Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Transportation

Gogoro is releasing an electric Smartscooter, a lithium-ion battery pack and a charging station at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

Will Electric Scooters Take Over the World’s Mega Cities?

A well-funded startup called Gogoro unveils its e-scooter and a plan to install ATM-like battery stations in urban areas

(Clockwise from top left) Katrin Macmillan, Ashutosh Saxena, Richard Lunt and Horace Luke are hard at work on exciting new projects.

Eight Innovators to Watch in 2015

From food science and robotics to solar tech and sustainable architecture, these folks are poised to do big things

This airport shuttle can make a round-trip run on the waste produced by a single person in one year.

This Commuter Bus Runs On Poop

A U.K.-based biogas plant has developed a 40-seater than runs on converted sewage and food waste

New Research

A Simple Way to Reduce Car Crashes: Start the High School Day Later

A later roll-call time for teens also means improved health, mood, and grades

This is how you build the world's first solar bike path.

A Bike Path Near Amsterdam Is Now Generating Solar Power

As cyclists ride above, solar panels embedded in the pathway pump energy into the power grid

The History of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 50 Years After Its Construction

Built in 1964, the span still stands as Americas’ largest suspension bridge

International Space Station astronauts captured this photograph of Earth's atmospheric layers. The troposphere is the orange-red layer. The gray, just above that, is the stratosphere. Then, the blue is the mesosphere.

10 Weird Things Humans Have Sent Into the Stratosphere

Tied to high-altitude balloons, bacon and LEGO figures have reached heights nearing 100,000 feet

The movement to dramatically reduce car traffic is picking up speed.

Anthropocene

Helsinki Has a Plan to Get People to Stop Owning Cars

A system being developed in Finland would allow people to subscribe to all kinds of mobility options and pay for everything on their phones

An artist renders the proposed master plan of Masdar City.

Building the World’s First Carbon-Neutral City

Masdar City, near Abu Dhabi, boasts green buildings, a fleet of electric cars and massive solar arrays. But will the experiment work?

Scientists hope to make the process of producing engine-ready propane from E. coli bacteria commercially viable in 5 to 10 years.

Anthropocene

Researchers Trick E. Coli Into Making Propane

European researchers have taken an important first step toward renewable propane, powered by the sun

The Project Wing test craft begins lowering its payload during a test flight in Australia.

Google’s Delivery Drones Will Airlift Supplies Practically Anywhere

Project Wing, a development platform, completes test deliveries over Australia

Cool Finds

New Jersey Will Test Solar-Powered Commuting Pods Straight Out of the Future

The new form of transportation looks like it came here from the future

This fall, blind passengers will be able to navigate these halls completely independently thanks to a new iPhone app.

Tech Watch

Indoor Mapping Lets the Blind Navigate Airports

A prototype system of an iPhone app and location beacons launched at San Francisco International Airport

Handlebars on the Blackline model let you know when to turn.

Tech Watch

What a City Bike Needs: Handlebars That Let You Know When to Turn

Designers are transforming bikes with new tech to make it safer and easier to navigate city streets

New traffic-light timing software could put an end to gridlock.

Tech Watch

Better Traffic-Light Timing Will Get You There Faster

New algorithms from MIT researchers keep gridlock at bay by predicting traffic before it starts

A mall in Beijing.

Trending Today

China’s Extra Wide Ladies-Only Parking Spaces Sparked a Backlash Over Sexism

The mall that created the women-only spaces meant well, but their reasoning is indicative of a bigger problem

The Costa Concordia, refloated.

Trending Today

The Wrecked Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Is Finally Being Towed Away

The ship’s remains will be broken down for scrap metal

Cool Finds

This Is the Sound of Harley’s Electric Motor Bike

It’s quieter than it’s combustion counterparts, but the new, distinctive sound is something Harley-Davidson hopes its fans will like

Cool Finds

This Electric Bus Can Charge in 15 Seconds

A new method for charging buses is an attractive alternative to having unsightly wires strung across the street

New Research

Cities With Bike Shares Have Fewer Bike-Related Injuries Overall

A higher proportion of bike-related injuries are head-related injuries—but these cities have fewer head injuries, too

Page 14 of 19