Inventions

Kirigami-cut solar cells

Using Kirigami, the Japanese Art of Paper Cutting, to Build Better Solar Panels

Researchers have used the art technique to make light panels that twist to follow the sun

This Exoskeleton Is Actually Controlled by the Wearer's Thoughts

Engineer Jose Contreras-Vidal's "brain-machine interface" uses electrical activity in a person's brain to move a robotic exoskeleton

17 Inventions That Could Make Going Back to School a Little Bit Easier

From an aromatic alarm clock to a school bus locator system, these patented products could help students and parents with the transition

A Mouthguard That Could Measure Concussions

Professional football, rugby, and other contact sports could benefit from it

This "Lucky" Fish Could Save Lives

A fish-shaped iron ingot is reducing the number of cases of iron deficiency anemia in Cambodia and beyond

Legos Go Sustainable, and Everything (Really) is Awesome

To reduce its carbon footprint, the toy company is searching for a sustainable material for its bricks by 2030

Airplanes that never flew and a parade of early automobiles now inhabit the grand exhibit hall of the Arts et Métiers museum, once the home of the medieval Saint-Martin-des-Champs monastery.

The Best Little Museum You Never Visited in Paris

The Museum of Arts and Crafts is a trove of cunning inventions

Activities are designed with 6 to 12-year olds in mind, and presented as open-ended questions focused on themes that rotate throughout the year.

Inspiring Invention the MacGyver Way

Visitors to the Smithsonian's new Spark!Lab are challenged to solve problems with ingenuity and a pile of off-the-shelf items

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Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions to the World's Problems

With a patent to her name and more likely on the way, the 15-year-old has made it her mission to inspire young innovators

Apple I computer, 1976, Steve Jobs (Patent no. 7166791) and Steve Wozniak (Patent No. 4136359). The Apple I computer became a leader in personal computing. Originally marketed to hobbyists only primarily as a fully assembled circuit board, purchasers had to add their own case and monitor in order to create a working computer.

Tracing the History of American Invention, From the Telegraph to the Apple I

More than 70 artifacts, from an artificial heart to an Etch A Sketch, grace the entryway to the American History Museum's new innovation wing

The Hyperloop Will Be Only the Latest Innovation That's Pretty Much a Series of Tubes

The idea of using pneumatics to send objects has been around for ages. But people?

Maker’s Week at the Zoo is Business as Usual

When the right product doesn't exist for a fish ultrasound or other procedure, scientists build it themselves

An open source cardboard dino from KitRex stands outside the New York Hall of Science during the World Maker Faire in September 2014.

What Is a Maker Faire, Exactly?

Billed as the world’s greatest show and tell, the DIY extravaganza might just make a maker out of you

Japanese Elevators May Soon Have Toilets

Earthquake-trapped travelers could have access to running water in elevators

A rendering of the USS Nautilus, the world's first atomic submarine. The real Nautilus is now open to the public, docked in Connecticut so that visitors can walk around inside and explore the torpedoes and living quarters.

Step Inside a Famous Submarine

Where to visit historic subs this summer—or ride in a modern one

Turn on this baby patting machine and slowly, quietly back away.

26 Inventions Mothers Can Appreciate

From an apparatus to birth a child with centrifugal force to a board game to teach driver safety, these product ideas have parents in mind

These Magic Toothbrushes Work Without Toothpaste

A new brush—and an old one, too—that don't rely on possibly harmful pastes to make your smile shine

What is the Nine Millionth Patent?

The landmark announcement is part of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's celebration of the 225th anniversary of the Patent Act

This apparatus can be used to lay Easter bunny tracks. It dispenses flour in a pattern that resembles paw prints. The same device can be repurposed for Christmas, when it lays Santa's tracks or reindeer hoof prints.

14 Easter Inventions That Never Quite Took Off

This holiday take a look at these products, from egg coloring devices to tomb pendants

Farmers use the machine and provide feedback.

Farmers Can Shell Coffee in a Fraction of the Time With This Bike-Powered Machine

A team at an MIT International Development Design Summit is making coffee production a little easier for small-scale farmers in Tanzania

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