The Sustainable Brands Conference has opened its doors in Paris, France, this week, and the Lego Foundation and the Lego Group have today unveiled a new project – Lego Braille Bricks. First suggested to the Foundation in 2011 by the Danish Association of the Blind, and again proposed in 2017 by Brazil’s Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind, the first […]

It’s always helpful if materials let you know when they’re under stress, so that changes can be made before catastrophic failures occur. A new polymer is designed to provide such a warning, as it glows when stretched. First of all, scientists have previously developed polymers that change their optical properties in response to mechanical stress. Generally, though, the change is […]

John Wink, the creator of SlingBoard, says that his big-wheeled roller combines all the best bits of paddleboarding, skateboarding and mountain biking. Essentially a longboard with a widened deck and a special pole for propulsion, the land paddler is currently raising production funds on Kickstarter. The SlingBoard has the look of an all-terrain longboard, but with a deck that widens […]

For parents who don’t wish to repeatedly get up in the night and rock their fussing infant back to sleep, there’s already at least one sensor-equipped baby bed that does the job for them. Sleepytroll, however, takes a different approach – it gets attached to existing strollers or beds, rocking them when it detects a waking baby. Created by Norwegian […]

Our near future is going to be packed with cars that can drive us around, robots to help with chores and virtual worlds to escape to when the real world gets a little dull. Teaching kids to speak the languages such technologies are built on is becoming just as vital as reading, writing and math. There are many toys aimed […]

Toyota, the auto company, has been investing resources into using virtual reality to help it build cars, design safety systems, and educate the public about safe driving habits. Its Swedish division has just unveiled a new simulation that can reproduce how people with a variety of visual conditions perceive the world around them. The simulation takes place on a soccer […]

While people are fairly fussy about things like bicycle tire pressure, they tend to be a lot more blasé when it comes to inflating basketballs – even though a ball’s pressure can greatly affect its performance. The Innoflate Perfect Pressure Needle is designed to help … by whistling. Users simply screw the Innoflate onto a third-party pump’s hose, in place […]

Sustainability will be at the heart of the Olympic games in Tokyo in 2020 — and now, Japanese olympic organizers have made a suggestion that will bring the focus on sustainability front and center at the summer games: They want to make medals out of recycled materials. If they go through with the idea, the gold, silver, and bronze medals […]

It was a couple of years ago that Cerevo first unveiled its high-tech limited-edition Orbitrec road bike. Now, the Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer has announced pricing – the bike will cost you a whopping US$140,000, although that figure includes two return trips to Tokyo. So, what business does an electronics company have making a bicycle? Well, inside of its down […]

Our near future is going to be packed with cars that can drive us around, robots to help with chores and virtual worlds to escape to when the real world gets a little dull. Teaching kids to speak the languages such technologies are built on is becoming just as vital as reading, writing and math. There are many toys aimed […]