Wick cord, or wicking rope, is a hack used by some gardeners and plant enthusiasts. A cord or rope made of cotton or nylon is used to connect a water source with the soil surrounding …
U.C. Berkeley’s Tiny Pogo Robot has a Unique Locomotion Style
Robots that move typically have legs or wheels, for walking or rolling. But researchers at U.C. Berkeley have developed a pogo-like robot with just a single leg. It locomotes—up to 8 miles an hour—by hopping. …
World’s First Self-Balancing Exoskeleton Allows People to Walk Again
Perhaps this will one day be a common sight in hospitals and homes: That’s Eve, the world’s first self-balancing personal exoskeleton, according to French robotics company Wandercraft. Eve’s mission is to restore walking independence to …
Dometic’s Designey Coolers Use a Different Manufacturing Method
Yeti leads the cooler market, with an estimated 37% market share and double the revenues of the nearest competitor. On a recent trip to a big-box, I was not surprised to see other cooler brands …
Volvo’s New, Smarter Seatbelts Take Actual Passenger Specifics Into Account
Two companies that made world-changing innovations in safety are Volvo and Festool. Volvo invented the three-point seatbelt in the ’50s, and released the design as open-source; today every passenger car in the world has them. …
Objets D’esign: Speaker and Lamp Versions of Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog
Jeff Koons broke a record with his Balloon Dog sculptures from the ’90s: At $58.4 million, his ten-foot-tall Balloon Dog (Orange) was the most expensive sculpture ever sold by a living artist. Now he’s licensed …
Core77 Weekly Roundup (6-2-25 to 6-6-25)
Here’s what we looked at this week: When marketing trumps product design: A digital camera with fake analog controls becomes a crowdfunding smash. This ATMO drone from Caltech smoothly transitions from flight to four-wheeling. In …
Hyundai’s Incredible WIA Autonomous Robot Parking Valets
You probably figured that parking valets would lose their jobs once all cars became autonomous. However, Hyundai’s clever WIA Parking Robot can do the job with any vehicle, autonomous or not, with a maximum weight …
Industrial Design Case Study: A Laptop Privacy Shield
When a startup called Alcove wanted to provide a privacy solution for laptop users, they turned to industrial design consultancy Y Studios. The result is this Alcove Workstation: Alcove Workstation® is the portable case for …
Modern Industrial Furniture’s Heavy-Duty Media Cart
This steel Carnegie Media Cart is the antithesis of particle board furniture. The indestructible rolling cabinet features doors faced with perforated steel that allow Wi-Fi and remote control signals to pass through it, so you …