Month: June 2019

Finnish studio Aivan is trying to grow headphones from sustainable fungus and yeast. Working with scientists from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University, it developed the world’s first microbe-grown headphone prototype, dubbed Korvaa. The headphones consist of six different microbially-grown substances. The rigid plastic frame of the headphones is 3D-printed using the lactic acid in baker’s…

Spotted: Researchers at US-based Carnegie Mellon University have created attractive, elastic and smart bandages as wearable tech. ElectroDermis is different from other patch wearables due to its focus on being “functional and aesthetically pleasing,” the researchers say. The team developed ElectroDermis as part of a mission to create a smart patch that people would want…

Spotted: US-based Recompose has created a more ecological way to bury loved ones. The method allows the entire person, including bones and teeth, to decompose without dangerous chemicals, Recompose says. Unlike traditional burials, Recompose does not use embalming fluid that pollutes the ground water. It also does not produce carbon dioxide like cremation. Instead, Recompose…

Spotted: A German company uses a combination of AI and real-life stylists to personalise men’s clothing shopping. Outfittery uses written and visual questionnaires to match customers to individual stylists and styles, and the AI algorithms learn more about each customer’s tastes the more they shop. This, in turn, helps inform the human stylists. Customers can…

Spotted: American startup PURETi has developed a surface treatment that can eliminate grime and odours from buildings while also reversing air pollution. The company’s product uses a titanium dioxide coated vinyl to purify the surrounding air. When ultra-violet light hits the coating, the titanium dioxide gains energy which accelerates the oxidation (natural chemical breakdown) of…

Spotted: Australian startup Pencil has created a single form for small businesses to apply for supply credit with vendors. The simple system promises to help SMEs manage supplier credit applications and ease the burden of administration work. Supplier management can be more difficult for SMEs due to their size. To address this, the platform offers…

Fibre optic cables have been used to provide telephone and internet connectivity for decades. The first fibre-optic telephone cable was laid between Long Beach and Artesia, California, in 1977. In 1988, the first transatlantic fibre-optic telephone cable was laid between the United States, France and the UK. Fibre optics provide a very fast, efficient way…

Spotted: Vienna has installed around 200 pedestrian crossing lights that can recognise when a person wants to cross the road. The system was commissioned by Municipal Department 33 of the City of Vienna and developed by a team at the Institute of Computer Graphics and Vision at TU Graz University. It is intended to replace…

Spotted: Inventor, designer and creative director Joe Doucet created 3D-printed benches for public spaces. His goal was to improve pedestrian safety without compromising on the aesthetics of good design. Rely Protective Public Seating could easily be mistaken for nothing more than a nice places to sit. Each bench weighs more than one ton. They are 3D-printed…

Hong Kong startup Dyelicious is turning food waste into high-quality clothing and other products through a process known as natural food dyeing. The company says its workshops use kitchen waste to make dyes that can decompose naturally and do not yield any pollution, unlike a typical garment factory that may emit toxins into rivers and…