Getting power to disaster-affected areas is always a tough task, but Andrew Leinonen's undergrad industrial design thesis (and recent first place entry in the 2008 ACIDO Rocket Show) might be able to solve the problem in an efficient and clever way. Dubbed Solarial, the idea is to use small unmanned airships made out of materials embedded with CIGS solar cells to autonomously deliver clean power to disaster sites by deploying anchored "power boxes" that have 12 total 120V outlets and 2 240V sockets. Obviously this is just a concept, but it's a clever one -- let's hope someone with the cash to make it happen finds out about it.

Admit it: having a synthesizer in your pocket just isn't enough. No, you need one on your person in order to truly feel whole. If we just rang your bell, you should take a long, insightful look at the Square Band. The latest revision of the wearable synthesizer includes a volume control and a couple of flexible solar panels, the latter of which were added partly for aesthetics. Apparently wearers can simply trigger buttons tucked under their wrist with their fingertips, upon which a superabundance of cacophonic sounds will emerge and completely freak out any nearby bystanders. You have to have one now, don't you?

[Via MAKE]

We've seen some pretty far-fetched efforts meant to capture the sun's rays and convert 'em into energy, but this one holds a special place in our hearts. Rather than consuming acres upon acres of desert land or simply placing a plethora of panels atop some roof, ZM Architecture has an idea that would land a slew of large lily-shaped solar panels in the River Clyde. After winning the International Design Awards Land and Sea Competition, the concept has been passed on to the Glasgow city council in hopes of a trial going forward in the near future. Essentially, energy gathered by the discs would be transformed and exported to the national grid, and integrated motors could rotate the pads in order to "follow the sun for maximum output." Just gotta watch for those sunbathers sure to swim over and kick back on a panel of their own.

[Via Inhabitat]

Read - BBC report
Read - IDA winner report

If destroying your roof just to get some sun-sucking solar panels installed isn't your thing, Lumeta's PowerPly could be the solution. The panels use traditional roofing adhesives, that'll be familiar to regular ol' roofers, and save the process from drilling holes and bolts associated with the regular rack systems required to mount solar panels. Right now this process is targeted at commercial projects -- you can watch a pair of guys install 2.25 kilowatts of solar modules onto a California roof after the break -- but hopefully residential applications won't be far behind.

[Via Digg]

The SolarAid really isn't much different than your average hearing aid in function -- it enables hearing-impaired individuals to get a better listen at the world around them. The difference, however, comes from its source of energy. Through a series of tragic and fortunate events, Howard Weinstein wound up in Africa with a goal in mind: to concoct a hearing aid that even the poorest of citizens could afford. Through a series of grants and help from hordes of deaf individuals that had no qualms holding a soldering iron, some 20,000 folks in 30 countries are currently using the solar-powered devices. Best of all, the mastermind isn't slowing down, as he's looking to expand the nonprofit into the Middle East, China and India in the not-too-distant future.

[Via CrunchGear]

We know, it's tiresome scouring the streets for an AC outlet when you've got oodles of sunshine surrounding you. That's where Devotec Industries' Solar Charger comes in. The smallest (and freshest) addition to the company's line weighs in at under 80-grams and measures just 95- x 43- x 10-millimeters, and packed within you'll find an 1800mAh battery. Of note, users can also juice up the device via USB or AC for when cloudy days swoop in, and it comes bundled with a slew of tips to handle the most popular handsets out there. Yeah, it does take a full day of sun (12-hours, to be precise) to get this thing fully charged (or 4-hours by AC / USB), but then again, it'll only set you back £19.99 ($40).

Although Brent Hatch's homegrown solar-electric whip looks eerily similar (read: just as ugly) to the SUNN solar car kit, this one was actually created without the help of any pre-packaged parts or sophisticated schematics. After his gas bill rose well over $700 a month (he and his wife have seven kids, after all), he decided to purchase a rather unsightly eight-seater bicycle and figure out a way to enable roof-mounted solar panels to power an electric motor. Nah, the top speed isn't very impressive, and you certainly wouldn't want to head out on I-5 with it, but it sure makes picking up the offspring from their nearby school a whole lot less painful on the wallet. Check out the video in the read link for more.

