Exploring how new devices, concepts, and inventions are changing the world around us, one product at a time
Why Designers Are Making Real Versions of Imaginary Objects
Design fiction isn’t trying to give us a road map to the future, but it does let us make a decision: If a story like this were to become a reality, would it be a utopia or a nightmare?
The Real Villains of the Tech Industry
The “Who, us? We’re just a tech company/public square/conduit for your conversations” line of deflection is echoed up and down the org charts of Silicon Valley.
Barbra Streisand’s Clone Dog Army
The new age of cloned pets potentially opens up a world of new animal welfare problems.
Refugee Innovation
Technology that’s changing the lives of people fleeing persecution.
These Indonesian Women Are Part of the Design Team for Their Own Development Tech
Rather than pushing ideas that look good to Western outsiders, this NGO encourages grassroots innovation.
Getting Refugees Off the Ground–Literally
In refugee camps around the world, no matter the location or weather, there is always one constant–mud.
Teaching DIY Neuroscience Using 3D-Printed Tools
“Money should not be an insurmountable barrier to a curious mind.”
Is the Future of 3D Printing Recycled Plastic Bottles?
You can’t make something from nothing.
Would You Buy a Fair Trade Phone?
Producing a fairer phone shows that there are alternatives to our current exploitative supply chains.
10 More Reasons to Love 3D Printing
From memories to music, cars to kayaks.
Augmenting Reality
Augmented reality, where virtual objects are projected on top of the real world, took center stage at E3 2014 with Microsoft’s astonishing demo of Minecraft on the company’s Hololens gadget. But this is not the only case study showing how the way we see the world could change in the future. Here are five examples […]
A Softer Take on Home Security
But will making surveillance less obtrusive also make it more palatable to consumers?
What Does Paper Offer Our Understanding of Electronics?
Paper craft circuits can make learning around electronics more appealing and accessible.
A Hack Day at the Zoo
London Zoo is the oldest scientific zoo in the world–and now it’s hosting hackathons.
The $25 Chemical Scanner That Runs Off Cell Networks
One smart device that can carry out an extraordinary range of tests.
Jiggliness–The New Scientific Way to Measure Temperature
It might sound strange, but movement is the secret to the most accurate temperature readings available.
Refugee Camps: Surprising Hotbeds of Innovation
Stories of innovation play a significant role in these camps, just as they do practically anywhere else.
Better Than Biology–Underwater Hands and More
For the first time, divers will be able to pick up delicate undersea creatures or retrieve fragile objects from sunken wrecks.
Tackling the Problems of Digital Waste With Digital Tech
The Baidu Recycle app aims to avert some of the worst effects of the trade in electronic waste.
How a Broken Toaster Can Help Fix the World
Taking a visit to a “Restart” party, where dead electronics are given new life.
How CrisisNET is Democratizing Crisis Data
It gives journalists, data scientists, developers, and more fast, easy access to critical government, business, humanitarian, and crowdsourced information.