Tag: #137

Electric shoes can increase walking speeds. To New Zealand, where a startup is looking at cable cars as a local transport alternative to trains, buses and cars. Unlike a traditional aerial gondola with its moving cables and fixed cabins, here modules are fitted with an electric engine. The cabins move autonomously along a guideway of static cable and rail,...

A headset with smart technology is helping blind people be more independent outside of their homes. Now a London-based product designer is focusing on providing simple support for the community inside with soft patterned surfaces. Her rectangular pads can be applied to walls as signs, with each pattern allowing users to feel different information on their surroundings. Thus straight...

Illuminated marine bacteria make light sources more sustainable. Now, a startup in Singapore has developed an environmentally-friendly source of electricity. Its rechargeable battery is fully biodegradable (except for the casing) and made from cellulose and water-based electrolytes, betting on zinc and manganese. With a similar lifespan to lithium batteries, manufacturing costs per kWh are around 2 times cheaper. But...

Cells in ears can be reprogrammed to improve hearing. Now, a research team in South Korea is reprogramming cancer cells found in the colon. Using a digital twin, they analysed how genes in colon cells are connected and how healthy cells become cancer cells. Several molecules, they discovered, function like a kind of lever, which is flipped when cells...

Warmth stored in building walls can be converted into energy, while flexible solar modules keep interiors cool. Yet a research team from Germany is looking to regulate room temperatures without using electricity at all. Its shade-giving system for windows is modelled on movements found in woody fruits. Taking its cue from pine cone scales, the team developed a sheet...

An app encourages school pupils to read. Authors benefit there too, as it drives sales and loans of books, and ultimately leads to royalty payments. But not if companies train their AI systems using pirate digital copies. Cue an American startup and its new licensing platform for AI firms, which aims at a fairer system for authors. Once authors...