Top Stories

A new product called Smart Cargo for iPad is designed to make tablet owners' lives just a little bit easier. It's designed to attach directly to Apple's Smart Cover and provide storage for accessories like headphones, cables and a stylus.  Read More

We’ve seen a bicycle mudguard that detaches from the bike and folds up when not in use, along with one that stays attached but rolls up when not needed. Created by Slovenian product designer Jurij Lozić, the Musguard offers features of both – it’s easy to put on and take off, and rolls up for stowage in a pack or pocket.  Read More

Business grows more global everyday and what was once done by a single corporation is now more likely to be spread over many small businesses. Ideally, managers and remotely-based employees would like a virtual presence at a location, but telepresence robots are often more like smartphones on remote-controlled sticks, so they lack a feeling of personal presence and naturalism. At the InfoComm 2013 Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, iRobot, in collaboration with Cisco, have unveiled the Ava 500; a telepresence robot that combines auto navigation and a high-definition screen for a more natural telepresence.  Read More

With the announcement of its Galaxy S4 zoom, Samsung has gone the extra yard beyond its Galaxy Camera to release a capable snapper – with a 10x optical zoom no less – that is also an out and out smartphone running Android Jelly Bean 4.2. Samsung claims that the 16-MP device combines uncompromised performance as both a smartphone and compact camera.  Read More

Latvian architectural firm NRJA has revealed its plans to produce an off-the-grid geodesic dome with an interior that looks like it should be inside a luxury two-story home. The team of young architects, with an average age of 25, has come up with a compelling design which is set to hit production in the coming months. Dubbed DOM(E), the prefabricated structure can endure the coldest or warmest of climates and due to its circular shape, it features a clever use of a relatively small space (120 sq m / 1,291 sq ft).  Read More

In the 1870s, Heinrich Beck founded what would eventually become Beck's Brewery. At about the same time, Thomas Edison was hard at work on creating the first phonograph. It's a safe bet neither man thought the two products would ever merge, but when the New Zealand branch of Beck's wanted to promote a new record label project, the company turned to design agency, Shine Limited to do exactly that. The designers concocted the Edison bottle, a simple glass beer bottle inscribed with music that can be played like a 19th-century phonograph cylinder.  Read More

As architects continue to design taller and taller buildings, a certain limitation of elevators is going to become more of a problem – using traditional steel lifting cables, they can’t go farther than 500 meters (1,640 ft) in one vertical run. Any higher, and the weight of all the cable required is simply too much. Currently in the world's few buildings that are over 500 meters tall, passengers must transfer from one elevator line to another, part way up. Thanks to a new lightweight material known as UltraRope, however, elevators should now be able to travel up to one kilometer (3,281 ft) continuously.  Read More

In its mission to "shake the unshakeable," Dutch bike manufacturer VANMOOF has created what it calls the world's first intelligent commuter bike. The VANMOOF 10 Electrified combines GPS navigation, smart power control, and electric motivation underpinned by a lightweight battery pack.  Read More

Polish architectural and deep-sea engineering company Deep Ocean Technology has inked a deal with Ridgewood Hotels and Suites Pvt. Ltd. to build its futuristic part-underwater Water Discus Hotel just off the shore of Kuredhivaru Island in the Maldives.  Read More