The University of Michigan has received a $10 million, five-year grant from the Army to develop a miniature spy bat complete with cameras, radar, recharging capability, a self-guidance system, and a radio to send surveillance data.

Scientists will try to shrink current electronics down to allow the bat to be six inches in length, weigh four ounces, and use only one watt of power. They will attempt to create a navigation system 1,000 times smaller and 1,000 times more energy efficient than today’s systems, and a communications system that’s one-tenth of today’s size. Read more »

Sustainable design group SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology) has a new project called GROW that is capable of harnessing both solar and wind power.

GROW uses leafy, fluttering solar shingles that draw power from both the wind and the sun. The leaves are made from 100% recyclable polyethylene and come in a variety of colors and opacities. The project got its inspiration from ivy growing on the side of a building.

The creator of the tiles, Teresita Cochraine, hopes to have GROW available via the Moma store or Design Within Reach instead of more commercial system. However, it would probably be priced accordingly - much more expensive than traditional solar systems.

We think that the idea is great. It combines aesthetics and green tech to create a truly unique supply of power. The only thing holding GROW back would be its price. We hope to see some of these hanging on a building sometime soon, though, as it would look very cool. Another picture after the jump. Read more »

A new kind of street lamp called a “Seagull Light” has been spotted at Panasonic’s technology center in Tokyo. These lamps generate the power required to drive them by harvesting wind and solar power. Their cost is quickly covered by the money saved on electricity bills, says Panasonic. As an added bonus, they look very stylish, especially when the wind turbine is spinning.

We think it’s great that Panasonic is developing ways to save electricity and money in such an eco-friendly way. So far it is not clear whether the new lamps will become a commercial product or not, but replacing as many traditional lights as possible with these could save many a penny on electricity bills for cities worldwide.