[Thanks, Dave]

Curious designs and solar-powered wares seem to go hand in hand, but honestly, the PowerCube 600 is going to be hard to top. In what appears to be a ginormous (and inexplicably uncomfortable) recliner, the creators have managed to shove enough solar panels in this foldable, "portable" generator to crank out 600-watts of power. You'll also find 3,500-watts of continuous inverter output, 2,400 amp hours of battery storage and a rugged / watertight case. Even when closed up, this beast measures 72- x 124- x 50-inches, and while it technically is a mobile solution, 2,000-pounds isn't exactly what you want to lug around each time you feel like hosting a LAN party in Zzyzx, California. Forget the fact that you'll need to phone up Reluminati in order to acquire a price -- just think of the shipping!

[Via MAKE]

In what's become an increasingly familiar tune, a startup company has announced that it's just pulled in a significant haul of funding based on its promises of better, cheaper solar power. In this case, the company in question is 1366 Technologies, which was spun out of research from MIT and is headed by MIT professor Ely Sachs (who is taking a leave of absence to focus on the company). According to the company, it's found a way to make solar cells from multicrystalline silicon that are just as efficient as ones from single-crystal silicon, which is normally much more expensive to produce. In terms of hard numbers, that translates to solar cells that are 27 percent more efficient than your average solar cell, and (in its current state) a cost a $2.10 per watt. Sachs says that cost will come down to $1.65 per watt when manufacturered on a commercial scale, however, and will eventually drop to $1.30 a watt with some "planned improvements." That's still short of the $1 a watt goal they're aiming for (which is roughly the cost of coal), but the company seems confident they can hit that mark by 2012 with some "anticipated advances."

[Via Physorg]

We've seen a few massive solar farms pop up out west, but it looks like Southern California Edison is taking a different approach: instead of cluttering up the desert, the company plans to build a distributed solar array on the rooftops of commercial buildings throughout SoCal. The plan is to spend $875M over five years to cover about two square miles of rooftop with the panels, which will alleviate stress on the grid by generating around 250 megawatts of juice, as much as a small power plant. That's enough to light up 162,000 homes, but it's still a little short of the record 280-megawatt Solana installation planned in Arizona -- come on, Cali, let's see a little fight.

Almost every solar-powered car we've seen has been incredibly goofy-looking, but we'd bet we could learn to overlook external appearances if we had a sunshine whip to call our own -- especially if we had to build it ourselves as well. That's the promise behind Art Haines' SUNN solar car kit, which'll let you build your very own DOT-approved electric car using only standard hand tools. Completed, the car can hit 35MPH and has a range of 20 miles before the batteries give out and you've got to take a little solar siesta (or find a plug outlet.) Five of the kits have already been sold, including a new pickup-style version, but you'll need time and some extra cash on hand before you go electro-cruising: the kit itself costs $4,500, not including batteries or solar panels. Video of the original project after the break.

[Via Autoblog Green]

Robotic lawn mowers have been keeping yards tidy for their masters for a good while now, but Husqvarna is looking to teach an old robot new tricks with its Automower. As expected, the grass muncher is ultra-quiet and outputs zero emissions, and you can even program it to take off and get to work whenever you please. Reportedly, a fully charged battery can get about 40 minutes of cutting done, and best of all, the unit will automatically return to its charging base to juice back up if the sun isn't out. Still, with a price tag of around £2,000 ($3,971), you may just be better off paying that punk kid down the street to handle your mowing needs.

[Via Pocket-lint, video at Megawhat]

Printed solar cell tech keeps getting closer and closer to reality, with a Massachusetts company called Konarka Technologies today announcing that it's now able to manufacture solar cells using inkjet printing. There's not a ton of information available about the process, but Konarka's already demonstrated it and published details in a trade journal called Advanced Materials -- which sounds like scintillating reading, if you ask us. Konarka says the process makes fabbing solar panels extremely easy, since it doesn't require a clean room, and the resulting cost reductions could lead to an increased number of applications for solar power. Of course, the economics of inkjet printing have lured more than one company to the dark side -- we wonder if Konarka is eventually going to start selling solar ink cartridges for more than the printers themselves?

[Via The Raw Feed]

[Via Inhabitat]

Make no mistake, our hearts were fluttering when we finally witnessed WowWee's FlyTech Dragonfly buzzing about, but there's just something about this creature that really wins us over. Designed and constructed by James G. Watt, this robotic insect reportedly includes a number of solar cells which provide enough power in sunlight to make the critter's wings flap. Granted, we aren't told whether or not it's mighty enough to deliver loves notes in math class, but we're digging the concept, regardless.

[Via MAKE]