To make up for the relative quiet last week (hope you didn’t miss us too much!) here’s another post to keep you going. Happy weekend!

Inhabitat and a free newspaper I found on the bus the other night were keen to discuss the merits of this new green energy Revolving door by Fluxxlab.

Image from Techchee

Inhabitat praise it as being “an ingenious sustainable energy harvesting idea that makes you wonder why no one else has thought of it before.” Sorry to burst the bubbles guys, but somebody did think of it: in 2005 on Halfbakery. But that’s not to discount the Fluxxlab team, not being the only ones to have the idea is negligible in the context that they are the only ones to have acted on it, apparently successfully. It is also, I think anyone would agree, a laudable goal.

However I find myself questioning the practical applications of this as a large scale solution. Particularily in London as I can’t think of the last time I encountered a revolving door that wasn’t automatic or partially powered for the benefit of the less able or less energetic of us.
Then there is also the problem of the additional friction necessary to generate any energy - unless I’ve misunderstood the design - meaning, potentially, a percentage of the population can’t get through the door at all.

But I think the solution to my concerns might also have been found on Halfbakery - as thekohser suggests “if you really want to power up a few lightbulbs with people exerting the energy, at least go to cooperative participants — try a fitness club (think treadmills and weight machines).” Now there’s an interesting way to keep gym membership costs down!

There has been an interesting experiment in lighting that originates from a 2d surface. Designer Jonas Samson has invented duel function wallpaper, which acts traditionally, as wallpaper, but also doubles up as light source. When the wallpaper is turned ‘off’ there is no indication the light is hidden inside. This is certainly a replacement for any mood lighting you have, it’s also space saving and innovative.

This wallpaper raises a couple of interesting points and crossovers into the realm of technology. First, is that presumably the wallpaper would be at least partially customisable allowing anyone to design their own light whilst also designing their own wallpaper. Personalisation has been a key feature of consumer electronics over the years, (a current example is HP’s The computer is personal again campaign) and this wallpaper has the potential to take the idea of personalisation through technology into new and very different area of our lives.

Secondly the driving force for much of technology at present is smaller and more convergent. The Viewty is a mobile phone, a multimedia player, a camera and a web browser to name but a few and this invention although not focused on traditional gadgetry, is very much part of that landscape.