siemens

Electric partnerships bloom at Geneva Motor Show

RUF Automobile and Siemens Corporate Technology, the research arm of Siemens, debuted their all electric car concept at the Geneva Motor Show this week.

The Greenster, like its name suggests, is designed to look like a roadster vehicle of yesteryear complete with plaid seats. But the tech speaks to the 2000's interest in green technology.

Siemens is providing technology for the car's power train which includes the motor/generator, the power electronics, and the interface with the car's battery.

The Greenster concept car displayed at the Geneva Motor Show had only one motor. But the Pfaffenhausen, Germany-based … Read more

Pop!Tech 2008: "Scarcity and Abundance"

I will be attending the Pop!Tech conference in Camden, Maine this week. For the twelfth year, Pop!Tech will convene a network of 600 remarkable thinkers, doers, leaders, and global change agents in science, technology, social innovation, business, environmentalism, globalization, media, education, and many other fields for a four-day exploration of ideas shaping the future.

This year, the organizers will pay particular attention to the 21st century dynamics between systems based on scarcity and those based on abundance, in areas ranging from digital social networks to biology to peacemaking. Among the speakers are Chris Anderson (Wired, "The Long … Read more

Network security makes a quantum leap

The world's largest quantum encrypted network has been unveiled in Vienna, Austria, providing a glimpse of how data could be securely transmitted in the future.

The network is the result of more than four years of work, with 41 organizations from 12 countries working to integrate quantum cryptography into a modern business network.

The project has been overseen by the European Union-sponsored SECOQC (Development of a Global Network for Secure Communication Based on Quantum Cryptography).

Quantum cryptography is a technique of sending information in a way that makes it impossible for people to intercept without corrupting the information in … Read more

Ultrasound cuff could stanch bleeding on battlefield

A prototype high-tech cuff that detects and treats bleeding from combat injuries got a step closer to the battlefield Monday when Siemens Healthcare announced an exclusive contract with the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency to develop the device.

The Deep Bleeder Acoustic Coagulation cuff, or DBAC, is designed to limit blood loss from penetrating wounds to limbs--as in the case of a gunshot injury--thus reducing the risk of limb loss or death.

Once the cuff is applied, ultrasound technology within the device automatically would identify the location and severity of the bleeding. This in turn would trigger therapeutic ultrasound elements … Read more

A morning pick-me-up from Porsche

If you liked the Porsche Design toaster that I wrote about a couple of days ago, then you should add their coffee machine to your wish list, too. Designed by Porsche Design, a daughter company of the ever-popular car giant Porsche, the coffee machine makes your morning cup just a little bit more aesthetically pleasing.

The coffee pot is equipped to brew up to 12 small cups of coffee (or eight larger cups, depending on the size of the boost you need), and since you can choose the strength and temperature, you can create a pot that's going to … Read more

Gentlemen, start your toasters

Here's a toaster that could pass as a conversation piece at your next poker game: this long-slot toaster from Siemens was designed by Porsche Design, a shootoff company of the automotive industry leader that specializes in consumer and home products with a focus on cutting-edge design. Sure, it'll toast your bread, but it'll also look really good doing it.

The toaster has an LCD display that shows how brown your bread has gotten, and you can choose from 11 cooking levels. The toaster even has a memory function, which will remember the setting you used the last … Read more

Report: Siemens wants out of Fujitsu partnership

German conglomerate Siemens AG is looking to end its participation in Fujitsu Siemens Computer, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing "people familiar with the matter."

The joint venture did $10.3 billion in sales last year, but Siemens CEO Peter Loscher apparently isn't pleased overall with the performance of FSC, which never found a real foothold in the U.S. in the face of competition with Hewlett-Packard and Dell.

"We have said that we want to focus on the three sectors--industry, energy, health care--and that we want to concentrate on them," a spokesman for … Read more

BenQ is baq--and it's ditched the Siemens

You may remember that BenQ bought Siemens Mobile in 2005 and produced a series of so-so handsets. As evidenced by the lack of BenQ Siemens phones in shops, the partnership didn't exactly last very long, and while the BenQ Siemens "squond" (square and round) campaign did amuse us greatly, it obviously wasn't enough to keep BenQ Siemens in business.

Two years on and BenQ Mobile is back (baq?)--but it's ditched the Siemens and is launching a Windows Mobile smart phone called the BenQ E72. Boasting a compact design, this candybar phone runs on Windows … Read more

Siemens looks for competitive advantage in open source

What do you do when you're trying to unseat an incumbent in your market? You could try competing with the same tools as your competitors, or you could try to disrupt them with open source.

For Siemens, the latter course makes more sense:

Siemens' outsourcing unit is snapping up some of South Africa's brightest open source minds as it readies to offer large-scale open source services to clients. Going, as it does, head-to-head with the likes of IBM and T-Systems, the company is hoping its open source strategy will find a new niche in an already highly-competitive market. … Read more