Reshaping our furniture isn’t often an option many of us have. After spending money on a couch or recliner, it’s pretty much impossible to change the shape of the physical furniture. Now, Sanna and Mike Myllylä, from Living Spaces, have created modular furniture that can change shape in seconds. Known as BiT, the furniture is presented…
Startup Has Plans to Build 18-Seat Hybrid Bio Electric Aircraft
British aerospace start-up Faradair has recently revealed it has plans to build and sell an 18-seat, Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft (BEHA) by 2025. The craft is designed to be both quiet and quick in its takeoff capabilities, and can be used for passengers or cargo air transport. Dubbed the BEHA_M1H, the aircraft will use its…
U.S. Military Gets Help From Plywood Drones
Logistic Gliders has created drones made from plywood that they hope will resupply ground-moving military forces. Currently, the gliders have completed 12 prototype flight tests, where six were deployed from a helicopter sling load, six were deployed from a Shorts SC-7 Skyvan, seven were flown via radio control, and five were flown autonomously. These low…
Designing Robots to Navigate Anywhere in the World
Designing robots to navigate the desert terrain is no easy feat, but that’s just what Aaron Johnson is doing and more. Johnson, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, recently won the Army Research Office’s Young Investigator Award for designing robots that can interact with their surrounding environments. Sparking Johnson’s interest was his…
Shape-Shifting Material Stiff as Wood and Soft as Sponge
We’ve come a long way when it comes to material. What once could only be a solid wood structure or a soft sponge, can now combine elements of both. Rutgers University-New Brunswick engineers have now created 4D materials that are flexible and lightweight, and could serve a purpose in applications such as better shock absorption,…
Say Goodbye to Scratches on Your Car with Self-Repairing Paint
Scratches on our cars can be irking, especially for luxury cars that can instantly lose their value. Now, a new paint created by Saarbrücken researchers could help repair these pesky scratches. The corn starch-based coating has a special arrangement of molecules that can repair small scratches by itself through moderate heat treatment. The material becomes…
Designing Helmets with Safer Technology to Prevent Concussions
As technology makes its way into almost every product, bike helmets are not behind when it comes to integrating high-tech material. Trek has recently announced its WaveCel line of helmets, and said the protective gear is 48 times more effective than foam for preventing concussions, according to New Atlas. The helmets were developed by Dr.…
Greyp’s G6 E-Bike Adjusts Assistance Based on Rider’s Heart Rate
The Greyp G6, an e-mountain bike, was revealed in Zagreb, Croatia, and different from other electric bikes, the Greyp G6 can monitor a rider’s heart rate and adjust the bike accordingly. The G6-pedal assist bike focuses on using smart connectivity to monitor a person’s heart rate and other elements while riding. “Unlike traditional bike manufacturers…
Designing Bikes from Old Wine Barrels
Wine barrels may seem like an odd material to make bikes out of, but Lance Rake doesn’t like the fact that wine barrels are often just thrown away. Instead, he wants use wine barrels to create cruiser bikes, and he’s already built one. Rake is a professor of Industrial Design at the University of Kansas,…
Reducing Human Error Road Accidents with Automotive Technology
Human error in road accidents is estimated at 94 percent, making mistakes by drivers a major concern for public safety. In order to get a better idea on what a driver is thinking, intelligent systems that can monitor a driver’s state of mind and behavior are promising in promoting safer roadways. By incorporating technologies, such…
Hypersonic Rocket Passes Critical Design Review, Flies Eight Times the Speed of Sound
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has given the go ahead on a new hypersonic rocket that can fly eight times the sound of speed, according to New Atlas. In collaboration with Generation Orbit Launch Services, the rocket, dubbed the X-60A vehicle, passed its Critical Design Review. Now, X-60A, an air-dropped liquid rocket specifically…
Designing Robots with Folding Arms and Hidden Controllers
I attended MD&M West a few weeks back and met with Epson who had a few unique and interesting design elements they integrate into their robots. When Epson first started, they started with their SCARA robots, very fast, four-axis robots made for high speed and high precision. Group Product Manager of Epson, Rick Brookshire, noted…
RCLifeOn Designs Fan-Powered 3D-Printed Airboat
RCLifeOn has created a 3D-printed RC airboat dubbed Speed 2.0. The idea came when Simon Sörensen had the notion to design a high speed airboat using a 64 mm ducted fan. First, he started researching and studying speed boats and hull designs. He then transferred this knowledge to design an airboat that could skim the water…
