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Human power
Interesting possibilities arise when you combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when you apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology.
High-tech has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is—more often than not—aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions.
There is a lot of potential in past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society.
Could We Run Modern Society on Human Power Alone?
Unlike solar and wind energy, human power is always available, no matter the season or time of day.
Why the Office Needs a Typewriter Revolution
Could we rethink and redesign office equipment, combining the best of mechanical and digital devices?
Modular Cargo Cycles
Modular cargo cycles are cheap to build and easy to customize.
Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient
About a quarter of the existent wind turbines would suffice to power as many electric velomobiles as there are people.
Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient (Part Two)
A car with a top speed of 270 km/h can be driven anywhere on Earth, while an electric velomobile with an electric assistance of up to 50 km/h is illegal is most countries.
Cargo Cyclists Replace Truck Drivers on European City Streets
A cargo cycle is at least as fast as a delivery van in the city - and much cheaper to use.
How to Downsize a Transport Network: The Chinese Wheelbarrow
For being such a seemingly ordinary vehicle, the wheelbarrow has a surprisingly exciting history.
Bike Powered Electricity Generators are Not Sustainable
The present approach to pedal power results in highly inefficient machines.
The Short History of Early Pedal Powered Machines
From the 1870s onwards, pedals and cranks were attached to tools like lathes, saws, grinders, shapers, tool sharpeners and to boring, drilling and cutting machines.
Pedal Powered Farms and Factories: The Forgotten Future of the Stationary Bicycle
The possibilities of pedal power largely exceed the use of the bicycle.
Hand Powered Drilling Tools and Machines
During the last quarter of the 19th century, a radically improved generation of tools appeared.
The Sky is the Limit: Human-Powered Cranes and Lifting Devices
The only advantage that fossil-fuelled powered cranes have brought us, is a higher lifting speed