Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Innovation / Technology

With Eco Purge, Arya Satheesh won the European category of the 2026 Earth Prize, the largest environmental competition in the world for young students. She was awarded $12,500 to continue to develop her prototype.

This High Schooler Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegrades

Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollution

Of the estimated 899 species of ticks worldwide, about 90 are found in the continental U.S.; however, only four species are responsible for most of the infections found in the U.S. today.

The First At-Home Test for Infected Ticks Could Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosis

LymeAlert will hit the market in August. The latest tool against the tick-borne illness could become a medicine cabinet staple

Among medical fields, radiology has pioneered the adoption of A.I. tools. Yet combining the complementary strengths of human and machine intelligence is not straightforward.

How A.I. Will Reshape Radiology—Without Replacing Radiologists

Human experience and flexibility are still necessary even as digital diagnostic tools improve

Hold music is an audible reminder that our time has value, just not always to the company keeping us waiting.

A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory

Sixty years ago, Alfred A. Levy patented his “telephone hold program system.” Little did he know a teenager’s unearthed New Age practice tape would become its enduring anthem

One of the most unusual public transportation systems in the world, the train hangs from an elevated steel track.

When Germany Built a Flying Train 125 Years Ago, a City Coalesced Beneath It. It Has Moved Royalty, Commuters and Tourists—and One Elephant—Ever Since

When there was no room on the ground, towns in the Wupper Valley looked to the skies and built a suspension railway that became a source of pride and connection

Jerry Lawson’s gaming system featured interchangeable cartridges, so users could swap out titles like “Space War” and “Math Quiz.”

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

This Unsung Black Developer Unlocked the Code to Turning a Video Game Console Into a Virtual Living Room Arcade

Jerry Lawson’s Channel F system was the first to put games on interchangeable cartridges, paving the way for Atari, Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation

None

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

When Clarence Birdseye Tasted the Trout That Had Been Frozen by Inuit Fishermen, It Changed the Way We Buy Food

The inventive entrepreneur concluded that the faster things were frozen, the less damage was done to the structure of the food. Once thawed, they were “exactly like fresh”

None

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

How the Hashtag Became the Way to Instantly Invite Literally Everyone Into the Conversation

In the nascent days of Twitter, users wanted a quick way to cluster posts about a single subject. Someone suggested using a pound sign, and #TheRestIsHistory

None

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

Because of a Mathematician From Rural Virginia’s Work on Global Positioning, You Have No Excuse for Getting Lost

Gladys West had an “insatiable thirst for knowledge.” She used computers, radars and satellites to make calculations that led to the GPS technology that allows us to pinpoint any spot on the globe

None

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

In the Early Days of Machine Learning, Massive Computers Said George Harrison Was a Woman. A.I. Has Come a Long Way

A Cornell professor designed a room-size network of sensors that represented a single neuron. He claimed it would grow wiser as it gained experience, and it has never stopped

Kang’s invention won second place and an award of $175,000 at the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the oldest and most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math competition for high school students in the United States.

This High Schooler Developed an A.I. Tool to Diagnose Autism and ADHD Using the Retina

Edward Kang’s RetinaMind analyzes patients’ retinal images and accurately diagnoses neurodevelopmental disorders 89 percent of the time

What if, rather than coral reef rehabilitation remaining a tedious and difficult manual process, conservationists could harness robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles to transform it into an industrial-scale endeavor?

Could Underwater Autonomous Robots Save Coral Reefs?

Reef restoration is a slow process, with divers planting coral fragments one at a time by hand. But roboticists are now developing automated planters that could change the game

More than 50 million people suffer from epilepsy around the world, making it one of the most common and severe neurological disorders globally.

These Young Innovators Have Created a ‘Fitbit’ to Predict Epileptic Seizures

Truman Pierson and Christopher Fitz are developing behind-the-ear EEG patches and an accompanying app that issues an alert if the user is at high risk for a seizure in the next hour

Scientists have discovered that each of the sea star’s tube feet is driven independently using local feedback from the environment.

Sea Stars Can Lose an Arm and Soldier On. What If Robots Could Do the Same?

Bioinspiration looks to nature for clues on how to build more efficient, resilient robots

Microplastics pose a growing global concern as they infiltrate not just the environment but also humans and animals.

This High School Student Invented a Filter That Eliminates 96 Percent of Microplastics From Drinking Water

Virginia teenager Mia Heller’s filtration system harnesses the power of ferrofluid, a magnetic oil that binds to microplastics in flowing water

The Strutt EV1 electric motorized chair is marketed to everyone, whether they have mobility challenges or simply want a cool, voice-controlled ride.

Seven Fascinating Inventions Unveiled at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show

A smart wheelchair, an A.I.-powered tennis ball launcher, a mirror that reports on your health and more were on display at the annual Las Vegas trade show

Golden apple snails have eyes that are similar to humans’—and they can regenerate an amputated eye in just a month. Scientists uncovered a gene related to that process, laying the groundwork for more research that could help humans with eye injuries.

Eight Fascinating Scientific Discoveries From 2025 That Could Lead to New Inventions

By studying the natural world, scientists find blueprints for innovations that can improve human lives—in the genes of a shark, the fur of a polar bear and the flipper of an extinct reptile

Robots still struggle with the unpredictable ways that fabric crumples and creases. But newer approaches offer the hope of better robotic household help.

When Will Robots Take Over Laundry Folding?

For this chore, the human touch still beats machines. But maybe not for long

From a book to robots, the products all focus on microelectronics.

Engineers Say These Ten Holiday Gifts Will ‘Make Kids Think’

A team of Purdue students and faculty recommends these microelectronic-focused toys for developing STEM skills

Nineteen-year-olds Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça are developing a robot capable of reaching and reforesting areas where humans have been unable to.

Two College Students Are Building a Robot to Replant Burned Forests

Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça invented Trovador, a four-legged, A.I.-powered robot that can plant trees in hard-to-reach, wildfire-damaged terrain

Page 1 of 74