Interesting Wireless Sensor Network Patents

Do you recognize these patents?

7,103,511

7,697,492

If not, you should. Need to know why? Contact one of these companies:

West Technology Research Solutions LLC

Elster Electricity 
Aclara 
Itron 
Tendril 
Landis & Gyr
GE Appliances 
EKA Systems
Tantalus
Comverge 
SilverSprings Networks
Intermatic
Hawkings Technologies
HomeSeer Technologies
Cooper USA
LS Research 
Advance Sensoring Technology 
Mesh City
Cypress 
Trilliant Incorporated

Still Waiting for the ZigBee Green Energy Specification...

In the mean time, the world moves on.

EnOcean and TI Announce Energy Harvesting Cooperation

New Research from WTRS

High Speed Wireless Connectivity: It's not just for HD Video Anymore.

It's Raining Obama Bucks! Git Yer Bucket!

Natural gas industry wants to be part of smart grid mix in US

I'll just bet the natural gas industry does. Nothing like a porkapalooza to bring out the opportunists.

More Nissan Leaf: I'm Going to the Mat with my Manager on This One

Instapundit Takes Sales 101 and asks; Does Nissan really expect Leaf buyers to plunk down $2K for a charger then order the car?

Well, Nissan probably does.

From the linked article the purchase process for the Nissan Leaf:

• Reserve
• Home Assessment
• Charger Installation
• Order

Why would you ask the buyer to pay $2000 for installation of the dedicated circuit that is a required prerequisite for the Leaf purchase prior to actually negotiating the purchase?

Smart selling. By the time the buyer is ready to negotiate specific details of the purchase they are already $2000 worth of expense into the process.

Walk away from the deal at that point and the buyer is stuck with the $2000 bill for a charging system they won't be using. Most folks, not having shared class time with my Engineering Econ Analysis professor have not had the mantra 'Sunk costs are non-recoverable' drilled into their heads.

The sales guys can book the deal at 'Charger Installation' although they can't recognize the revenue until 'Order.' Is that a great model or what?

Whatever Happened to the ZigBee Green Power Specification?

Announced with much fanfare on June 28, 2009 and subsequently taken out behind the barn and quietly buried.

ZigBee Green Power Press Announcement

I bet these guys know what happened...

Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Networks, a WTRS IP & Patent Report

Test Driving the i-Mieve

Driving the i-Miev from San Francisco to Vacaville without air conditioning

Money quote: In Vacaville, the journalists would all be fed while each i-Miev would be hooked to the quick charger. After 20 minutes each on the charger all the i-Mievs would be juiced to about 80-percent of battery capacity. Another 34 miles on the I-80 would then have the electric cars cruising into California’s capital, Sacramento. It was like the days of stagecoaches­—San Francisco to Sacramento with just one stop in Vacaville to change horses.