I went to visit a friend, Cameron Sinclair, who’s doing great work through his organization, Architecture for Humanity. One person he mentioned in our conversation was Sheila Kennedy and her project Portable Light. From the website:

“Portable Light is an interdisciplinary research, design and engineering project to create and implement new models for energy efficient electrical power and lighting. Portable Light applies creative processes and strategic integrative thinking to optimize existing semi-conductor technologies and create new applications to serve the large number of people—more than 2 billion—who do not have access to electric light or power. Portable Light is based upon the principle that global needs for technology development are inevitably interconnected. Knowledge, techniques, market solutions and data produced by the project benefit the “third” world and the “first” world where the need to imagine, design and develop energy efficient alternatives to the centralized and increasingly costly electrical grid is becoming ever more important.”

We’ll be keeping a close eye on LEDs, HBLEDs and OLEDs. Lots of design bandwidth in these lighting technologies.

Arthur Shopenhauer said “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”

Above you see three cars, the Tesla Roadster, Wrightspeed X1 and the Tango… the Tesla in particular because of the company’s comparitively deep pockets, which would be in the Violently Opposed Stage (by the majors anyway). Anyone venture a guess when these cars will enter the Self-evident Stage?

All three were in Palo Alto recently… What a treat to see three of the most impressive in one spot! Almost got a ride in the X1… almost. Drat!

Photos by Gerry Gaydos.

Product Categories for our Topics (next post) follow:

1. Essentials – air, water and food… products and processes for human survival.
2. Clothing —  what to wear!
3. Shelter — spaces and places for living and working. 
4. Energy — a power-full life. 
5. Health —  healing and feeling good.
6. Conversion — waste not, want not, have more… from composting to upcycling.
7. Materials — elemental building blocks: biological and technical.
8. Tools — making things easier.
9. Movement — getting there.
10. Connection — we are not alone: direct and indirect communication; knowledge; governance.
11. Play — having fun along the way!