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Transportation Technology Science

Raspberry Pi, Smart Highways Win World's Biggest Design Prize 91

Posted by Soulskill from the i-would-play-quake-on-both dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Last night the €500,000 INDEX: Award was awarded to five designs that can improve life for millions of people around the world. The winners include high-tech highways that light up at night, the $25 Raspberry Pi computer, a simple piece of paper that can cut food waste by extending the life of fresh produce by 2-4 weeks, and a plan for adapting to climate change."
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Raspberry Pi, Smart Highways Win World's Biggest Design Prize More

Raspberry Pi, Smart Highways Win World's Biggest Design Prize

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  • Cut food waste by extending the life of fresh produce or... drive up the demand for cooled storage devices?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Skapare ( 16644 )

      The latter will do better to benefit the one percenters.

    • Re:Cut food waste or...? (Score:4, Informative)

      by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Friday August 30, 2013 @11:24AM (#44716917)

      Refrigeration doesn't do much with produce. Other than keeping it cold.
      I usually keep my fruit un-refrigerated. It tastes better and lasts just as long.

      • Refrigeration doesn't do much with produce. Other than keeping it cold.
        I usually keep my fruit un-refrigerated. It tastes better and lasts just as long.

        Refrigeration provides a controlled clean environment; the temperature doesn't have much to do with it for many foods, but the sealed space keeps out insects etc. and the humidity control is an added bonus.

        THIS is something that could be extremely beneficial to most of the world, especially areas near the equator.

      • Re:Cut food waste or...? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by c0lo ( 1497653 ) on Friday August 30, 2013 @12:30PM (#44717649)

        Refrigeration doesn't do much with produce. Other than keeping it cold.

        Ummm... reduces lost of water by evaporation (juicier for longer time).
        Slows down the ripening process... when if comes to shelf life, the supermarkets will count as a loss a too high quantity of ripen fruits that need to be sold in a short time (at a lower price). Because ripe fruits can be damaged not only by bacteria/fungi but also by... hold on... their own weight (have you tasted a peach ripen on the tree until juicy, fragrant and so soft you can take a bite from it with you lips? You won't be able to ever buy it from the supermarket).

        I usually keep my fruit un-refrigerated. It tastes better and lasts just as long.

        From which I deduce you eat all your fruit mostly within 2 weeks of purchase. The fruit wholesalers may keep it for 2 years in cold storage though (and still have the audacity to sell it to you as fresh).

    • You can't go demanding that other people don't have the basic food safety you do.

      Well, I mean, you can, but it's tantamount to killing those people.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by c0lo ( 1497653 )

        You can't go demanding that other people don't have the basic food safety you do.

        I only implied (not said explicitelly) that the supermarkets and produce wholesellers will need larger cool spaces for keeping the produce for longer (as spoilage at the buyers side will be lower, the demand of fresh produce will lower as well)

        Will this push them to sell the excess of US produce in Ethiopia or Somalia? Given the transport costs, somehow I doubt it; and, if I'm right, food unsafety for the other people will continue without me demanding it

        Finally... no, I'm not saying the fenugreen paper is

  • > [FreshPaper extends] the life of fresh produce by 2-4 weeks

    "Well, kids. I'm back with our month supply of Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and celery. Where's the FreshPaper? I can't find it."

    (Kids get an evil look on their faces and stare away.)

    • LOL, I must have been the only kid who looked forward to when the Brussels sprouts came out of the garden. :-P

      Still my all time favorite vegetable, and I'm a vegetarian, so that's saying something.

      • LOL, I must have been the only kid who looked forward to when the Brussels sprouts came out of the garden. :-P

        Still my all time favorite vegetable, and I'm a vegetarian, so that's saying something.

        The odd thing about Brussels Sprouts is that I can eat one, and it tastes good, the second, so-so, and beyond that I can't stand them.

        OTOH, I can eat asparagus until the smell of my pee gets the neighbors to call to report a sewer line break somewhere.

  • A question of cost. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Will the "FreshPaper" cost the same as replacing spoiled produce or less? If not then I only see this being a niche product for those who are already trying to be more environmentally conscious. The only reference to price in the article is the use of the phrase "low-cost", which is ambiguous at best.

    • Well considering people do not have the opportunity to go to a market or store every day, it might be worth the time, fuel and energy saved. Not to mention that people might buy and eat more vegetables, knowing they would be able to use them all.

    • Will the "FreshPaper" cost the same as replacing spoiled produce or less? If not then I only see this being a niche product for those who are already trying to be more environmentally conscious. The only reference to price in the article is the use of the phrase "low-cost", which is ambiguous at best.

      Well, if it's reasonable in bulk, I can see this being a significant waste saver -- not at the consumer level, but at the grocery store level. Stores toss HUGE quantities of produce because of spoilage. If they can keep them fresh longer, that means more profit for them, better produce for the consumer, and (hopefully) lower prices.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Qwertie ( 797303 )
      It says here [fenugreen.com] that 40 sheets cost $25 (62 cents). At that price, I don't think folks that can't afford refrigeration will be eager to buy it.

      I was curious how it can keep food fresh without actually touching the food, so I looked at their web site [fenugreen.com]. Here's what it says under "How it works":
      • Take out one sheet of FreshPaper
      • Toss in fridge drawer or anywhere you keep produce (fruit bowl, carton, bag)
      • Enjoy fresh produce for 2-4 times longer!

