イタリアで、家を3Dプリンターで造るプロジェクト、WASP Big Deltaが進んでいる。この家を造るために作られた、3Dプリンターの高さは 12m。六角形のトラス構造の中に粘土や泥といった持続可能な資材が圧送され、先端のノズルからこの材料が出ていく、ノズルはコンピューター制御で動き、この材料は下から順番に上に積み上げられていく。この繰り返しで、ケーキのモンブランのような感じで家ができていくという仕組みです。
今のところ計画通りの実際に人間が住める家が”出力”されるレベルには達していない。実際のスケールの何分の一かの小さな家を積み上げて作る実験が行われている段階です。
" It was a little later than 3 pm when the largest solar-powered boat in the world was unveiled to the press and to the partners of PlanetSolar in the dockyard in Kiel.
At the end of the official ceremony, the lucky people present had the opportunity to inspect the futuristic lines of PlanetSolar.
The PlanetSolar team invites you to click on the multimedia tab in order to relive this historic moment. Here you will also find exclusive photos of the boat taken on the 25th of February in Kiel.
We are already thrilled about the next step in this great adventure. This will be the launch of the boat, planned for April. "
" SunPower Solar Cells Exclusively Used to Power the Catamaran
At the HDW Shipyard, PlanetSolar unveiled the world's largest solar boat, which will be powered exclusively by high-efficiency solar cells from SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB), a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems. In late March, PlanetSolar will launch its catamaran for testing, and then embark on its round-the-world tour in early 2011.
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Designed by a team of international engineers, it will be powered by approximately 38,000 of SunPower's next generation cells, each cell offering an efficiency of at least 22 percent, the highest efficiency solar cells commercially available. The catamaran is expected to be the fastest solar boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first to cross both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Stopovers include Hamburg, London and Paris in Europe, New York and San Francisco in the U.S., and Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The solar boat will be available for public display during each of its stops, offering an educational opportunity to all visitors.
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About PlanetSolar
PlanetSolar will achieve the first round-the-world sea voyage powered by solar energy. The world tour will be made on board a revolutionary 30-meter long catamaran covered with 500 square meters of photovoltaic solar panels. The first solar-powered round-the-world voyage - scheduled for April 2011 - will run from East to West, along an equatorial route.
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2012年に世界初の試みとなるソーラープレーン、ソーラーインパルス Solar Impulseによる世界一周飛行に向けて準備を進めているスイスの冒険家を中心としたチームは、チューリヒ近郊の 軍の飛行場デューベンドルフ(Dubendorf)で短いテスト機による飛行を終えたあと、同機をペイエルン Payernenに移送しました。そこで、3月中にもテスト機の本格的な飛行実験行う準備に入ったようです。
-----image : 同リリースより
