The latest innovation videos compiled for you.
Jessica Green discusses how engineers and architects can design interior spaces that direct microbes naturally, encouraging a healthy microbial landscape.
Miguel Nicolelies discusses an experiment in which a monkey learned to control a robotic arm with only its thoughts—an achievement that brings thought-controlled robotic exoskeletons a step closer to reality.
Catarina Mota explores the world of smart materials, such as inks that conduct electricity and music-making jelly, and encourages us to learn by experiment and fun.
The super hydrophobic coating Ultra Ever Dry uses nanotechnology to repel almost any liquid, including mud, paint and concrete, and can be used on a variety of materials.
Chemist Lee Cronin is developing a 3D printer able to print molecules, opening the door to the potential of printing one’s own medicine as needed.
The smartphone prototype E Ink Android can perform all the functions of conventional smartphones, yet it is lighter, less expensive and has a battery life of up to a month.
As the worst E. coli outbreak in history spread through Europe, crowdsourcing helped scientists to better track and understand the disease, and introduced a new method of analyzing outbreaks that could be applied to future epidemics of both human and plant diseases.
An application for people with visual impairments works with smart phones to help them to navigate the last 10 meters of their journey—a time when the need for precise location information renders current navigation systems less helpful.
Discovered by accident, the supercapacitor could change the way we think of batteries.
The BioBot 20 is a tabletop diesel processor, able to recycle used kitchen oils into biodiesel fuel at home.
A new method of delivering dried vaccines to the skin without a needle, enabling immune cells in the skin to kick-start the vaccine and eliminating both the pain of needles and the need to refrigerate live vaccines.
The omnidirectional camera currently in development by Ricoh can take a full 360° panoramic image in one shot and send it automatically via Wi-Fi to the photographer’s smartphone or tablet.
Dr. Steven Schwaitzberg discusses a universal translator technology that will teach surgeons around the world how to perform the minimally invasive Laparoscopic surgery.
Samsung recently demonstrated their new line of flexible OLED displays, including the Youm prototype, a display that curves along the edges of the device to allow content to flow to the sides for added visibility.
Developed by Variable Technologies, the NODE is a small handheld cylinder able to interact with interchangeable modules such as a color comparison sensor, an infrared temperature sensor and an electrochemical gas sensor—setting the stage for the creation of even more new sensor modules and applications.
The Power Loader was designed as a way to merge people and construction machinery, amplifying the force input of the human while also remaining compact and safe.
Ludwick Marishane tells the story of how the desire to avoid bathing led him to create DryBath and earned him the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
A “self-cleaning” membrane able to protect an implanted glucose sensor from the body’s immune response could soon allow diabetics to monitor their blood-sugar levels more effectively.
A new virtual full body technology from Ikei Laboratory goes beyond sight and sound, adding smell and tactile sensations to give the sense of walking through a city or running a 100-meter dash.
MIT electronics designer Leah Buechley demonstrates how conductive pens and ferrous paper can open the door to a fun and accessible way to design and build electronics.
Tissue engineer Nina Tandon discusses “personalized medicine”; using pluripotent stem cells to create personalized models of organs and storing them on computer chips in order to test new drugs and treatments.
The crash-proof quadcopter is able to travel both on land and in the air, thanks to a cylindrical cage connected through two revolute joints that allows the cage to roll independently of the quadcopter body.
The Leveraged Freedom Chair was designed with a rough terrain in mind and can be easily built for under $200—offering true accessibility to disabled people around the world.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a way to use light-absorbing nanoparticles to turn solar energy directly into steam, opening the doors to new forms of low-cost sanitation and water purification.
Doris Kim Sung describes thermo-bimetals—smart materials that are able to respond automatically to the sun’s intensity in order to either shade an area or self-ventilate, potentially replacing window blinds or privacy screens.
Using a technique called “deep neural networks,” Microsoft is developing a speech translator that allows the listener to hear the translation in the speaker’s own voice.
A new low-power, paper-like LCD display from Japan Display relies on reflected light to display color video.
A pair of inventors living more than 10,000 miles apart have collaborated to create a working prototype of an inexpensive prosthetic hand.
In the wake of recent copyright infringement news and drawing examples from Bob Dylan and Steve Jobs, Kirby Ferguson explores the concept of creativity as a remix of ideas.
The OncoSec Medical System uses electrical pulses to open the pores of cancer cells, improving the effectiveness of cancer treatments while reducing systemic toxicity.
Currently in development by NTT docomo, the i beam uses eye tracking technology to allow users to navigate their tablet computers by sight alone, such as turning a page in a book reader by looking at the bottom corner.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have created algorithms that allow quadrotor drones to learn from their mistakes and make adjustments in realtime.
The Invis Mx is an invisible, and detachable, joining system that secures parts and pieces with no visible holes.
Besides simply encouraging adherence to a rehab program, the Reflexion Rehabilitative Measurement Tool developed by West Health Institute uses Kinect technology monitor the motions of patients enrolled in a rehabilitative program to ensure they are done correctly.
A new artificial heart using a ferrofluid, flexible membranes and electromagnets is able to mimic the movement of human tissue, helping to prevent the damage to blood cells that can be caused by the spinning rotors of artificial hearts.
By levitating a liquid solution with sound, scientists have developed a way to evaporate liquids without the liquid touching anything around it—providing a method of more accurately testing the effectiveness of dissolved experimental compounds and potentially leading the creation of more effective medications.
Kent Larson discusses new technologies, such as shared use vehicles and responsive environments, which could help make cities more liveable for everyone while also reducing pollution and resource usage.
Applied Mathematician Max Little explains how a 30-second phone call can allow for the early detection of Parkinson’s disease—with 99 percent accuracy.
The Glove Tricorder from Med Sensation combines sensor technology and human touch to help instruct and guide medical students and doctors during physical exams—and may eventually allow patients to self-diagnose themselves.
As part of a senior design project, students at the Milwaukee School of Engineering used a single accelerometer sensor, computer sound card and specially created software to turn an ordinary chalkboard into a touchscreen.
Building upon the abilities of femto-photography to look around corners, Dr. Ramesh Raskar discusses the possibility of the technology being used to create a new type of endoscope that can take images of different areas of the body from a single point, without needing to travel through the arteries or colon.
Proof that even the lowly earthworm can inspire technology, MIT scientists have created a soft robot called Meshworm that is able to crawl into tight spaces by contracting segments of its body.
The new augmented reality tool Aurasma is the world's first visual browser, able to seamlessly animate the world through a smartphone to allow the user to create and share visual content and integrate it into to actual world.
The SuperBetter game was created by Jane McGonigal and based on scientific research to help increase physical, mental, emotional, and social resilience—potentially adding an average of 10 extra years of life.
MC10 is leading the world in the development of flexible electronics technology, and company president David Icke recently spoke at the TEDMED conference to explore how flexible electronics can impact our interactions with technology.
Researchers have developed a way to manipulate the surface of bubbles with ultrasound in order to use the bubble as a screen for projected images.
Physisict Wolfgang Kessling discusses sustainable design ideas for cooling outdoor spaces and harvesting solar energy for later use.
The T(ether) spatially aware system works with an iPad and a motion tracking glove to allow users to edit 3D virtual objects.