Women March Outside the ISS for First All-Female Spacewalk
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, the International Space Station also has plans to celebrate women with their first ever all-female spacewalk. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will make history as they conduct their spacewalk outside the ISS, according to New Atlas. Although astronauts schedule spacewalks to perform maintenance tasks on the exterior…
Preparing for Flying Cars with Aero Tires
All the hype about flying cars has posed a good question: What type of tires can both drive on the road and fly? It seems Goodyear has a tire they want to propose called Aero that integrates a multimodal tilt-rotor concept. On display as a physical prototype at the Geneva Motor Show, the Aero is…
Toyota Teams Up with Japan’s Space Agency to Build Lunar Rover
Toyota Motor Corp. has teamed up with Japan’s space agency in building lunar rovers that will travel to the Moon, according to officials and local media. Toyota has also jointly developed a small robot that was sent to the International Space Station. Now, the collaboration between Toyota and Japan’s space agency will focus their efforts…
Pre-Order Your Flying Motorcycle that Flies 15,000 Feet in the Air
There’s been a lot of talk about flying cars but what about flying motorcycles? Now, Jetpack Aviation (JPA) is taking pre-orders on a self-stabilizing, jet-turbine powered motorcycle that flies, according to New Atlas. The flying vehicle, dubbed the Speeder, is capable of speeds up to 150 mph for 20 minutes maximum endurance at altitudes of…
ATV Prototype Made for Stealth Mode for Search and Rescue
DRR USA has already designed gas-powered all-terrain vehicles, but now they’re moving on to much stealthier vehicles with the Stealth Electric ATV. On average, an ATV releases more than 20 lbs. of CO2 into the air from just one tank of gas, according to DRR. They also commented on how loud ATVs can be, reaching…
Recycling Non-Recyclable Plastic Waste Into Marbled Speakers
Plastic has become a double-edged sword, with its numerous uses but obvious global waste problem. Although some plastics can be recycled, others are not accepted, such as the bubble wrap we all love to pop and pallet wrap. Now, the kick-starter company, Gomi, is looking to utilize these non-recyclable flexible plastics and recycle them with…
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Flying Car!
It’s a car. It’s a plane. It’s both? An Australian start up is building a prototype of a flying car that could potentially park in your garage, and literally take up off the ground and fly to a vertical landing point. The five-seat driving car acts as an electric aircraft and has been dubbed Macchina…
Miniature Highway and Cars Used for Experiments in Cooperative Driving
Researchers at the University of Cambridge are playing with mini racecars to potentially operate as an experimental testbed for experiments in cooperative driving. The testbed has a total of 16 miniature Ackermann-steering vehicles known as Cambridge Minicars. Oftentimes, cooperative driving investigations are expensive and require time-extensive procedures from the lack of available low-cost platforms. “Our…
Destructive Drone Designed to Crash Into Ground While Taking Down Target
Kalashnikov, a Russian manufacturing giant, has revealed a new drone that’s designed to crash into the ground and take down targets with it. The fixed-wing drone, developed together with Zala Aero Group, has been named KUB-UAV. Kalashnikov describes the drone as a “high-precision attack unmanned aerial system.” The UAV is designed to remotely destroy ground…
Vahana’s ‘Flying Car’ Undergoes 50 Full-Scale Test Flights
Vahana’s Alpha Two has undergone 50 full-scale test flights totaling over five hours of flight time, but they’ve still got a long ways to go. More flights have been planned throughout the year at the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon as the team checks flight controls, navigation, failure detection, mitigation, and noise during flight. Vahanah’s…
Bajaboard Boosts Ego with 45 mph Skateboard
Unless you’re a professional skateboarder, I might be weary riding on this electric skateboard that goes 45 mph. Now, Bajaboard is reaching top skater speeds with their eight-kilowatt electric skateboard called the Pantera. With Pantera’s four 3.5 kilowatt motors, a 10S, 1.1 kWh battery pack, and four 110 amp motor controllers, the board reaches its…
Generation Robot Series Comes to End with Panel Discussion on Future Robotics
Mouser Electronics recently released a video that features engineer Grant Imahara and a panel discussion from the 2018 Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) Executive Conference. The panel discussion lasts an hour and is titled “How Robotics Will Shape Our Future.” This is the final episode of the Generation Robot series from Mouser’s Empowering Innovation Together…