      Thanks for nothing, web site! Well, their FAQ says this:

      How does Fr

      • Reposting from an AC further down (it all sounds a bit snake-oil to me, too):

        Consumer Reports covered Fresh Paper a few months back, and from their testing, determined an air-tight container performed better.

        https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/06/claim-check-fenugreen-freshpaper/index.htm [consumerreports.org] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDR20j0aTUY [youtube.com]

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Jmc23 ( 2353706 )
          You really shoudn't repost things from people who can't comprehend what they're posting.

          • If you have an issue with what appears to be a perfectly sound and simple scientific experiment with a clear conclusion, why don't you post about that instead of content-less ad hominems?

            And, to quote another AC who you presumably think has no idea what they're talking about:

            What part of "Reusable airtight containers seem like a better way to save the world." is hard to comprehend?

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Jmc23 ( 2353706 )
              Why are you people so dumb? Did you read/listen to the links? Are you really saying the experiment was sound and didn't correct for a major confounding factor? Do you not realize that you cannot extrapolate from the quote you posted that 'air tight performed better'.?

              How is someting that takes a non-renewable resource to produce a plastic non-biodegradable container better for the planet than a piece of paper soaked in ground up fenugreek seeds? What is wrong with your thinking and comprehension skills?

              • How is someting that takes a non-renewable resource to produce a plastic non-biodegradable container better for the planet than a piece of paper soaked in ground up fenugreek seeds?

                Possibly because, for the very reason that it is non-biodegradable, that plastic container will last you a decade or more.

                How do the resources required to make and deliver one plastic container weigh up against the resources required to keep someone in the middle of a third-world country in Freshpaper - which doesn't keep things as fresh as an airtight container does - for 10 years?

                What is wrong with your thinking and comprehension skills?

                What's wrong with your ability to disagree constructively without descending to insults?

  • Great, more light pollution for astronomers.
    • If you looked at the concept art, you'd see that the lights are physically low level aimed directly across the road in front of a traveling vehicle. As the vehicle moves, the lights would "move" in sequence of illumination. No vehicle, no light. This would actually reduce the amount of light pollution over technologies currently in use. It would also reduce the amount of energy required by lighting systems.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jmc23 ( 2353706 )
      Right, because turning off all the lights unless somebody passes causes more light pollution than having all the lights on???
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • about high-tech highways that light up at night... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Friday August 30, 2013 @11:42AM (#44717137)

    from TFA:

    If the road could talk to you, what would it say?

    i'm guessing it would be something like, "OWW! OWW! GET OFF ME! IT HURTS!"

    • "If the road could talk to you, what would it say?"

      i'm guessing it would be something like, "OWW! OWW! GET OFF ME! IT HURTS!"

      Bah, it's a road, so if you anthropomorphize it, it's saying "oooh, yeah, a little to the left".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by KalvinB ( 205500 )

      Why not just put the images in the street lamps and use a simple motor to select the image appropriate for the conditions?

      • Greater probability of mechanical failure, whereas Glow in the dark temperature reactive paint may just need a very rare periodic repaint, just as the normal road paints require that are in use today.
        • Have you looked at a road lately? Even though the markings are mostly not in the vehicles' tire tracks, they paint becomes worn very quickly indeed. We put up with it for paint because it's a radically different color to the background, so even heavily-faded paint is easy to see. Paint emitting a relatively dim glow is not going to be so easy to see, and it is going to need much more frequent repainting. Not to mention that the markings will have to cover a much larger proportion of the road to have any rea

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Jmc23 ( 2353706 )
        Images? Motor? um, simple transparent lcd would be more efficient.
  • won't that make the road slicker, like logos on basketball courts? for the entire length of a high-speed highway, that's dangerous.

  • nothing seems real (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    The veggie paper doesn't have any test data. The lighted up highways is just speculating. Nothing real, nothing proven. These are winners? I'd hate to see the losers

  • Fresh Paper (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 30, 2013 @12:02PM (#44717359)

    Consumer Reports covered Fresh Paper a few months back, and from their testing, determined an air-tight container performed better.

    https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/06/claim-check-fenugreen-freshpaper/index.htm [consumerreports.org]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDR20j0aTUY [youtube.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jmc23 ( 2353706 )
      No, no they didn't.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Daetrin ( 576516 )
      From the linked article: "Bottom line. Reusable airtight containers seem like a better way to save the world. FreshPaper helped in only one of our scenarios: Used with strawberries stored in their original containers and placed in the fridge, it staved off mold for at least two weeks, by which point those without FreshPaper had grown fuzzy. The countertop strawberries were quickly fuzzy whether they had FreshPaper or not; the airtight-container fruits were inedible (though mold-free) either way after three
  • Should be enough to build like 10 meters of that super intelligent highway!

  • The Broadcom BCM283 system on a chip is impressive, cramming all that capability into one cheap part. So is the Allwinner, which is similar, costs $7, and is the basis of tablets that cost $40. The Raspberry Pi is just a breakout board with a crappy connector layout. There are lots of other ARM boards, most with better layouts.

    • You are overlooking the community that has grown up around the Raspberry PI. There are a huge number of people using these boards. The couple of times I have needed an answer to a question I have jumped on their forum, and had an answer in a flash.
      Happily, their forum seems to be completely free of the infamous RTFM attitude people so frequently complain about in other Linux forums.
      Some of the other boards may be better, but I would bet none have as many people using them.

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