Engineering

Smart Startup

Can This New Football Helmet Prevent Head Injuries?

The team behind the Zero1, a new four-layer helmet design, hopes so

February 5, 2016

Future of Conservation

Five Ways to Fight Wildlife Crime in the Digital Age

From GPS-tagged eggs to smartphone apps, these emerging technologies could help give endangered species a chance at survival

February 2, 2016

People Are Still Trying to Build a Space Elevator

Though key players have distanced themselves from the concept, a new film examines the continuing draw behind the sci-fi staple

January 21, 2016

This Powerful Metal Glue Sets at Room Temperature

MesoGlue uses nanorod technology to fuse items together without heat, potentially replacing soldering

January 15, 2016

What Landing a Rover on Mars Teaches You About Leadership and Teamwork

In his new book, NASA engineer Adam Steltzner shares his insights on how to inspire people to make the impossible possible

January 11, 2016

This Metal Is 99.9 Percent Air

A new metal “microlattice” is strong yet incredibly light, lending itself to a wide variety of aerospace, automotive and medical uses

December 18, 2015

One Day, Your Cup of Coffee Could Charge Your Phone

A pair of students has proposed the idea of embedding furniture with pads to absorb latent heat and convert it into electricity

December 7, 2015

A Boston Biotech Company Is Engineering New Smells

A team at Ginkgo Bioworks is designing organisms that emit specific scents and flavors

December 1, 2015

Is This Machine the Future of Airport Security?

The Qylatron, used daily at San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium, promises better, faster security screening

November 30, 2015

Med School Students Can Play “Operation” With These Synthetic Cadavers

Florida company SynDaver is making life-like organs and bodies. But, as teaching models, are they as helpful as the real thing?

November 23, 2015

What Is Li-Fi, and Will It Replace Wi-Fi?

Mobile communications professor Harald Haas has theorized about using LED bulbs to transmit data for years. Now, the technology is a reality.

November 19, 2015

RoboBees Can Fly and Swim. What’s Next? Laser Vision

Swarms of robotic bees, capable of seeing, may soon be able to monitor pollution and traffic, or scan the struts of bridges

November 17, 2015

This Year’s James Dyson Award Goes to a Circuit Board Printer

Four engineering students in Canada win the prestigious international award with their invention, which they hope will speed up electronics manufacturing

November 10, 2015

Cool Finds

This Extremely Slow Rube Goldberg Device Lasts More Than Six Weeks

The whimsical invention uses molasses, a tortoise, and sprouting grass to move a golf ball

November 2, 2015

This Camera Sees What Your Eyes Can’t

HyperCam, an affordable hyperspectral imaging camera, can tell if your food’s gone bad, among other things

October 26, 2015

This “Psychic Robot” Can Read Your Mind

Researchers have created an algorithm that understands what movement you meant to make, even if you’re interrupted

October 14, 2015

Cool Finds

This Swiss Watchmaker is Teaching Apprentices For Free

The U.S. desperately needs new watchmakers. Will a new generation save the industry?

October 12, 2015

This Wearable Device Translates Sign Language To English

The prototype detects hand and finger movements and turns them into words on a screen

October 6, 2015

This Concrete Can Absorb a Flood

A UK company has developed a permeable pavement that can drink 1,000 liters of water per square meter in a minute

October 5, 2015

Innovative Spirit Health Care

Scientists Manipulate Common Plants to Produce Cancer Drugs

Stanford researchers have figured out how to transfer a rare plant’s chemical “assembly line” into a cheap, common lab plant

September 24, 2015