable).

Microsoft is licensing the patented battery contact design and Duracell is among the companies looking to make use of the technology.

Idiot-proofing cracks aside (I know I've managed to put batteries in backwards many times), there is also clear benefit here for people with hearing, vision or learning disabilities. Microsoft has recognized this and is offering a royalty-free license program to suppliers and manufacturers of accessibility devices.

“We believe the InstaLoad feature can make a difference in the lives of those people who need and use these products on a daily basis,” said Rusty Jeffress, corporate vice president, Specialized Devices & Applications, Microsoft.

Finally: motorcycle headlights that look around the corners

You can't accuse BMW motorcycles of lacking gadgets - with the latest and greatest Beemers packing quickshifters, traction control, integrated ABS and all sorts of other goodies, they're right at the pointy end of the pack. But as great as those features are, this one's so forehead-slappingly obvious and excellent that frankly it's a disgrace that nobody else has beaten the Bavarians to it. The (optional) Adaptive Headlight technology on the upcoming K1600GT finally solves one of the most annoying problems on pretty much every motorcycle - by tilting the headlight according to your lean angle, to light your way around a corner as you turn it, instead of having to ride into blackness. Bravo!

The problem is simple enough - to run a road-legal headlight, you have to cut off the top half of the beam using a suitable reflector so you don't blind oncoming drivers, giving you a flat lighting horizon when you're vertical. But when you dip into a corner and lean the bike over, that lit-up area tilts with you, and if you're turning left, the left side tilts downward until you're basically unable to see through the corner, like so:

It's not just annoying, it's a real safety factor if you do a lot of night miles. So BMW deserves unreserved praise for coming up with its Adaptive Headlight system, that senses your lean angle and uses a tilting reflector to aim the beam the way you're leaning. Hence:

Apple admits error with iPhone 4's signal strength indicator

Apple has announced that for years, iPhones have been using a “totally wrong” formula to determine how many bars of signal strength they are receiving. The company recently made the discovery after receiving complaints about sudden drops in signal strength, from users of the new iPhone 4. As it turns out, the signal strength itself wasn’t dropping – instead, the phones had initially been displaying the signal as much stronger than it actually was. In a letter issued to iPhone owners, Apple stated, “Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.”

While some people had previously blamed the reception problem on users’ hands blocking the 4’s integrated antenna, Apple maintains that it’s a software formula issue, and one that has apparently been present since the first iPhones came out three years ago. The company stated that within a few weeks, the problem will be fixed with a free software update for its 3G, 3Gs and 4 models.

Full text of Apple Letter:

Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4 Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

Via: Apple.

First-ever human-powered Canada-to-Hawaii crossing postponed for a year

Canadian adventurer Greg Kolodziejzyk's planned attempt on the world’s first human-powered Canada-to-Hawaii crossing has been delayed. Kolodziejzyk, who has set previous records for human-powered land and water travel was to embark on the two-month trip this week in his custom-built fully-enclosed pedal-powered kayak named WiTHiN. Unfortunately, however, he encountered some difficulties with the boat that couldn’t be fixed in time to make this year’s departure window.

WiTHiN’s problems became apparent during two four-day shakedown trips on British Columbia’s protected coastal waterways, and on its large Lake Okanagan.

According to his blog, Kolodziejzyk’s first concern was the possibility of broaching (capsizing sideways) when drifting while he slept. Although a larger rudder and added weight in the stern were supposed to encourage the boat to turn downwind while drifting, he found that WiTHiN still had a tendency to turn sideways to the wind - and into the oncoming waves. “On ocean swells of 6 to 10 feet or more and the odd breaking wave, with winds from 15 to 20 knots, I think that I would capsize and roll - over and over” he stated. He has since added a horizontal wing to the rudder, in hopes of alleviating the problem.

His next concern involved the deployment of the drogue - a device that is towed underwater behind the boat, making it easier to control in rough weather. Kolodziejzyk realized that standing up and opening the pilot hatch to manage the apparatus, especially in storm conditions, would be “suicidal”. He now has a system for deploying the drogue from inside the boat (pictured below).

Excessive rolling was also an issue, as was the bow’s tendency to pierce into and submerge under waves. As these were mostly noted on the lake, Greg hopes that they won’t be as pronounced on the larger, smoother swells of the ocean. That said, he also readily admits that he needs more experience pedaling WiTHiN on overnight, open-ocean trips. To that end, he is currently in the midst of ten days of sea trials, following the beginning of the route he would take from British Columbia to Hawaii.

Hopefully, everything will be worked out in time for his planned attempt at the crossing next year. In the meantime, he will continue working on WiTHiN, rebuilding funds, and perhaps brainstorming over two of his proposed upcoming adventures - a human-powered snowmobile crossing of Greenland, and a human-powered caterpillar crossing of the Sahara Desert.

Red Bull Stratos team gets closer to supersonic freefall attempt

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AERO GIZMO

Red Bull Stratos team gets closer to supersonic freefall attempt

By Ben Coxworth
17:32 July 2, 2010

3 Pictures

Later this year, Felix Baumgartner will put on a pressurized space suit and helmet, climb into a capsule suspended beneath a balloon, ride 120,000 feet into the earth’s upper atmosphere, then jump out and – before deploying his parachute – try to break the speed of sound while in freefall. That’s the plan, at least, for the insanely-dangerous Red Bull Stratos event. If successful, it will constitute the world’s highest manned balloon flight, highest parachute jump, and fastest and longest freefall. The team conducted three important tests in the last week of May, that they just released the details of this week. What those tests entailed would probably be hair-raising enough to last most of us a lifetime.

The first two tests took place at the Sage Cheshire Aerospace Center in Lancaster, California. There, with the capsule hanging from a crane, Baumgartner practiced his step-off. “We had no idea what’s going to happen to the capsule as he slides the seat forward, climbs out and steps off,” said Aerial Strategist Luke Aikins. “We were worried that if the capsule moved, he wasn’t going to get a good exit, but it’s pretty stationary. So we were able to eliminate those issues.”

The next step involved a space-suited Baumgartner doing bungee jumps from a crane basket suspended 200 feet in the air. The purpose of this test was to let him get a feel for controlling his forward rotation as he stepped off. After several jumps, he appeared to have mastered the technique.

Finally, again in his suit, Felix made a series of high-altitude skydives. Objectives of this test included perfecting his step-off, assessing how different body positions affected controllability, observing how the suit deflated upon descent, and trying out a new chest pack unit that can be moved to one side when Baumgartner needs to spot his landing site. Everything, apparently, went smoothly.

If the name Felix Baumgartner sounds at all familiar, that’s because he’s the same guy who jumped out of a plane with a set of wings on his back and glided across the English Channel, back in 2003. The Red Bull Stratos team, however, insist that their event isn’t just a stunt. “You’ve got a lot of companies that are vying for the role of being the commercial space transport provider for tourism, for upper atmospheric science, and so on,” said Medical Director Dr. Jonathan Clark . “These systems, particularly during the test and development phase, need a potential escape system, which we may be able to help them provide with the knowledge we gain.”