The rental electric cars program will be known as the Autolib system and will function in a similar way to the Velib bicycle-rental system. Patrons will be able to rent a battery-powered Bluecar for 30 minutes at a time at the cost of 4 to 8 Euros ($6-10 CD). Additionally, membership to Autolib will become available in daily and annual fees ranging from ten Euros a day ($14 CD) to 144 Euros a year ($202 CD).

Bertrand Delanoe, Mayor of Paris, plans to expand the project to include at least 3,000 electric cars available for rental by the end of next year dependent on the success of the pilot.

The Autolib system, if proven as successful as the bike-sharing program, could bolster a new movement of electric car rental services in cities worldwide. The program has the potential to ease traffic crowds and decrease commute times for millions of drivers. Moreover, fewer vehicles on the road will aid in lowering gas emissions into the atmosphere. Paris just might become the leader in promoting what could become one of the world’s most important movements to save our environment.

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Source: BBC News       http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15134136

Now, is it too good to be true? While the start-up costs of urban rooftop farming can be quite expensive, the expense is evened by the low-cost of operation. Furthermore, rooftop farmers are able to produce food year-round while traditional local farmers are restricted to a 24 to 28 week growing season, thereby proving the potential of urban rooftop farming to become a significant source of profit.

In addition to being profitable, urban rooftop farming could be a powerful agent in promoting the movement to buy local produce.

If more rooftop farming is constructed, more varieties of produce could become available and persuade the local population to buy homegrown food.

Moreover, the locally produced food will decrease our carbon footprint created by our reliance on global trade. Rooftop farms can also help conserve energy of the buildings on which the farms rest. Lufa Farms estimates that the company has saved about 25% on heating costs for the building they operate on.

As you will see in the video below, another excellent example of this innovative concept is the RoofTop Farms project in New York, which has been gaining momentum in NYC.

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Source: https://lufa.com/en

The company launched a free international community site dubbed Skype in the Classroom, an online platform designed to help teachers find each other and relevant projects according to search criteria such as the age groups they teach, location and subjects of interest.

The platform, which has been in beta since the end of December 2010, already has a community of more than 4,000 teachers, across 99 countries.

Teachers need only sign up with their Skype account at the website, create a profile with their interests, location and the age groups they teach and start connecting with other teachers by exploring the directory, where they can also find projects and resources that match their skills, needs or interests

Click here to view the embedded video.

via Skype In The Classroom: An International Social Network For Teachers.

Jibbigo, short for “Jibberish on the Go,” was selling an app for $28 that runs on iPhones, iPads, iPod touches and Android phones. After the earthquake, the company slashed its price to $2.99.

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But that doesn’t help relief workers in Japan who can’t get online. So the company raced to develop a standalone version of the program.

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via CNNMoney Tech Tumblr — Easier translations for Japanese relief workers.

Using Zigbee radio communication, the SmartBird continuously passes information on its flight to an off-board computer that tracks, and improves, its movements.

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What makes the artificial seagull ‘smart’ is the controlled way in which its wings are pivoted as they flap. This allows the SmartBird to get an upstroke and downstroke almost identical to its organic inspiration using little power.

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The whole bot uses just 23 watts. The torsion applied to its wings also lets the bird steer, a feat which is monitored (and can be controlled) by external computers that communicate with the robotic gull via Zigbee radio.

That means that not only did Festo engineers learn from nature to create the SmartBird, they can learn from the way SmartBird flies to create the next generation of robotic aircraft

Via Singularity Hub

The European aircraft manufacturer has offered a sneak peek at its “Concept Cabin,” which aims to both enhance the flying experience for air passengers and improve the environment.

Airbus says the new cabin will be operational by 2050 and offer different “zones,” such as the “Vitalising Zone” — focused on relaxation and complete with aromatherapy and acupressure treatments — and the “Interaction Zone,” which provides virtual pop-up projections that can create whatever scene a passenger wants.

