Welcome to another episode of Powering Wearables, a monthly web series covering topics from today’s topic—utilizing thin-film batteries, to flexible batteries, increasing battery efficiency, and more. Today, we’re talking passive verses active wearables. One application in particular where wearables are seeing successful uptake is in the world of events. From sports matches to theme parks…
Engineering Update #180: World’s Largest Telescope Now on the Hunt for Aliens
Engineering Update #178: Electric Buses, Drone-Hunting Eagles, and Balancing Robots
Engineering Update #176: Radio Telescope Picks Up Strange Signal
HotSpot Episode #177: Audi Alerts You When Red Light Will Turn Green
Engineering Update #172: Dry Combat Submersible Will Carry Troops To Mission Areas
HotSpot Episode 171: Portable Sensor Detects Gluten in Food
HotSpot Episode 170 – This Robot is a Pill Pez-Dispenser
Engineering Update #167: This Robot is More Powerful Than a Mars Rover
HotSpot Episode 169 – NASA’s New Network Brings Internet To Entire Solar System
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Finally: An Affordable Underwater Drone Utilizing some of the same technologies that have allowed aerial drones to become affordable, Blue Robotics’ BlueROV2 could soon be yours for around $3,000. NASA’s New Network Brings Internet To Entire Solar System NASA has made progress toward establishing a more reliable, potentially solar-system-spanning communication…
HotSpot Episode 168- Having a Heart Attack? This Smart Shirt Can Help
Magnetic Fridge Eliminates Gases And Reduces Energy Use Cooltech’s first commercial magnetic fridge system, the MRS400, boasts 400 W of cooling power, keeping the internal temperature between 35.6° F and 41° F, which is within the recommended levels for safe food storage. Having a Heart Attack? This Smart Shirt Can Help. Sensoria has announced a…
HotSpot Episode 167 – Drone Taxis? Nevada’s Testing Passenger Drones
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Solar-Powered, Autonomous Boat is Crossing the Atlantic The Solar Voyager is an autonomous, solar-powered kayak, currently making its way across the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX To Relaunch Used Falcon 9 Rocket According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the first reflight of a used rocket will happen in September or October of…
HotSpot Episode 166 – Drone Spray Hornet Destroys Nests
Drone Spray Hornet Destroys Nests Drone Volt has introduced the Drone Spray Hornet to locate and destroy the nests of Asian hornets that are becoming an issue in parts of Europe. The Asian Hornet arrived in France in a shipment of pottery over a decade ago, and has since spread itself over much of the…
HotSpot Episode 164: Underwater Robot Destroys Bombs
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Band-Aid-Like Self-Charging Battery Powers Wearables A team of researchers came up with a new way to power wearable electronics, developing a soft, millimeter-scale battery that can be stretched over the skin like a band-aid. A Kit That Turns Your Truck into an Autonomous Vehicle A startup called Otto is developing…
HotSpot Episode 162 – SeaDrone For Underwater Exploration
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Safe Phone Mount Turns Your Vehicle into a Connected Car Logi claims that its device, ZeroTouch, delivers the connected car to the other 90 percent of the world that doesn’t want to buy a new one. New Sustainable Charging Station Peugeot Design Lab has released its vision for the charging…
HotSpot 162- Drone Delivery of Manufactured Organs
E-Bike Boasts 8.7Ah Lithium-Ion Battery The new All-Go E-Bike, coming in at 33 pounds, features a 500-watt mid-mounted, pedal-assist electric drive that provides power up to speeds of 28 mph. 3D Printed ‘Mini-Brain’ Bioreactor Used For Zika Research A high school student designed a revolutionary new bioreactor with a thousand “mini-brains” that will be used…
Powering Wearables – Reducing Battery Size via Lithium-ion
Wearable devices are small, which means that the size of the components need to be even smaller, battery included. And, although they use Bluetooth Low Energy, they still need to be charged frequently. Efficient battery power for wearable devices is a major challenge for designers, so when designing, it’s important to weigh the options. Lithium-ion…
Engineering Update #158: A ‘Force Field’ for Military Tanks
Welcome to the engineering update. In this week’s episode: The Electric Car of the Future The car of the future is here, and it gets 100 miles to the gallon, using the equivalent of one gallon of gas. It also offers control algorithms to recognize driving patterns and predict future driving and real wheel torque vectoring for…
HotSpot Episode 160 – Smartphone Mounting System with Wireless Charging
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Smartphone Mounting System with Qi Wireless Charging Xvida is a new, modular mounting system with QI charging, which will keep your iPhone charged no matter where you are. Customizable Wireless Motion Gadget GYREO is a smart gadget and design tool for coders, enabling you to create all sorts of features that are motion…
HotSpot Episode 159 – Stamp-Sized, NFC-Enabled Wearable
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: World’s Most Affordable Wi-Fi Smart Bulb Qube is a multi-colored Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb for your home, designed to both impress and make your home beautiful to live in. Along with the Qube App, you can control your lights anytime, anywhere. Home Mini-Gym Boasts Smart Handles This compact home gym, dubbed…
HotSpot Ep. 157 – This Smart Bottle is the Keurig of Wine
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Smart Luggage Syncs to Your Smartphone A Californian team thinks it has the solution to all our travel woes with Floatti, a smart suitcase with suspension, smartphone connectivity, and an inbuilt scale. This Smart Bottle is the Keurig of Wine The Kuvée smart wine bottle is the world’s first and…
HotSpot Episode 154 – A Wireless Security Cam the Size of a Coin
Wireless Device Warns You of Speeding Traps TrapTap is a simple and stylish wireless button that warns you of speed traps, red light cameras, and school zones by flashing different colors. Formula E On April 1, 2016, WDD will be broadcasting live from the Andretti Formula E Paddock in Long Beach, CA, bringing you an in-depth panel…
HotSpot Episode 155 – Sweep Sensor Adds Mapping to Drones
Turning the Apple Watch into an EKG The Kardia is a smart watch strap uses a metal sensor to take a 30-second EKG reading through its corresponding app. You can even set up the Apple Watch app so that it will send information to a physician. Sonar Tech Tracks Fingers Without Touch Scientists at the University…
HotSpot Episode 154- A Smart ‘Gun’ That Neutralizes Drone Threats
A Smart ‘Gun’ That Neutralizes Drone Threats Security companies have been upping their game to keep up with advancements in drone technology, which takes us to SkyWall: essentially, a compressed air launcher that uses a laser-equipped SmartScope to acquire its target and shoot a smart projectile at it. First Bionic Fingertip Dennis Aabo Sorensen is missing a…
HotSpot Episode 153 – Solar Panels Tested For The Moon
This week on WDD’s HotSpot: Tiny Trees Produce Electricity A research team at the Ohio State University has created electromechanical devices that look like tiny leafless trees and can generate electricity when they are moved by activity, like the slight swaying movements of a tall building, or the vibrations from traffic on a bridge. Monkeys…