BOmobil

At Bochum the traffic goes green...

More than 10,000 employees in the automotive industry turn this city in the Ruhr region into one of the automotive locations in Germany. Industrial partners from the region Bochum - Bergisches Land participate in the development of the e-mobile which is to be used by companies as a van. It is planned to start with a small series of 50 to100 vehicles with a range of 150 km and Opel technology.

Among the participants is the university Bochum where the institute for electronic mobility deals with this project, the car manufacturer Opel and the Bochum initiative ruhrmobil-E. The project is supported by the Ministry of Commerce of North-Rhine Westphalia providing three million euros; another two million are contributed by industrial partners involved.

Using the BOmobil two people and max. 400 kg can jet through Bochum at a speed of up to 129 km/h for 150 kilometres.


Image source: University Bochum

More details:

http://www.jewo.de/en/~elektroauto

Fraunhofer alliance generative manufacture

Fraunhofer Institut is also involved in the research of rapid prototyping.

The Fraunhofer alliance generative manufacture draws up consulting concepts and holistic research and development offers in the fields of materials, technology, engineering and methods. This includes feasibility analysis, strategic initial research, product development and process development.

Social, economic and ecological consequences are considered in the development of this generative method.


Image source: Fraunhofer ILT

Further information, only in German:

»»» www.rapidprototyping.fraunhofer.de

Cord drive allows robot's hands to act vigorously

Image source: University of the Saarland

In future robots shall rescue earthquake victims from destroyed houses or help old-aged people at home. To make it possible that robots perform the tasks of human helpers they need hands that can grab heavy objects and can put them down again very carefully. Researchers at the university of the Saarland have now developed a cord drive for robotic hands that can transmit enormous powers in a simple and space-saving manner.

The catapult of the old Romans served as an example for the artificial muscles. The engineers presented this innovative miniature drive on the research stand at Hannover Messe from 17 to 24 April 2010. The project is a part of the EU project Dexmart. The project started two years ago with the goal to develop better robotic hands. Eight universities and research institutes in Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain participate. The university in Naples is responsible for the coordination.

»»» http://www.dexmart.eu/

Better late than never

If only I had this opportunity when I went to school... today I'll go to the 'Technology Day' and learn something about companies close to us. Last year the offer was really brilliant...

here's the review, unfortunately only in German:

»»» http://www.tag-der-technik.de/


Image source: VDI


Image source: VDI

or more details at:

»»» http://www.tvonline.vdi-bs.de/


Image source: VDI

Here's an international platform on the topic:

»»» http://www.scienceinschool.org/

It's about this:

Science in School aims to promote inspiring science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists, and everyone else involved in European science education.

Published quarterly, the journal addresses science teaching both across Europe and across disciplines: highlighting the best in teaching and cutting-edge research. It covers not only biology, physics and chemistry, but also maths, earth sciences, engineering and medicine, focusing on interdisciplinary work.

The contents include teaching materials; cutting-edge science; education projects; interviews with young scientists and inspiring teachers; European education news; reviews of books and other resources; and European events for teachers.

Science in School is published quarterly and is available free on this website; free print copies in English are distributed across Europe.

Space Elevator?

Image source: Wikimedia

A space elevator is a proposed structure designed to transport material from a celestial body's surface into space. Many variants have been proposed, all of which involve traveling along a fixed structure instead of using rocket powered space launch. The concept most often refers to a structure that reaches from the surface of the Earth on or near the Equator to geostationary orbit (GSO) and a counter-mass beyond...

»»» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator


The Vision

Climbers ascend a ribbon, 100,000 km long, strung between an anchor on Earth and a counterweight in space. Connecting Earth and space in a way never before possible, the space elevator will enable us to inexpensively and completely expand our society into space.

Beyond Earth, space elevators on the moon and Mars open new economic opportunities and expand humanity's reach ever so slightly into the solar system...

»»» http://www.spaceelevator.com/

If it's to be a bit more professional

"For 15 years I had been looking for the ideal programming language for robotics. Until I found LabVIEW..."

But what is LabVIEW?

National Instruments launched LabVIEW Robotics 2009, a new version of the graphic system design software providing a standard development platform to design autonomous robot control systems.

»»» More information: www.ni.com/labview/whatis/