Solid-knitting machine builds reconfigurable objects

August 12, 2024  |  Out There

A new materials technique has blended the usefulness of knitting needles and yarn with cutting-edge technology to create the equipment and process to make a solid-knit object of almost any kind. Yuichi Hirose first dreamed up this technique when he was a student at Keio University in Tokyo. There, w…
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FLOAT designed for moving on the Moon

June 24, 2024  |  Out There

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) 2024 Phase II awardee Ethan Schaler has proposed the first lunar railway system to provide reliable, autonomous and efficient payload transport on the Moon. The Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT) system is a durable, long-life robotic transport system—a…
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Color-changing resin material is heat-activated

April 22, 2024  |  Out There

Artist and designer Kim Mesches has unveiled his “Collection 5,” featuring garments made of a color-changing resin with a technology activated by heat. The material is a mix of thermochromic dyes, pigments and other ingredients, which are then mixed with hardened resin to create the garments.
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U.K. firm launches second-generation invisibility shields 

April 8, 2024  |  Out There

Following the successful development of functional invisibility shields in 2022, U.K.-based Invisibility Shield Co. has launched its second-generation invisibility shields on Kickstarter. Among the products is the “Megashield,” which the company claims is the largest shield ever created.
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E-skin can produce tactile feedback

March 25, 2024  |  Out There

In recent years, materials scientists and engineers have introduced increasingly sophisticated materials for robotic and prosthetic applications, including a range of electronic skins, or e-skins, designed to sense the surrounding environment and artificially reproduce the sense of touch.
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Interactive pavilion knitted with smart yarns 

February 26, 2024  |  Out There

An interactive installation that combined textile arts, smart materials and engineering and received a 2023 Black Rock City Honorarium at the 2023’s Burning Man. Set against the vast and surreal backdrop of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, Burning Man is an annual gathering that transforms the fl…
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Augmented reality T-shirts demonstrated at Art Basel

January 15, 2024  |  Out There

Avery Dennison has completed a project with NRVLD, a community-based agency comprised of artists, technologists and media personalities supporting disruptive innovation. Innovation in Textiles reports that the company created limited edition augmented reality T-shirts worn by the NRVLD executive tea…
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New inks make it possible to draw stretchable LEDs

September 11, 2023  |  Out There

Although we're hearing more about stretchable electronics, the fabrication of such devices' components is far beyond most people's abilities. Now, however, scientists have created inks that let anyone draw stretchable LEDs onto various surfaces, including fabric, using regular ballpoint pens.
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