Audi replaces headlights with drones and seats with hammocks in AI:Trail car
Audi has revealed its AI:Trail concept car – an all-wheel drive with drones for headlights and other features to enhance the passengers' enjoyment of the outdoors. More
Fish scale bioplastic wins UK James Dyson Award for student design
University of Sussex graduate Lucy Hughes used fish waste to create MarinaTex, a compostable alternative to single-use plastic that has won her this year's UK James Dyson Award. More
3D printing meets felt in new additive manufacturing technique
Acoustic panels and other architectural elements can be made in complex 3D forms using a robotic needle felting process developed by researchers at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning in the US. More
3D-printed robotic fish swims through water by mimicking the movement of a tuna
TU Delft student Sander van den Berg has invented a 3D-printed robotic fish that swims through water at a record-breaking 0.85 metres per second. More
X Shore electric boats designed for emission-free sea travel
Engine noise, fumes and carbon emissions are all nonexistent with X Shore, one of the first electric boat-makers to target the consumer market. More
Jony Ive and Marc Newson's all-diamond ring revealed
Pictures have been revealed of the ring made by Apple's departing design chief Jony Ive and his frequent collaborator, renowned designer Marc Newson, from a single enormous diamond. More
Desiree Riny creates DIY design guide for people to make their own prosthetics
People without access to healthcare can use bicycle parts and other scrap material to make their own DIY prosthetics, using a system designed by Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology graduate Desiree Riny. More
Startup Atolla harnesses AI to make personalised skincare products
Data meets dermatology at Brooklyn-based skincare startup Atolla, launched by an MIT engineer who has applied machine-learning algorithms to fix problem skin. More
Water-filled Inmergo headphones by Rocco Giovannoni allow immersive listening
Water rather than air carries sound in designer Rocco Giovannoni's Inmergo headphones, which promise rich audio even for people who are hard of hearing. More
MIT creates battery-free sensor for deep-sea and extraterrestrial exploration
An underwater internet of things monitoring the effects of climate change or sampling waters on distant planets is the dream of a group of MIT researchers who have created a battery-free underwater sensor. More
Winston filter promises to give people control over their online privacy
A hardware filter called Winston that users plug into their modem to protect their data has launched, in response to mounting concern over digital privacy and surveillance. More
Colourful circles denote contact-lens prescriptions in Dimple design by Universal Favourite
Australian studio Universal Favourite has designed the packaging for contact lens subscription service Dimple, which makes use of boldly patterned circles that correspond with prescriptions. More
Danish designers propose using roaming 3D-printing robots to repair environments
Buildings and coastlines could be monitored by fleets of autonomous repair robots, according to a Danish initiative that advocates "freeing" 3D printers to fix global problems. More
LARQ water bottle self-cleans using UV light
The minimalist LARQ bottle cleans itself using UV light, for people troubled by the hygiene of tricky-to-wash reusable water bottles. More
Rotofarm by Bace proposes "rotary hydroponics" as sustainable source of fresh veg
Apartment dwellers can enjoy nearly 1.5 metres of indoor veggie patch using the Rotofarm by Bace, a countertop hydroponic garden where plants are rotated to grow more quickly. More
RoundAround dynamic "bridge" is made of autonomous boats
Carlo Ratti and his team at MIT's Senseable City Lab have come up with a "bridge" made of continuously circling autonomous boats for a tricky patch of Amsterdam's waterway. More
Helsinki launches Think Sustainably digital service for residents and tourists
The city of Helsinki has revealed a first-of-its kind website meant to empower citizens, businesses and tourists to make more sustainable choices. More
Olafur Eliasson and Carlo Ratti collaborate on robot that charts the sun
Artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Carlo Ratti have collaborated on a celestial mapping robot that brings together their hit design brands Little Sun and Scribit. More
Natuzzi launches Augmented Store for VR furniture shopping
The Italian furniture brand Natuzzi has embarked on what it calls "a new era of advanced, white-glove customer service" by launching a virtual-reality shopping experience. More
Teresa van Dongen's Mud Well light uses microorganisms to create electricity
Bacteria from a boggy World War Two bomb crater generate kaleidoscopic light forms inside this telescope-like tube by Dutch designer Teresa van Dongen.