Multi-energy fueling station in Tuscany adds hydrogen

Tuscan governor Claudio Martini said today his region has put itself at the forefront of the renewable energy movement with the addition of hydrogen to a “multi-fuel” station at Collesalvetti, a town on the Florence-Pisa-Livorno highway. The project is a joint effort between the local government and Italian energy giant ENI, whose subsidiary AGIP runs the station.

The station already offers several fuels with low environment impact (such as natural gas). Today it added 100% renewable hydrogen that is generated on-site from solar panels and wind turbines. It should be able to generate enough H2 for 40,000 km of driving, and will be used to power a handful of local, experimental public and private vehicles that use the fuel.

In addition, the solar panels and turbines help power the station itself, and what’s left over can be put into the local power grid.

Link and link (Italian)

First mini wrist computer is Italian

Not usually known for their technology accomplishments, the Italians have nevertheless designed the first NanoPC for your wrist.

It weighs about 10.5 ounces and is attached to a stiff watch-like band to enable free movement of the hands.

It was created by Eurotech, a company specialized in designing and producing mini-computers.

It has a touch screen, joystick-like control, and also voice-recognition software.  It’s developers hope it can be used by firefighters, rescue workers, and health workers.

Cell phone radiation = the new caffeine?

Since Italians spend about 30% of their waking hours using cell phones, it’s not surprising that Italian neuroscientists have taken up studying the effects of serious telefonino usage on the human body. Now they find that cell signals “excite” brain cells. This stunning news apparently has no practical application whatsoever, though, since no one knows yet whether that is “good” excitement or “bad” excitement.

In the meantime, better stick to text messaging (also an Italian addiction) and keep that phone away from the little grey cells, okay?

Link

More than half of Italians are computer illiterate

A new study claims that 59% of all Italians have virtually no computer skills whatsoever. This puts them at the highest computer illiteracy percentage in Europe, after Greece, which comes in at a whopping 65%.

Of all age groups, those over 55 are, understandably, the most disadvantaged in this area. It's estimated that 87% of those who are computer illiterate in Italy are over 55.

These percentages are a bit disturbing considering the Italian government's current push to make the internet available to everyone.

Link (It) 

Statistics predict Italy vs. Brazil in World Cup final

Two computer science students at the American University in Sharjah, Dubai have compiled 20 years of soccer data and fed it into a statistical artificial intelligence model they call FIFI, or “FIFA Intelligence,” apparently in defiance of all rules of acryonmic naming. The result: Italy will face Brazil in this year’s final, but Brazil will take home the trophy.

The professor who oversaw the project says the predictions should be 83% accurate, which is quite high, though I wonder if that percentage is good per match only, or for all the predictions together–as we all see every year in our NCAA brackets, a few errors early on can really wreck your overall predictions.

Link (English)

BMW and the Mille Miglia

Forbes.com has a nice story describing how Italy's Mille Miglia (thousand-mile) race has shaped the history of BMW. If anything else, it's great to know that people are still racing 1937 BMWs.

Another example of successful German-Italian collaboration also comes from the world of motoring: the relationship between BMW and Italy's Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) endurance race. The event began in 1927 and is today a race of historic automobiles. In 1940, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe won the race and set a record with an average speed of 103.6 mph. Drivers Giuliano Cané and Lucia Galliani won the 2006 Mille Miglia, which runs from Brescia to Rome and back again along a different route, in a 1937 BMW 328 MM. It was their sixth Mille Miglia victory in the last 10 years in a BMW 328.

BMW now has a concept car based on the 1940 328 and it is oh-so cool.

Link (English, w/ pics, via Wired.com)

Robot does heart surgery

We've been posting a lot of health-related stuff lately, but this one's too interesting to pass up.

MILAN, Italy, May 18 (UPI) — For the first time, a robot surgeon in Italy has carried out a long-distance heart operation by itself.

"This operation has enabled us to cross a new frontier," said Carlo Pappone, who initiated and monitored the surgery on a PC in Boston, ANSA reported. Pappone is head of Arrhythmia and Cardiac Electrophysiology at Milan's San Raffaele University.

Link (English)

Piaggio introduces the Mp3, a three-wheeled scooter

Yesterday morning Piaggio introduced its new design, hoping to wow the global public. The new scooter has two parallel front wheels, and is easy to handle even on wet asphalt and over bumpy terrain. When you stop at a stoplight you don't even have to put a foot down. The new model offers more stability than any other scooter.  The added safety is welcome news in light of the number of yearly fatalities due to scooter accidents.
This year marks the 60 year anniversary of Piaggio's first scooter, the famous Vespa. The original scooter was almost named the Mp6, so the name of this unique new design is somewhat symbolic.

Piaggio hopes that their Mp3 will enable them to conquer the Asian and American markets.

Link (Italian)

Telecom to provide 20Mbit DSL w/o voice line

Competition among internet service providers wins: Italian Telecom is going to sell wholesale bandwidth to multiple ISPs so that they can provide 20Mbit ADSL service to residential customers, even if they don't pay for a voice line subscription through Telecom. Business customers can't get in on the deal, though they can get 640k or 4Mbit service without a voice subscription.

This is good news for customers: ISPs will have to compete for their business, and it could mean that VOIP phone services can take off. My DSL from Verizon, on the other hand, requires me to have a voice line. I wish US telephone and cable companies would be this flexible…

Link (Italian)