It can be difficult for blind people to learn to read braille, as they don’t have any way of seeing which character the dots that they’re feeling represent. That’s where the BrailleWear glove comes in, as it verbally tells them. The glove is being developed by assistive tech startup ORama AI. Co-founder Kushagra Jain was inspired to invent the device […]
Braille Training Gloves
Flex Hybrid Concept
Smartphones with a large internal screen that folds out across a hinge for improved gaming, movie watching or productivity have been available for a while now, and we’ve seen sliding concepts expand display real estate too. Now Samsung Display has combined the two for the Flex Hybrid. From the available renders, you might be forgiven for imagining that the Flex Hybrid is being […]
Solar Reactor Converts Co2 Plastic Into Useful Products
Greenhouse gases and plastic waste are two of the biggest environmental problems the world faces today. A new reactor from Cambridge is designed to tackle both at once, converting CO2 and used plastic bottles into useful materials, powered entirely by sunlight. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is at its highest levels in millennia, leading to devastating climate consequences. Meanwhile, our reliance on plastic […]
Kinekt Bike Desk
Keeping fit while working from home can be a challenge. You could invest in an indoor training machine, but such things are not usually designed for working while exercising. Acer’s upcoming eKinekt BD 3 is different, combining a mini desk and stationary bike that can charge devices while you workout. Like the three-unit WeBike we featured back in 2012, the eKinekt BD […]
EvoBOT Grasps Cargo
We’ve seen fast, nimble, self-balancing wheeled robots, plus we’ve also seen robots that can grasp and carry objects. The evoBOT could prove to be particularly useful, however, as it combines both traits in one clever machine. Designed by scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, the prototype evoBOT stays upright utilizing what is known as the mobile […]
New Heat-Free Plant Press
Before plant material can be turned into biofuel to power things like giant jets and speedy motorcycles, a significant amount of moisture must be removed from it, which often requires both mechanical pressing and thermal drying. Researchers from Japan have figured out a way to eliminate the thermal part of the process, leading to the extraction of water-soluable antiviral compounds from cedar and […]
Smallrig P20 Folding Smartphone Videography
Although smartphones now shoot amazing video, their form factor still makes them difficult to hold steady while filming. The SmallRig P20 is the latest device designed to address that shortcoming, and it folds into a compact capsule shape when not in use. Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the aluminum-bodied P20 features rubberized hand grips on either side – […]
Herbicide Orchard Sprayer
If fruit is going to be grown using herbicides – which is still largely the case – then the fewer of the chemicals that are used, the better. The Herbicide GUSS autonomous robotic spray vehicle was designed with just such concerns in mind. Manufactured by California-based startup GUSS Automation (GUSS standing for Global Unmanned Spray System), the sprayer looks a […]
What You Need to Know About a Dopamine Fast
You just scheduled your move with Black Tie Moving and immediately switched over to Instagram. What causes us to swipe through our phones so often? Well, a neurotransmitter called dopamine plays a role in our unconscious desire to reach for the next shiny thing. Here’s what you need to know about a dopamine fast. Can You Really Fast When […]
Exercise Tunes Our Genes
Our health is guided not only by our genetic blueprint but also by our lifestyle choices and environmental exposures. The study of epigenetics involves looking at what particular markers regulate gene expression. Just because someone may have a genetic predisposition to a certain illness, for example, doesn’t mean they will necessarily get sick. The expression of certain genes can be […]