future-tense
By Melissa Sterry | Exploring the now, near and far future.
Residents of Sydney high-rise estate use lights to protest against gentrification
Night after night, the windows of the tower blocks that make up the Waterloo Estate in Sydney have been gradually lit up in different colours as part …
HousingHow to Give Fake Hands Real Feeling - MIT Technology Review
The human hand has 17,000 touch sensors that help us pick things up and connect us to the physical world. A prosthetic hand or foot has no feeling at …
EngineeringDinara Kasko's sculptural cakes are carved from sheets of chocolate
The multilayered, three-dimensional works of artist José Margulis have been transformed into tasty treats by architect-turned-patisserie chef Dinara …
DessertKarton creates ultra-durable cardboard furniture for every room in your home
Cardboard furniture doesn’t have to be boring. A startup from Melbourne, Karton Group has just opened a new Brooklyn showroom featuring a wide range …
FurniturePentatonic turns smartphones, cans and cigarette butts into flat-pack furniture
Start-up company Pentatonic is aiming to "radically transform consumption culture" with a range of furniture and products created from food, …
FurnitureLGA transforms warehouse into community for homeless youths in Toronto
Canadian firm LGA Architectural Partners has created a neighbourhood within an old Toronto industrial building, to provide accommodation for homeless …
ArchitectureThis Is The Most Complex Architectural Structure In History
It would “probably take thousands of years” to draw, and its architects needed a supercomputer to visualize just a fraction of it.<p>Technology has always shaped architecture. The Romans built an empire on the back of the arch, while paving their roads in concrete. But the computer, which has already …
3D PrintingThe SHED Project offers micro-homes inside vacant London properties
Self-contained micro homes are being installed inside vacant buildings across London as part of an initiative called The SHED Project, which features …
HousingA Lab Accident Leads to Bioactive "Tissue Paper"
A spill of bioactive ink made from ovarian cells led to the creation of paper made from organs and tissues, with various potential medical uses
BreakthroughsArtificial intelligence identifies plant species for science
Deep-learning methods successfully classify thousands of herbarium samples.<p>Computer algorithms trained on the images of thousands of preserved plants …
Machine LearningLink About It: Electronics Sculpted from Biodegradable Materials
For his thesis project at Holon Institute of Technology, Shay Castel constructed a series of speakers, clocks and lamps from biodegradable materials. Each piece calls into question the amount of time consumers use products—here, allowing them to comfortably dispose of components when their time is …
ScienceDisposable cardboard BBQ is eco-friendly and eliminates trash
Add / Remove From disposable fingertips for eating greasy food to disposable bed linen for students – we are living in a disposable society, but …
New microscope technique reveals internal structure of live embryos
University of Illinois researchers have developed a way to produce 3-D images of live embryos in cattle that could help determine embryo viability …
BiologyInvisibility cloak takes one step closer to revealing itself
Two research teams have made structures that could help conceal objects from daylight – taking the next step towards making the visible, invisible. …
EngineeringSustainable coffee cup is made from coffee husk
Add / Remove An Australian start-up has come up with a clever way to re-use coffee husk, which hundreds of tonnes are wasted by coffee producers …
InC02, An Artistic Medium for the Anthropocene: On the Aesthetics of Futility
<b>Introduction</b>In short, InC02 is a medium that has been designed to sense and respond to the presence of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in the …
Earth ScienceFinnish University creates artificial iris
Add / Remove The Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland has developed an artificial iris that can react to incoming light in exactly the …
Circuito.io Makes It Easy To Build Your Own Electronic Circuits
Roboplan created the desktop application Circuito.io for beginners to have a step-by-step guide to building their own electronics projects
JavaScriptPowering 3D printed micromotors with E. coli bacteria
Researchers from the Sapienza University of Rome have created 3D printed micromotors that can be powered by E.coli bacteria. The group created …
BiologySupramolecular materials with a time switch
Materials that assemble themselves and then simply disappear at the end of their lifetime are quite common in nature. Researchers at the Technical …
PhysicsUn.Box Studio converts neglected stone building into progressive Austin hostel
American firm Un.Box Studio has transformed historic structures in Austin into a high-design hostel that is meant to serve as an alternative to …
ArchitectureStanford scientists unveil ultra-thin electronics that can dissolve into the body
A group of scientists from California have developed a series of organic electronic components that will harmlessly dissolve into their environment …
EngineeringFirst “Virtual” Unrolling of Ancient Scroll Buried by Vesuvius Reveals Early Text - MIT Technology Review
In A.D. 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted violently, spewing pyroclastic flows across the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The eruption has become …
ArchaeologyRestaurants Are Returning Their Empty Oyster Shells To The Ocean To Rebuild Decimated Reefs
A partnership between a nonprofit and a waste-management company in Mobile, Alabama has already diverted 2.8 million oyster shells from landfill.<p>Producing up to 500 million pounds of oysters each year, the Gulf Coast region of the United States is a shellfish haven: The area accounts for 67% of the …
OceansPetit Pli clothing expands to fit children as they grow
This kids' clothing line designed by Royal College of Art graduate Ryan Mario Yasin has a pleat system that lets garments stretch to fit even after …
FurnitureRain collects and circulates around Jólan van der Wiel's Tropic City bench
Dutch designer Jólan van der Wiel has created a water-filled seat made of dozens of pipes that store and circulate raindrops.<p>The piece is part of his …
FurnitureEight recycled design projects driven by Beirut's trash crisis
After a crisis that saw rubbish pile up in the streets of Beirut, local designers were inspired to use the waste around them as a resource. Here are …
RecyclingJenny Sabin stretches robotically woven canopy across MoMA PS1 courtyard
New York-based Jenny Sabin Studio has made a canopy of robotically knitted textile at MoMA PS1 in Queens that sprays mist in the day and glows at …
ArtETH Zurich unveils plans for robot-built house in Dübendorf
Researchers from Switzerland's ETH Zurich university will use robots and 3D printers to design and build a pioneering three-storey house at a local …
Robotics