Design
The innovators: the smart plug socket that saves you money and peace of mind
Snuggled up in bed, Yasser Khattak wanted to turn off the light without getting up. It was his lightbulb moment. That teenage frustration gave him the idea for a household plug socket and light switch where the on-off button is flicked remotely via a smartphone, so appliances such as TVs and lights Read More...
High-speed video shows how water lily beetles sprint on water
Water lily beetles are little speed demons, flitting from one pad to another at half a meter (1.6 feet) per second. Now, thanks to a study conducted by Stanford bioengineering assistant professor Manu Prakash and his students, the secret to its mode of flight has been unraveled. Turns out the Read More...
The tyre of the future is here... and it's completely spherical
Goodyear, the long-standing American tyre manufacturer, has finally unveiled prototypes of a design that's been decades in the making - spherical tyres. The Eagle-360 is an incredible feat of engineering and could well be the tyre that carries us into the future of self-autonomous cars. And when we Read More...
6 high-tech refugee shelters that can be deployed in an instant
Each year, tens of thousands of people around the world are displaced from their homes by natural disasters, war and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. When this happens, emergency-response teams are tasked with the challenge of housing these refugees in a short period of time. Designers Read More...
The end of automobile dependence: How cities are moving beyond car-based planning
For several decades now, Kenworthy and Newman have been examining the impact of transport on urban sustainability. 1985 saw the publication of Cities and Automobile Dependence, and in the following decade each author published a paper in Environment and Urbanization drawing out this theme. While Read More...
How NASA accidentally found a way to make buildings safer during earthquakes
NASA technologists are typically focused on making it safe for humans to explore outer space. Now the space agency says it’s found a way to make earthquakes safer for people on the ground. NASA developed a new stabilizing technology, known as the LOX Damper, in 2013 after working on a violently Read More...
Urban farming utopia in India produces more energy than it uses
Designed in collaboration with agroecologist Amlankusum, Hyperions was created to achieve two major objectives: energy decentralization and food deindustrialization. The result combines urban agriculture, bio-based materials, and dense mixed-use planning into a self-sufficient development. The Read More...
What the circular economy means for battery recycling
Because the circular economy advocates a broad view of environmental responsibility, it isn't a one-size-fits-all policy. Call2Recycle, North America's first and largest consumer battery recycling organization, believes that the industry will need to develop policies that take into account the Read More...
Parliament House shifted to solar energy
Pakistan’s first net metering project at Parliament House has started generating one MW of electricity, not only making the building loadshedding-free but also paving the way for the general consumers to become self-sufficient with one time investment.As much as 3,940 solar panels of 255 Read More...
Iranians are using crowdsourcing to avoid 'morality police'
To ensure Iranians follow strict rules on clothing and conduct, agents set up checkpoints around town inspecting vehicles driving by. Should someone be found violating regulations, they could be warned, prosecuted or forced to write a letter of repentance saying they will never break the rules Read More...