Students from Virginia Tech have created “smart” brake lights for cars that glow and flash differently depending on what the car is doing.

The system can alert drivers behind you in different ways to show them if you are slowing down, about to stop, and how hard you’re pressing the pedal. It uses a horizontal array of LED lights to create the light show behind your car.

When you begin to slow down, the lights glow orange. After a certain threshold, when you’re about to stop, the side lights glow red. If you’re slamming on the brakes and the cars behind you need to be alerted, the lights will all flash red.

The team behind the project hopes to see their system on commercial vehicles in the future, and we couldn’t agree more. It would take a lot of the guesswork away when driving behind bad drivers. [via Engadget]

Designers Shane Ellis and Terry Brown have come up with an interesting way to remind us when we’re not being green - a power outlet that glows red when plugged-in appliances are consuming power.

Many appliances and electronics continue to use power even when they are off, and this power outlet would be a great way of reminding us of that. The higher the power usage is, the brighter the built-in LED will glow, reminding you to unplug that toaster you won’t be using for another week.

Of course, if you get tired of the nagging simply press a little button on the outlet and it’ll stay white until you turn it back on.

This is a great idea that could help us all save a little power here and there. It would be interesting to see if this product would take off if someone began mass-manufacturing it. Another picture after the jump. Read more »

The folks at Studio Roosegaarde have designed an interesting contraption called Liquid Space 2.1. The sculpture is an interactive artwork that changes its appearance in response to humans.

Studio Roosegaarde’s description: “Liquid Space 2.1 is an interactive space which physically changes its form in relation to human sounds and motion. This interactive fusion of mechanisms, embedded electronics and software creates a real-time dialogue with its visitors. In this play of defining and letting go the space evolves its behavior towards the visitors, creating a sensual co-existence.”

Liquid Space 2.1 uses a variety of LEDs and electroluminescent lighting to create the effect of movement. Sensors, embedded electronics, and special software combine to control a mechanism which responds to the presence of humans. The sculpture measures in at 4 × 4 × 4 meters.

It will be interesting to see what this work of art will look like when humans are interacting with it. Liquid Space 2.1 looks like a great addition to a museum of modern art, or even as a tourist attraction in a famous city.

[via Studio Roosegaarde]

Researchers in Ireland have developed new micro LEDs which can emit light for a long, long time from a single charge. We’re talking almost a human lifetime here.

Granted, the micro LEDs are much smaller than conventional ones at only 15 microns across (compared to 300 microns), but they could be combined in arrays to compete with ordinary LEDs. Because they are so small, the micro LEDs require only a few billionths of an amp to operate. One of the researchers came up with the 80 year figure by using the amount of power stored in a coin-size battery.

These micro LEDs are also more efficient at turning the power put into them into light, meaning that they produce less heat.

The current plan is to market the device as an alternative to lasers. Some commercial applications are also possible such as inserting the micro LEDs into shoes or tickets to prevent counterfeiting.

It looks like LEDs will be providing our light in the future, and this is yet another step in that direction. Hopefully we’ll see some interesting creations putting these miniature lights to use.

Young Optics Inc., a company that creates optical components and optical engines, has announced that they will be shipping a pico projector either at the end of this quarter or the beginning on the next one, meaning that we will see a tiny projector in the next few months.

The devices are expected to run on only 1 watt of energy and, using an LED lamp, will be capable of displaying 7 ANSI lumens of brightness. The pico projectors will use the Texas Instruments DLP display technology.

A name or price has not been announced yet. However, with the release date imminent these details should emerge soon.

With this projector we could finally see an explosion in mobile video. A pico projector would probably mean bigger storage in mobile phones so we can cart around big video files and view them anywhere at a decent size. Hopefully the big mobile phone manufacturers will take advantage of the technology when it’s released.

A Greener Gadget Award has been given to Clay Moulton, a Virginia Tech student, for his floor lamp powered entirely by gravity.

The Gravia, as it is called, has 10 LEDs and is powered by a weight which is manually raised once a day and slowly falls to the bottom as the day progresses. There is no power cord in sight. The entire column, measuring just over 4 feet high, gets a soft, diffuse glow as a result.

The best part? Moulton estimates that the Gravia can last about 200 years with daily use, and that its lifespan is only limited by the LEDs which will go out by then.

This is definitely one of the greenest gadgets around. Who doesn’t want a device that will power itself as long as you live? Although probably not the brightest lamp around, at a reasonable price the Gravia would make a welcome addition to many homes.

This bamboo-inspired speaker design (with pics) by Soohyuk Im has some great features: WiFi, wireless speakers, an LED screen, MP3 line in, remote desktop syncing, radio, and a CD player. Not only does it have more than the expected features, but it also sounds great due to the acoustics of cylindrical objects. The setup includes left/right wireless speakers, a control ring, and a base station that houses the subwoofer.

The base station can be setup to wirelessly sync with your computer. The Bamboo’s charge lasts for 12 hours.

We think this thing looks like an awesome speaker setup, and we really love the computer syncing feature. Too many times people need to use an iPod for the sound systems they use in their house, when in reality all modern sound systems should have features to sync with a person’s computer and make it as easy as possible to manage music.