Cars Can Soon Talk To Each Other

Panasonic’s Network Operations Center in Denver looks ripped straight from the pages of a Tom Clancy novel: Rows of computer workstations encircled by monitors, a wall of high-definition TVs, plush rolling chairs, call-center headsets, and urgently blinking LEDs, all soaked in surreal blue light. But they’re not tracking Soviet spies in here. Instead, the kind of guys who wear shirts […]

Alexa Your SouChef

If you’re not already reeling from the baker’s dozen of devices and breakthroughs that Amazon unleashed on Thursday, September 20, here’s one more bulletin. SideChef, the all-in-one home cooking platform, is going to help Amazon with its new expansion into the smart kitchen by integrating with Alexa to help Echo owners cook via interactive recipes. The big news included the […]

Polymer Coating To Reflect Sunlight

In many parts of the world – particularly developing nations, where air conditioning isn’t practical or affordable – people paint buildings’ roofs white in order to reflect sunlight and thus keep those buildings cooler. It’s an approach known as passive daytime radiative cooling, and a new paint-like polymer could make it more effective than ever. The problem with conventional white […]

A New Life For Rubber Tires

Arielle Assouline-Lichten had her eureka moment when she was sitting at her desk, staring at a piece of recycled rubber. The material was intended to line the floor of a gym her architecture firm was designing, but Assouline-Lichten thought it could be something else. A coaster. Or maybe even a table. She began sketching out prototypes and pretty soon, Slash […]

Fitbit For Alcohol

Did you recently find yourself in front of your computer at some ungodly hour, maxing out your credit card buying multiples of every new Apple device. There are two possible options: Either you’re a massive fan with a whole lot of disposable income or you were very drunk. If it’s the latter, you might want the join the line for […]

Cargo Camp

The modern camper market has a dizzying array of complex, ornately-finished motorhomes and caravans that try to recreate the comfort of home … bringing much of the price of that home along with them. But what if you want to get away from all that and just enjoy the outdoors, without remortgaging your house? A tent is still an obvious […]

Norway The First To Ban Deforestation

Norway just became the first country in the world to ban deforestation, a groundbreaking move that could have a major global impact. By committing to zero deforestation, this means Norwegian lawmakers will not award any government contracts to companies that take part in clear-cutting of trees. The pledge was made in the Recommendation of the Norwegian parliament’s Standing Committee on […]

Can Salt Be A Potential Replacement

For some time now, scientists have eyed cheap and widely abundant salt as a potential replacement for lithium in batteries that power everything from laptops to cars. While these experimental sodium-ion batteries continue to show promise, there are a few kinks to be ironed out before we see them become commonplace. Researchers at Purdue University are claiming to have overcome […]

Siren On Cyclists’ Bars

Cars are equipped with loud electric horns, not little bells, as are motorcycles. So, why isn’t this the case with bicycles that get ridden in traffic? That’s the thinking behind Sonic Grip, which packs a 100-decibel siren into a bike’s handlebar grips. Created by Australian cyclist Steve Brkic, the Sonic Grip package consists of two 130 mm-long rubber-encased grips which […]