Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Innovation / Technology

Bicycle made by Raleigh in the 1980s in 893 pieces

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These Photos of Deconstructed Devices Reveal Their Hidden Beauty

Engineer-artist Todd McLellan finds marvel in blowing out the mundane

Gas or charcoal? It's the perpetual debate. And despite many grilling advances, many still prefer good old fashioned charcoal.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Story of the Weber Grill Begins With a Buoy

When metalworker George Stephen, Sr. put two halves of a buoy together, he didn’t know he was making a charcoal grill that would stand the test of time

Fabric containing the same material as plastic wrap was found to make human skin almost 4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.

Future of Energy

Is Plastic the Secret to Clothes That Will Keep You Cool?

Because it allows infrared radiation to escape your body, polyethylene could become key to what we wear in a warming world

Inspired by Squid, Scientists Create New Materials That Change Color and Texture

The technology has a number of potential uses, from anti-glare screens to color-changing clothing

The casein film can either be used as wrappers, like this, or it can be sprayed onto food.

Age of Humans

Here’s a Food Wrapper You Can Eat

Made from milk protein, it not only keeps food from spoiling, but it also could keep a lot of plastic out of landfills

IBM’s Watson Takes On Yet Another Job, as a Weather Forecaster

The integration of the supercomputer and weather stations around the world could have a huge impact on global industry

Now, Let the “Olympics” of Sports Startups Begin

Eight companies from around the world specializing in athletics will compete in Rio de Janeiro for a 100,000 Euro prize

Smart Startup

Could This San Francisco Startup Transform Garbage Collecting?

Compology uses sensors and software to plot truck routes to empty only dumpsters that are full

Winners at last year's Google Science Fair

Google Thinks These 20 Teenagers Could Change Our World for the Better

These kids from around the globe have created innovative new technologies, from malaria-testing apps to water-saving agriculture systems

This drone is designed to start controlled burns of grassland.

10 New Ways to Use Drones

From fighting wildfires to coaching people on their tennis game, the aerial devices are becoming a tool of choice

A 3D printed dish made with the lab's printer

3D Print Your Own Breakfast

A team of researchers at Columbia University has developed a 3D food printer capable of printing and cooking multiple ingredients at one time

Cauam Cardoso

Technology for the Poor Should Help, Not Hurt: An Interview With MIT’s Cauam Cardoso

The PhD candidate is working on ways to systematically evaluate new technologies for the developing world

Five Ways National Parks Are Embracing Technology

Cell phones and other screens don’t have to detract from the park experience

Meet SwagBot, the Robot Cowboy That Can Herd and Monitor Cattle On Its Own

University of Sydney engineers have developed a four-wheeled robot to keep tabs on massive farms in Australia’s outback

Rio's favelas, like Santa Marta (shown here), are no longer blank spaces on Google Maps.

Mapping Rio’s Favelas

Ahead of the Olympics, Google and a Brazilian nonprofit have been recruiting locals to pinpoint businesses and other landmarks in the city’s shantytowns

The Fight for the “Right to Repair”

Manufacturers have made it increasingly difficult for individuals or independent repair people to fix electronics. A growing movement is fighting back

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History holds this patent model for a Gorrie ice machine, the first mechanical refrigeration or ice-making machine the U.S. Patent Office patented.

Six of History’s Smartest, Weirdest and Most Interesting Inventions for Beating the Heat

From a bicycle mister to ice energy, here are a few innovative ways for cooling down

Kevin Kelly unpacks 12 technological forces in his new book.

Wired Founder Kevin Kelly On the Technologies That Will Dominate Our Future

The optimistic futurist says we’ll share more, own less and spend far more time on our devices

How Real-time Translation Apps and Online Tools Are Helping Refugees in Turkey Forge New Lives

Refugees and the technology of exile

Page 37 of 73