Tag: Mobility

Gyro Gearloose was famous for his inventions. Take the amazing bread-buttering machine. How owls might have inspired him is anyone’s guess. Cue the latest design from an Alabama-based company that could have the potential to revolutionize the aviation industry. Its prototype has two engines mounted to the rear rather than under the wings. Its three pairs of wings are...

It’s an ingredient that’s already been used to make vodka. Not potatoes – but the gas responsible for global warming. A Swiss-based start-up is using clean energy to extract CO2 from the air already. The aviation industry accounts for 3% of all CO2 emissions worldwide. Since battery-operated airplanes won’t take to the skies on the fly, the industry is...

Spiders or mice can make us jump instinctively. Butterflies, meanwhile, use a special technique to escape their enemies. First they bend their wings upwards to gather air. Next their wings collide to push the air out backwards, enabling rapid acceleration. The downward stroke keeps the insects in the air. Through the use of high-speed cameras in wind tunnels researchers...

Vegetables rich in vitamins, fresh air and puzzles... all help to keep our minds active. And when we get out on the bike, we want our brains to be protected against spaghetti junctions and speeding trucks. With its ingenious new helmet concept a German design firm has its sights set on improving safety for cyclists everywhere. Intelligent, energy self-sufficient...

Remember stabilizers? Once upon a time they helped us take corners on a bike. Now with its compact electric cars a Polish startup is bringing a touch of dynamism to the concept. At speeds of up to 56 mph the wheelbase spreads to almost 1.5 meters for increased stability. It’s reduced to 86 cm when you need to go...

Avocados don’t grow on British trees. Rather, they are shipped to Europe from tropical countries, arriving in our local supermarkets by truck: a journey that is both long and unsustainable. Hyperloop is a high-speed transport system originally conceived for passengers. Now, it could revolutionize the European goods trade, clearing roads and improving air quality at the same time. Goods...

Standing in a darkened room, we perceive someone’s presence without seeing them. The same is true for the elephant-nose fish, whose special organs discharge small voltages into the water around it, creating electric fields. If these electric fields are disturbed by an intruder, electroreceptors on the fish’s skin raise the alarm. By swimming around the intruder, the fish can...

It doesn’t matter whether we’re at home or on the road. Once we’ve made ourselves comfortable, we don’t like to move. But what if we could move from boat to beach without dipping a toe in the sand? Now that is luxury… Well, that’s what the design firm responsible for the first solar-powered amphibious superyacht thought too. With space...