A transparent cabin skin will even allow for panoramic views of the sky during flight.

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The cabin also won’t divide up passengers based on how much money they’re willing to spend on their flight, but rather on how they want to spend their flight. And all travelers will receive the same seat, regardless of cabin class, which will respond to a passenger’s needs by morphing to change to a passenger’s body shape.

Airbus also showed it continues to focus on caring for the environment.

via Airbus shows its vision of future flight – Business – US business – Aviation – msnbc.com.

Just a few weeks ago, Nocera and his team stuck an artificial cobalt- and phosphate-coated silicon leaf into a jar of water and managed to create power–at an efficiency that surpasses today’s solar panels, no less. The technique mimics photosynthesis by splitting hydrogen from water to generate power from the sun.

Tata and Nocera imagine that the research could lead to a refrigerator-sized “mini power plant” in a development that could, according to Live Mint, bring power to the three billion people currently living without.

via Tata, MIT Collaborate to Create Energy From Water, Bring Power to 3 Billion People | Fast Company.

What is “neuromarketing,” the odd corner of marketing research NeuroFocus has staked out for itself? Broadly speaking, neuromarketers measure how the brain and body react to certain stimuli, then extrapolate from that information whether an advertisement, brand, product, or package is having its desired effect. Neuromarketers reportedly had a hand in the 2010 midterm elections, with several consulting for Republican candidates. Neurological research has also been used to help market movies. Recently, Fast Company also explored whether these firms might have a hand in making the movies themselves.

NeuroFocus CEO Dr. A.K. Pradeep tells Fast Company he was especially excited to be contributing to science: “I run a marketing company, and I know we’ve taken so much from science. It’s kind of cute and funny to give back to science. The headsets we design are now actually going to be used by people in wheelchairs to control those wheelchairs. It’s really a fascinating moment.”

via Thinking Cap: “Mynd” Is the First Dry, iPhone-Compatible, Portable Brain Scanner | Fast Company.

The Martin Jetpack has the potential to revolutionize how we move from place to place. An idea seen in many science fiction movies, now it is close to be commercialized and let men flight the skies at will with propulsion turbines in their backs.

The jetpack has been a major goal of the aerospace industry for over fifty years – a goal that has been achieved by Martin Aircraft Company.

The Martin Jetpack is a result of years of input from a team of engineers and developers worldwide.

Originally designed with the leisure market in mind, Martin Aircraft Company has seen strong demand from a wide range of markets, including military, civil defence and recreation.

It is in the final stages of research and development to meet early interest from the defence and civil defence sectors.

Today, Martin Aircraft Company is poised to introduce the unprecedented technical achievements of the Martin Jetpack to the commercial market

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

via The Martin Jetpack – Martin Aircraft Company || The Martin Jetpack.

“Our intention is to build the third Rotating Skyscraper in New York,” Dr. Fisher stated. “Additional Dynamic Towers will be built around the world, following an expression of interest from developers, governments, and public officials to construct a Dynamic Tower in Canada, Germany, Italy, Korea and Switzerland”.

The futurist architect also has mentioned that “the Dynamic Tower is environmentally friendly and the first building designed to be self-powered, with the ability to generate its own electricity, as well as for other nearby buildings, it achieves this feat with wind turbines fitted between each rotating floor, An 80-story building will have up to 79 wind turbines, making it a true green power plant,”.

The Dynamic Tower is also the first skyscraper to be built entirely from prefabricated parts that are custom made in a workshop, resulting in cost savings, this approach known as the Fisher Method, also requires far fewer workers on the construction site, thereby dramatically lowering construction costs.

“Each floor of the building can be completed in only seven days. From now on, buildings will be made in a factory,” Dr. Fisher said.

The Dynamic Tower also takes the concept of green buildings to the next level as the futurist tower generates the electricity to cover its energy needs.

Dynamic Architecture.