Though invented almost 200 years ago, renewed interest in electric vehicles rose in popularity in the 1990s, making way for the various models on the road today. Now, another type of clean energy is on the horizon for the automobile industry: Solar-powered cars may soon become a mainstream mode of transportation — as long as a […]
Despite their numerous upsides as a clean energy solution, solar panels have never garnered much praise for their aesthetic appeal. The appearance of a typical panel might be described as utilitarian, bare-bones, and, at best, futuristic; more often, its design has been considered an “eyesore” by many, in spite of the promise solar holds for […]
Meet the machine that’s transforming heartbeats into music — and sharing a deeply heartfelt expression of a struggle. The CHD-4 is a unique drum-like machine that decoded electrocardiograms from four children with heart defects and transformed the patterns into sequences, which ultimately produced sounds based on their unique heartbeats (the individual shape, pace, and beats […]
“Everyone deserves a chance to play” is the motto behind All Terrain Georgia, an initiative that offers free all-terrain wheelchairs at Georgia’s parks to those with physical challenges. All-terrain wheelchairs look like rugged versions of everyday wheelchairs. They’re motorized, have a tank-like appearance, and wheels that are large and sturdy. In addition to being undeniably […]
Smell is one of the most powerful, and complicated, of the five senses. Olfaction has been linked to memory, cognition, and mood, and may even influence our other senses as well. So losing the capability, a condition known as anosmia, is not only frustrating and inconvenient, but can also be extremely emotionally taxing. That’s why two […]
Many people have a stack of one-use chopsticks piling up in their cutlery drawer from takeout orders of yore, but what if that stack could be transformed into something not only new, but also beautiful? Felix Böck, CEO and founder of ChopValue, says his desire to find a solution to the staggering problem of urban […]
The World Health Organization estimates that 2.2 billion people around the globe are visually impaired. Since 2015, the popular Be My Eyes app has been working to help that population — and it’s now getting a major AI boost. Be My Eyes was founded by Danish furniture craftsman Hans Jørgen Wiberg, who is visually impaired […]
What if you could swallow a pill-sized device that could diagnose whether you have a peptic ulcer or a bile obstruction? Engineers at MIT and Caltech have created just that: an ingestible sensor that could help physicians more easily identify and diagnose gastrointestinal motility disorders. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and […]
A team of engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new method that can permanently remove toxic “forever chemicals” from drinking water — technology that its lead developer compared to a Brita filter, “but a thousand times better.” So why do we need it? While no one wants to gulp down a serving […]
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have developed a flexible, flowerlike device that can be inserted through a tiny hole in the skull and attached to the brain to help treat conditions like epilepsy. The project was initiated after a neurosurgeon approached Stephanie Lacour, director of the EPFL Center for Neuroprosthetics, […]
The sun does so much for us. It radiates light and warmth that make it possible for life to exist: Solar energy gives plants the chance to grow and thrive, and UVB rays provide us with vitamin D to help boost our moods and our immune systems. Now, an engineering company is using the power […]
Meet the Irish sisters who are turning wheelchairs into fashion statements. Izzy Wheels, founded by Ailbhe and Izzy Keane, has collaborated with over a hundred famous designers to create award-winning wheel covers that allow wheelchair users to express their personalities through disability fashion. “Izzy Wheels empower wheelchair users to make a statement about themselves, it […]