And example of optimization enabled by the pervasiveness of mobile phones.

Why having the lights on all night? Why not turning them on just when someone needs them? Some communities in Germany have used different mobile phone based system just for that. Walking home at night? Just call a number and your route will illuminate for a limited time. The system is used also for more concrete applications as illuminating sport areas.

Image from http://www.dial4light.de

Possibilities of using near field communications for that? combination with more simple movement sensors?with route planning? With renting bikes systems? Problems with privacy? Advantages of letting know your position when walking home at night.

A fine example of optimization using ICT.

Via Treehugger.

Dial4Light

I have been using Viasat To-go TV for some time. I am from the opinion that many technology will converge into mobile devices (as it is doing already), and most of the content and computer power will be virtualized into the data-grid of servers. But mobile tv doesn’t work, television is a medium that is probably sentenced by the potential of internet of providing asynchronous entertainment where and when you want. When I commute I don’t want to just watch what’s on CNN on that moment, I want to see the news, without advertisement. A video podcast work much better for that purpose.

Photo from Sony Ericsson

Via Mobilkoll (mobile side) and Treehugger (green life side) I have seen that Sony Ericsson has released a new concept phone with environmental goodies:

• bio-plastic housings
• recycled plastic keypads
• zero charger with 3.5mW standby power
• HTML based e-manuals
• game style educational application ‘Ecomate’
• environmentally conscious packaging.

Not bad, not bad. I like the packaging and the owl thing ^_^

But most important is the environmental warranty, that states: “when any Sony Ericsson product is taken to a designated collection point, Sony Ericsson will recycle this product in an environmentally sound way. This warranty is valid globally, regardless of where the product was originally purchased”.They have already 500 collection points.

Awesome, that is some fact and more than just words or concepts.

More info at Sony Ericsson press release.

Photo from Nokia

This reminds me of the Nokia 3110 Evolve. that it was announced December last year, that is quite a big time advantage. It is supposed to be for sell already, but I haven’t find it yet. The environmental carachteristics are a bit similar:

• 50 percent of it’s bio-covers come from renewable sources.
• It’s presented in small packaging made of 60 percent recycled content.
• And it comes with Nokia’s most energy efficient charger yet, the AC-8.

Nokia has also its recycling plan.

I remember also that NEC had a bioplastic based phone back in 2005.

Interesting to see how this will keep developing, let’s hope this kind of innovations reach mainstream and are a natural part of the products and not just a marketing thing. Make the green look normal, not the normal look green (From the green marketing manifesto book).

Photo from Ericsson.

I found an interesting programme called The Green Power for Mobile that wants to promote the use of renewable energy for mobile networks. The plan is both to increase connectivity to people lacking access to regular electricity and to substitute diesel in those places where there is off-grid infrastructure based on fossil fuels.

That is such a great project! I will keep a look about how it is developing.

Photo from Ericsson.

From the time in Ericsson I remember their projects about using renewable energy powered mobile systems. From the base stations, to mobile solar chargers as shown in the picture. Now they have a nice specific site presenting their projects with videos and links to several white papers.

One thought. Shouldn’t this idea be extended to normal base stations? For instances retroffiting network equipment in sunny south spain with solar panels. Even if you keep it on the grid without batteries, it would reduce the total energy consumption of the site and probably resell energy on the grid in the sunniest times.

I would keep an eye about this. A sustainable pervasive information cloud.

Picture thanks to Jan Chipchase

One of the applications in my thesis was a “mobile instant guilt killer”, meaning a easy way to offset carbon dioxide emissions on the move. If the mobile phones are aware of our greenhouse gases emissions (following our travel patterns using gps) and they reminds us of our lifestyle excesses, why would they not help us reliving the guilt a bit?

I hadn’t found any such application yet, but today reading Jan Chipchase blog I saw that Nokia has recently released an offsetting application developed together with Climate Care! Jan had used the application for offsetting his travel Kabul – Dubai – Tokyo. In the post he brings up the interesting question that such semi automated application makes so easy to offset your actions that you do not need to reflect about the problem (maybe hindering a needed behavioral change).

A good move from Nokia. I could not install the application on my phone, but I will give it a try soon.

Blog post in Jan Chipchase blog.

  

Mobile everything, originally uploaded by It’s a mobile world.

The three things no one leaves at home are the wallet (some kind of id, money), the keys, and the mobile phone. (See Chipchase et al (2005) Mobile Essentials)

In my new apartment we have a RFID card that opens all the doors, from the apartment one to the mailbox. Hanging from my mobile phone (together with a lego brick =) it’s one thing less to remember.

How mobile phones can start having this other functionality so we only need one device when leaving home? Mobile payment as the japanese suica? some kind of personal id combined with biometrics as fingerprint? RFID keys integrated on the device for opening the apartment or using public transportation? Which kind of security problems arise? How more traumatic the loss of the mobile device would be?