Design
Your next shirt could be made from fruit and vegetable scraps
The fashion industry is said to be the second most polluting industry on Earth after oil and gas. It requires enormous quantities of resources, including water, land, and fossil fuels, to make fabric. The production process is often harmful to the environment, relying on harsh chemical dyes and Read More...
New elevator design could disrupt city infrastructure
It seems the endless minutes spent waiting for elevators to arrive has been inspiring more engineers. We’ve already covered the world’s first rope-free elevator and now, UK firm PLP Architecture is using a new system to create more adaptive elevator Read More...
Solar powered houseboat takes tiny living to the water
This appealing little houseboat was designed by Quebec boatbuilder Daigno. Named Le Koroc, it's available in two versions, catering either to fishermen or those who just want a tiny dwelling that floats. It also features solar power and an interior layout that makes the most of the limited space Read More...
See-through solar cells will enable office buildings to produce their own energy
Houses and office buildings account for 75 percent of electricity use in the United States, and 40 percent of its energy use overall. The perfect solution for buildings would be to use their windows for the generation of the energy they need. That would require the “miracle” of see-through Read More...
Looking at shrimp for more durable industrial design
Biomimicry is the art of creating better and more sustainable materials copying nature. Many conventional manmade materials come with flaws. Take concrete. It’s very strong and can be used to construct large buildings and skyscrapers. But it’s also quite brittle. A bad winter can open a massive Read More...
Looking to mosquitos for a way to develop painless microneedles
A mosquito can insert a needle-like probe into your skin and draw blood for several minutes without you even noticing. Researchers at The Ohio State University believe we can learn from nature's design of the mosquito to create a painless microneedle for medical Read More...
A new robotic gripper inspired by geckos and pioneered by NASA
Hands are hot items in the world of robots. That's one of the biggest trends out of the Automatica conference, one of the world's premier showcases of robot technology, which recently wrapped up in Germany. Among this year's dexterous, grippy offerings is a robotic end effector inspired by a Read More...
Where to move for... eco-living in the UK
‘Sustainability’ and ‘environmental’ are slippery terms but there are some places that are much greener than Read More...
Coal plant waste helps build environmentally-friendly, cementless concrete
Concrete production is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the world, after transportation and energy. To make the ubiquitous building material more environmentally friendly, the industry has been adding by-products from coal-fired power plants, but doing so had its own Read More...
Ford aims to revive a Detroit train station, and itself
For the past year, Ford Motor has been working on a plan to reinvigorate its operations and jump-start profit growth. Now, as that strategy is just being put into place, the automaker is taking on another big renovation project: the city of Detroit and the hulking remains of its dilapidated train Read More...