SUPERSPEED TRAINS: China has just tested a train that will speed through the countryside at up to 500 km/h. The train's made of plastic reinforced with carbon fibre and has a maximum tractive power of 22,800 kilowatts. Officials say it won't necessarily travel that fast though as they have concerns about safety. The landscape would just be a blur at that speed. More at Physorg.com.
POD PILGRIMS: The pods are coming to Amritsar, India. Transport pods, that is. As many as 500,000 Sikh pilgrims visit the Golden Temple each year, and authorities are concerned about the building degrading because of vehicle emissions. The electric pods will help carry visitors to the shrine. The personal rapid transit system is like the one at Heathrow Airport in London. 200 automated electric pods will shuttle an average of 100,000 passengers per day over3.3 km of track. Each pod will carry six passengers, and must withstand both 50 degree Celsius heat and monsoon rain. There are surely plenty more places that could use this kind of system. More details at the New York Times.
BOTTLE SEATS: The 2012 Ford Focus Electric uses sustainable Repreve fabrics. The hybrid blend fabric is created from used plastic water bottles and polyester fibre manufacturing waste. Each car keeps 22 bottles out of the landfill. That's a drop in an ocean of plastic water bottles. Repreve.com has more.
ENERGY GO ROUND: The Energy Return Wheel suspends a wheel within a wheel. As the wheel touches the road a special rubber membrane between the two absorbs energy and noise and returns the energy later in the cycle. This has the potential to save fuel and to offer a smoother ride. Moreover the tyre is airless so punctures aren't a problem. The wheel can be used on any vehicle. If the ride's smoother, long distance travel may be less tiring too, I guess. Read more here and there's video here.
TAG YOU'RE OUT: Wheelchair users need those specially marked parking spots but often the spots are used by those who shouldn't be there.
New Zealand's Car Parking Technologies may have a solution. Their system provides eligible drivers with an electronic tag. Sensors in the parking spots detect the tag and instantly notifies parking enforcement personnel when a car with no tag stops there. The system costs about the same as the current permit system, and could be easily adapted for other kinds of reserved parking too. Even better: just connect it to an instant fine system. Gizmag has more.