Some new ideas – technologies, products, applications and projects – are just so novel that they’re hard to classify. Some might say they’re "on the fringe" or not commercially viable. But there’s no denying that they're innovative and definitely interesting. That’s what we call “Out There.” “SHIFT” from acoustic panel to shelving
April 9, 2018
A new retail shelving system called SHIFT is made from up-cycled end-of-life textiles from the fashion and textile industries. When folded against a surface, SHIFT serves an acoustic wall panel. Photo: LAYER. Benjamin Hubert’s London design agency LAYER will be launching a flexible, retail shelf system for Danish textile manufacturer
Read MoreDigitally woven textiles copy origami paper structures
March 26, 2018
This illustrates the Archifolds y-series product accomplished by origami techniques translated into a digital weaving process. Photo: josefien eikenaar. Studio Samira Boon collaborated with the TextielMuseum’s TextielLab in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and Professor T. Tachi from the University of Tokyo to translate traditional paper folding into digital weaving techniques. The
Read MoreMuskin “leather” is grown from fungus spores
March 12, 2018
Fashion accessories, such as handbags, have been made with a substitute leather called muskin. Photo: Raghunath Rajaram / GradoZero Espace. The production of leather and textiles is often a resource-heavy process, and the industries are responsible for diverse impacts, including human, animal or ecological, depending on the material type and
Read MoreCephalopods may be the key to better camouflage for soldiers
March 12, 2018
The color-changing capability of cephalopods may help researchers develop more effective camouflage for soldiers’ uniforms. Photo: Wikipedia/Hans Hillewaer. U.S. Army Operational Camouflage Pattern uniforms could benefit from a new study about cephalopods. A research team led by Leila Deravi at Northeastern University has set out to discover how the stealth
Read MoreWaterproof boots are made from corn
January 22, 2018
Your new rain boots could offer something quite distinctive; the smell of popcorn while doing chores or stomping through puddles. These nature-inspired, waterproof boots are made from rubber and recycled non-food-grade corn. They’re designed by Sebastian Thies and manufactured by the German company nat-2™ in Italy. Besides the distinct smell
Read More“The Shoe That Grows” designed for children
January 8, 2018
Photo: The Show That Grows. In 2007, Kenton Lee was living in Nairobi, Kenya. One day he noticed a little girl wearing shoes that were way too small for her feet. Lee wondered, “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a shoe that could adjust and expand, so that kids always
Read MoreNASA’s BEAM textile module will stay on the ISS
December 20, 2017
BEAM is shown expanded on the tranquility nodule of the International Space Station. Photo: NASA. NASA has decided to keep the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on the International Space Station (ISS). The textile module will stay attached to the ISS through 2020, or possibly longer. The ISS crew’s studies
Read MoreSoft robot “muscles” draw inspiration from origami
December 11, 2017
Wyss Institute, Harvard University Researchers from the Wyss Institute, Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed origami-inspired robot muscles that can lift up to 1,000 times their own weight. According to TechCrunch, the researchers say that the new, soft, robotic artificial muscles
Read MorePleated fabric canopy tops a floating church
December 6, 2017
Rendering by Denizen Works. The Diocese of London has commissioned architecture studio Denizen Works to design an unusual means of reaching church-goers: a floating church. The studio will collaborate with Turks boat builders to construct a canal boat church, meeting parishioners and neighbors where they are along the waterways. A
Read MoreResearchers create an energy-harvesting bio-battery
November 20, 2017
Researchers have created a bio-solar panel that could be scaled up as functioning wallpaper. Photo: Imperial College London Researchers at Imperial College London have created a two-in-one solar bio-battery and solar panel by printing living cyanobacteria and circuitry onto paper. The photosynthetic microorganisms have been used as ink and printed
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