Germany-based design firm WertelOberfell has teamed up with material scientists, material suppliers, end-users and manufacturers to develop ESUB Tracks, a conceptual design for a smart bicycle helmet powered by flat-printed organic photovoltaics. Designed to prioritize safety, the proposed smart bicycle helmet is equipped with proximity sensors, a printed piezoelectric microphone that accepts basic voice commands for hands-free use, turn signal indicator lights and printed […]
Smart Solar Powered Bicycle
Stylish Advene’s Handbag Reduces Plastic
Advene has just restocked its Age bag, an accessory that is transparently constructed and designed to eliminate unnecessary plastics. Advene releases one product at a time, using responsible materials to create its designs along with a commitment to reducing harmful plastic waste throughout the process. The name Advene is taken from “advenience.” This term was coined by Roland Barthes, a […]
Biden’s Bold EV Landscape Plans
“The federal government … owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America made by American workers,” said President Joe Biden on Monday, signaling he’s willing to use his new office to kick off a transformative overhaul of the entire US automotive industry. The US federal fleet is massive […]
VW Opens Recycling Plant For Batteries
We’ve seen a number of automakers take steps to give their electric vehicle batteries a second life in highway charging stations or storage systems for the home, but at some point these deteriorating devices do reach the end of the road. Volkswagen has just opened a recycling plant for this very scenario, where it hopes to recover the raw materials […]
Abandoned Factories To Become Tea Museums
O-office Architects has converted several buildings on a tea plantation near Guangzhou, China, into a cultural centre featuring a rooftop garden wrapped in bamboo screens. As part of the (Re)forming Duichuan Tea Yards project, local firm O-office Architectswas tasked with revitalising three disused buildings at the plantation in the Gaoming District of Guangdong Province. The site in Duichuan Village was […]
Printed Paper Acts As Speakers
Scientists at Germany’s Chemnitz University of Technology have spent years developing compact and discreet speakers that are quite literally paper thin, and the latest breakthrough improves on this technology for a more immersive experience. The scientists have come up with a way to print continuous rolls of paper loudspeakers that can be fashioned into circular rings to offer surround sound, […]
Tires & Building Rubble Increases Concrete Strength
Aside from simply finding a new use for discarded goods, we’ve seen how adding recycled rubber tires to concrete can make the material stronger and more heat resistant. New research has continued to expand the possibilities in this area, with scientists coming up with a new manufacturing method for a recycled concrete aggregate that produces a version 35 percent stronger […]
Romrod Portable Fitness Device
Maintaining your regular workout routine isn’t easy due to a lack of access to your usual gear. That extends to warm up gear, which is often a makeshift piece of equipment such as a PVC pipe or dowel rod, which are very simple yet extremely versatile. Unfortunately, versatility doesn’t equal portability – until now. The RomRod is a portable rod […]
Heated Handlebar
Nobody likes having cold hands while cycling, which is why heated handlebar grips do exist … but what if you prefer your existing fair-weather grips? Well, that’s where the Polar Plug system is designed to come in. Invented by mountain biker Brandon Lentz, the setup consists of two cylindrical modules that are inserted into the two ends of the handlebars, […]
A New Type of N95 Face Mask
As the world waits for the vaccine’s distribution to be widespread, one of the newest advances in fighting COVID-19 comes from an area we might not have been expecting innovation from — the face mask. Below, we’ll cover an exciting new development in respiratory masks as well as where to purchase two budget-friendly alternatives while supplies are available again. A […]