start-up

A new fiber optic laser system can reduce wear and increase output from wind turbines by sensing wind gusts from 1,000 meters away. Catch The Wind, a Virginia start-up, developed the device that allows turbines to adapt to the strength and direction of gusts before they hit.

Data centers in the U.S. have created a carbon footprint that is larger than that of countries such as The Netherlands and Argentina. Internet companies such as Google are investing billions of dollars in setting up massive data centers and struggling to control soaring power usage. While Google may want its users to trawl thousands of terabytes of data and get their search results almost immediately, this activity gobbles up plenty of energy.

A small Cincinnati start-up called Advanced Mechanical Products (AMP) has developed, and is taking orders, for Saturn Sky Roadsters converted to run on all-electric power.
The converted cars will be powered by two electric motors and a powerful LI-Ion-Phosphate battery, enabling a top speed of 90mph and 0-60mph acceleration in less than 6 seconds, with a range of around 150 miles on a single charge.

As the signs of a recession increase, start-ups and their venture capital backers aren't panicking. But they've learned the harsh lessons of the great dot-com crash of 2001, and they're girding to endure some economic pain.

Look at World Golf Tour (www.worldgolftour.com), a 2-year-old San Francisco start-up that offers online golfing and photography-based animations of famed golf courses around the globe.