Imagine if you crossed a handheld gaming system with a Rubik’s Cube. What you’d get is CubiOs Inc’s WowCube, which is currently an honoree in the CES 2021 Innovation Awards. Invented by son and father team Savva and Ilya Osipov, the cube-shaped device has four color IPS screens on each side (for a total of 24) along with eight microprocessors […]
WowCube
Upcycling Plastic Waste
A team at UC Berkeley has developed a process that turns plastic waste into something more valuable – an adhesive. Based on an engineered catalyst, the inspiration was to find ways to “upcycle” plastics by putting them to new uses while preserving the properties that made them attractive in the first place. Plastic waste is one of the modern world’s […]
Omnidirectional Pet Robot
Earlier this year, we heard about a pet-entertaining/treat-dispensing robot known as Pumpkii. Although its crowdfunding campaign was cancelled, the similar Rocki is now available for purchase. Rocki is the latest in a series of internet-controlled devices that are designed to let pet owners tele-interact with their dog or cat, when the owner is at work and the critter is at […]
Underwater Robot Tracks Fish Farms
While ocean-based fish farms do help take pressure off of wild stocks, they have eco-unfriendly drawbacks of their own. A new underwater robot is being designed to address that situation, by autonomously inspecting the fish and their pens. Among the potential problems with marine aquaculture operations are the facts that non-native fish may escape and upset the local ecological balance; […]
Pressurised CO2 Bacteria Proofs Almonds
While you might think that dried almonds are one of the “safer” foods, they’re actually prone to contamination by harmful bacteria. A simple new process could help keep that from happening, while also boosting their shelf life. It is already a known fact that exposure to pressurized carbon dioxide kills pathogenic bacteria in drinks such as orange juice. Led by […]
New Zealand Targets Carbon Neutrality By 2025
New Zealand has joined 32 other nations in formally acknowledging a climate emergency. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described climate change as “one of the greatest challenges of our time” and pledged that New Zealand would have a carbon-neutral government by 2025. But not all New Zealand governmental officials agreed. The Green Party and the M?ori Party supported the motion, which […]
Tallhouse An Adaptable, Timber Model For Low-Carbon Housing
In an effort to bring down carbon emissions and streamline the building of cost-effective urban housing, Boston-based AEC technology company Generate is focused on revolutionizing the city’s construction industry. Generate has created The Tallhouse, a template for adaptable, low-carbon housing that prioritizes the structural use of mass timber. It’s no secret that buildings account for a massive portion of greenhouse […]
Water Joins The Commodity Market
Water has now joined oil and gold on the commodities market. This week, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched the United States’ first water market tied to California water prices. “Climate change, droughts, population growth, and pollution are likely to make water scarcity issues and pricing a hot topic for years to come,” said Deane Dray, RBC Capital Markets managing director […]
Good Days Brings Sustainable ActiveWear
Out of yoga studios and into closets all over the world, activewear remains a huge fashion trend. One company in Hong Kong is putting a twist on the trend by cleaning up the planet while making leggings, tops and sports bras. Good Days has created an entire activewear line made from recycled post-consumer plastic waste. Former Lane Crawford brand manager […]
Soft Aquatic Robot Activated By Light And Magnets
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new soft robot that can walk at roughly the speed of a human, activated by light and magnetic fields. The robot can squeeze into tight spaces and pick up, carry and release objects on demand. The robot resembles a four-legged octopus, measuring about 1 cm (0.4 in) wide. It’s made mostly of hydrogel, […]