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Innovation / Technology

Palazzo Italia

Smog-Eating Buildings Battle Air Pollution

Sunlight triggers chemical reactions in the façades of buildings in Mexico City and Milan to improve air quality

Etude 1, 1967- 1968, is a piece of Thermo fax paper with an image that looks like a four-leaf-clover, with four overlapping circles. Each circle has concentric inner circles composed of individual letters of the alphabet.

New Works by Nam June Paik Are Discovered at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

While inventorying the massive archival materials left by the artist, a researcher comes across forgotten works of art

This Week in Crowdfunding

A Moon Landing in Virtual Reality, Bookniture and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Could a new material that uses static charge to stick to any surface spell doom for Post-it notes?

An App Helps the Blind to Type Quickly and Efficiently on an iPad

The iBrailler Notes app provides the blind and visually impaired with a Braille writer at an affordable price

In the future, what role will cars play in our lives?

Round Table

Are Cars Driving Into the Sunset?

Our love affair with automobiles is changing in the face of climate change and denser urban living

Volunteer Rosheka Robinson serves plates of food to guests at Sister Jean's Kitchen in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Smart Startup

This App Recommends Volunteer Opportunities Based on the News You Read

Ideal Impact connects people that show an interest in a particular cause with organizations that could use their help

Bust some ghosts in this board game based on the 1984 classic.

This Week in Crowdfunding

A Ghostbusters Board Game, Lights That Respond to Music and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Also, a sensor that uses thermal technology to track the amount of gas left in a tank

Last fall, the Federal Aviation Administration finally allowed a handful of movie companies to use drones for filming in the United States.

It Was Only a Matter of Time: Drones Get Their Own Film Festival

Hoping to clean up the tarnished image of drones, a filmmaker shifts the focus to their potential for changing how movies are made

Personal environmental monitors, such as TZOA (shown here), measure air quality and stream that information to users who may otherwise have no idea what they are breathing.

With Wearable Devices That Monitor Air Quality, Scientists Can Crowdsource Pollution Maps

Emerging technology means anyone with a smartphone can become a mobile environmental monitoring station

The bola, or tiŋmiagniasutit, from the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian, is featured in the video game, "Never Alone."

How a Smithsonian Artifact Ended Up in a Popular Video Game

To connect with a worldwide audience, an Alaska Native community shared its story with the creators of “Never Alone”

A reader can point a smartphone at the pages of this children's book to reveal surprising animations.

This Week in Crowdfunding

An Augmented Reality Children’s Book, Bacon Jerky and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Never worry about halitosis again with the Breathometer Mint bad breath tracker

A Norwegian Company is Transforming Deserts Into Farmland

Solar power plants in Qatar and Jordan, not far from the sea, are powering desalination systems that irrigate plants in and around greenhouses

A student uses the Skill Champ app, which emphasizes visual learning.

Smart Startup

These Apps Help Kids With Autism Learn Basic Skills

Infiniteach, a Chicago startup, is building learning tools for the one in 68 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders today

Solar Panels in the Screens of Smartphones Could Power the Devices

Kyocera unveils a prototype for a phone with a layer of transparent crystals in its screen that helps to charge it both indoors and outside

An unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) / drone used for aerial surveillance is flying in the air.

Want to Fly a Drone? Here’s Where You Can Do It (Legally, at Least)

As personal and commercial drones become more prevalent, how are state and federal legislators responding? Explore with this interactive map

FireCast 2.0 targets the most fire-prone buildings, many of which haven't been inspected in years.

How Data and a Good Algorithm Can Help Predict Where Fires Will Start

The New York City Fire Department is using a tool called FireCast to predict which buildings are most likely to have fires

This "smart" mattress cover can track sleep patterns along with respiration and heart rates.

This Week in Crowdfunding

A “Smart” Mattress Cover and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Don’t have a green thumb? A sensor for your potted plants alerts you when they need watering

A Prado visitor touches a 3-D printed replica of a contemporaneous copy of the "Mona Lisa."

Please Touch the Art: 3-D Printing Helps Visually Impaired Appreciate Paintings

The new “Touching the Prado” exhibit in Madrid showcases 3-D replicas of paintings, so blind visitors can feel key works of art

This Dutch Wind Wheel Is Part Green Tech Showcase, Part Architectural Attraction

A giant structure proposed in Rotterdam puts cutting-edge energy tech inside a rotating observation wheel, with room for a hotel and apartments

Each Librii site will include an anchor building for housing collections, an e-hub with computers and an agora equipped with WiFi.

Smart Startup

Building Libraries Along Fiber-Optic Lines in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Washington, D.C.-based startup, Librii, is rethinking what a library looks like

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