In a classic example of necessity being the mother of invention comes the extraordinary Vancouver House skyscraper, by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). The building’s eye-catching form was designed as a response to a very challenging site that, according to the firm, was almost too small to build on. Deriving its name from the Canadian city it’s located in, Vancouver House is […]
Twisting Tower Overcome’s Site Challenges
Lenovo Rollable Laptop Concepts
At its Tech World 2022 event earlier this week, Lenovo demonstrated a Motorola handset prototype that grows to 6.5 inches at the push of a button and a laptop concept with a display that expands upward to give users more screen space when needed. Both concepts have been revealed in a video demo hosted by Lenovo’s Executive VP and […]
Wave Powered Desalination
This remarkable desalination device, made from 170,000 recycled plastic bottles, runs on mechanical power from waves as it floats in the ocean, and creates up to 13,000 gallons (53,000 liters) of fresh water a day – while discharging far less concentrated salty brine than other designs. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh water – take away the water […]
“Smart Bandage” Simulation
Chronic wounds such as diabetic skin ulcers can be very slow to heal, potentially leading to amputations or sometimes even death. A new bandage could speed their healing by delivering electrical stimulation, but only as needed. Created by scientists at Stanford University, the prototype device is made up of two layers. On top is a polymer film just 100 microns […]
Ultra Lightweight Supercar
While Praga has concerned itself mainly with go-karts, race cars and Dakar trucks in recent years, it made street cars back in 1907. Now it’s back with the Bohema, a stunning, lightweight supercar with the 700-horsepower heart of a Nissan GT-R. This Czech company is unconcerned about keeping up with electrification, or getting into horsepower, acceleration or top-speed battles with […]
3D Printed House
Italian 3D printing company WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) has revealed plans for an experimental 3D-printed house named Itaca. Once completed, the prototype dwelling will run fully off-the-grid to aid research on self sufficiency and sustainability in a compact area. One of the project’s main goals is to prove the theory that an area up to 33 m (108 ft) […]
Light Packable Rotisserie
On a recent search to find some cooking accessories for my annual fire pit rotisserie Thanksgiving turkey roast, I happened upon a new piece of gear that can bring that style of rotisserie cooking to a distant campsite reached only by foot, bike, raft or other light, human-powered means. The Adventure Fork can cook kebabs, sausages, chicken tenders, vegetables and […]
Rode Plug & Play Microphone
Back in 2014, Australian audio brand Røde released an all-in-one USB condenser microphone that’s still a popular choice for podcasters and streaming content creators today. Now the company has announced an update with integrated preamp and onboard DSP. Like its predecessor, the NT-USB+ is a plug-and-play recording solution that comes with its own desktop tripod and detachable pop screen, and has […]
Tough & Cheap Water Level Sensors
Water level sensors serve an important purpose in rivers, warning of floods and unsafe recreational conditions. A new one is claimed to be not only more robust and reliable than others, but also considerably less expensive. According to scientists at Germany’s University of Bonn, conventional water level sensors suffer from one or more limitations – they get damaged in floods, […]
Rise of Refillable Make-Up
Refillable makeup products promise to reduce waste and help create a more sustainable beauty routine. If you’ve ever thrown out old makeup, you know how much waste plastic packaging creates. You can fill a wastebasket pretty quickly with old eye shadow and powder compacts, not to mention foundation bottles and so on. But which refillable makeup containers are the most sustainable? Are […]