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william mulvihill takes us on a photo journey across expo 2025 osaka’s national pavilions

a closer look inside expo 2025 osaka

 

Photographer William Mulvihill takes us around Japan’s Expo 2025 Osaka, capturing a cross-section of some of the most striking pavilions. These national identities take architectural form in varied ways, from expressive timber structures and modular wooden grids to immersive spatial choreographies and recycled rope facades — each responding to the Expo’s overarching theme: Designing Future Society for Our Lives.

 

Several nations revisit maritime heritage, like Bahrain’s dhow-like timber structure, Portugal’s suspended rope facade, while the UAE turns to the idea of reusing agricultural waste together with Japanese joinery. Others lean into circularity and adaptability, such as the Nordic Pavilion, designed for full disassembly, and Uzbekistan’s pavilion, which will be rebuilt back home after the Expo. Meanwhile France, Italy, and Saudi Arabia explore multi-sensory experiences that blend nature and technology. Explore the series below, and learn more about the Expo through designboom’s guide

all images by William Mulvihill

 

 

oceans and the sun inspire spanish and belgian pavilions

 

The Spanish Pavilion by Enorme Studio, Smart and Green Design, and Néstor Montenegro Mateos draws on the shared presence of the ocean and the sun, linking the geographies of Spain and Japan through the Kuroshio Current This powerful, invisible ocean stream that has long connected the two nations becomes the focal point of the concept, which William Mulvihill captures from various vantage points. As the building’s architecture is shaped by these twin forces, it reflects a way of life rooted in marine navigation, solar rhythms, and cultural exchange. The exhibition narrative, centered on this east–west oceanic thread, presents the current as a medium of connection and continuity.

 

Water is also the central metaphor in the Belgium Pavilion by Carré 7, Beyond Limits, One Designs, Pirnay, and Poly-Tech. It organizes its structure across three levels representing the states of water: solid, liquid, and gas, and each layer corresponds to a different phase, using material expression and spatial design to evoke the properties of transformation and flow. Inside, the exhibition showcases innovations in life sciences and health care, with a focus on human-centered technologies.

Spanish Pavilion

 

 

serbia and monaco contemplate ideas of transformation

 

The Serbia Pavilion, titled Floating Forest, is inspired by a unique natural formation in Belgrade where a wooded island meets the city at the confluence of two major rivers. The design forms a spatial metaphor for balance between nature and urbanity, heritage and innovation. Its theme, Society of Play, weaves together scientific achievement, cultural production, and creative freedom. As a preview of Expo 2027 Belgrade, the pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka positions Serbia as a host-in-waiting as well as an architectural manifestation of curiosity and care.

 

Under the theme Take Care of Wonder, the Monaco Pavilion, invites visitors into a multisensory exploration of environmental awareness. The design fosters a contemplative relationship with the natural world, and outdoor and indoor spaces are organized to elicit a sense of fragile beauty and ecological interdependence, encouraging visitors to reconsider the ties between self and planet. Alongside the exhibitions, a wine bar presents an experience of hospitality, offering wines and cognacs from the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo’s renowned cellar. In this balance of spectacle and intimacy, the pavilion reflects Monaco’s broader message that care for the planet begins with the cultivation of wonder.

the architecture reflects a way of life rooted in marine navigation, solar rhythms, and cultural exchange

 

 

uae and bahrain explore material and cultural heritage

 

William Mulvihill captures how a few of the Gulf nations at Expo 2025 Osaka interpret sustainability through material heritage and cross-cultural exchange. UAE draws from Emirati building traditions while integrating Japanese wooden construction techniques. Designed with elements such as palm gravel — an agricultural byproduct — the pavilion reflects a commitment to low-impact materials and echoes a broader ambition to reconcile past practices with future challenges. Its layered approach emphasizes continuity with the landscape and offers a reinterpretation of traditional methods for a contemporary, climate-conscious context.

 

Designed by Lina Ghotmeh, the Bahrain Pavilion roots its concept in material and heritage. A timber structure reminiscent of traditional dhow boats faces the sea, symbolizing the island nation’s history as a maritime crossroads in the Gulf. Clad in aluminum and shaped using boat-building techniques, the structure draws from both local traditions and Japanese woodcraft. While passive cooling strategies address the Expo’s environmental demands, the design also marks a cultural convergence, positioning craft, sustainability, and diplomacy as interconnected concerns. Nearby, Saudi Arabia’s pavilion by Foster + Partners offers a more urban response, weaving native materials and computational design to evoke a sensory landscape of the Kingdom, reinforcing how regional architecture is increasingly aligned with climate performance and cultural storytelling.

Lina Ghotmeh’s Bahrain Pavilion

 

 

uzbekistan and nordic countries rethink wooden construction 

 

The Nordic and Uzbekistan pavilions take Expo 2025 Osaka as an opportunity to foreground circularity and reusability in architecture with their intricate wooden structures. Designed by AMDL Circle, the Nordic Pavilion brings together Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden under a single structure made from forest-managed wood. Treated with natural oils and pigments, the dark-hued exterior draws from traditional preservation techniques, while the modular system allows for full disassembly and reuse after the event. Inside, an open-plan layout hosts exhibitions on regional sustainability innovations, while an outdoor terrace encourages informal exchange and rest.

 

The Uzbekistan Pavilion, designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER and NUSSLI, adopts somewhat similar modular logic, built from a kit of prefabricated wooden elements, the pavilion is designed to be relocated after the Expo and reassembled in Uzbekistan as a workshop, school, or cultural space. William Mulvihill winds through its intricate spatial layout that unfolds through a garden, a forest of slender wooden columns, and a central sculpture, with each element symbolizing aspects of the country’s natural and creative identity. 

a timber structure reminiscent of traditional dhow boats faces the sea

 

 

conceptual storytelling define italy and portugal’s pavilions

 

Both Italy and Portugal use architectural storytelling to frame questions of social connection, shared history, and environmental futures. Mario Cucinella Architects’ Italian Pavilion reinterprets the Renaissance ideal of the Città Ideale as a flexible, civic environment. The structure reveals a collection of public spaces such as a piazza, teatro, and giardino, with each inviting interaction, gathering, and cultural programming. Rooted in traditions of Italian urbanism, the design prioritizes modularity and openness, with adaptable spaces that also host the Holy See, creating a hybrid venue for art exhibitions, performances, and dialogue.

 

Kengo Kuma’s Portugal Pavilion takes a lighter, more elemental, yet sculptural approach. William Mulvihill captures the facade’s intricate suspended ropes and recycled fishing nets that recall ocean waves and nod to the country’s maritime legacy. Under the theme Ocean: The Blue Dialogue, the pavilion houses two exhibitions: one tracing Portugal’s longstanding maritime connection with Japan, and another envisioning a sustainable future through digital storytelling and immersive environments. The structure’s materials and assembly foreground a circular economy mindset, while its symbolic language reflects a deep engagement with climate, ecology, and shared stewardship of the sea. The France Pavilion by Coldefy and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati offers a similarly immersive journey, staged as a three-act theatrical encounter with nature, further reinforcing how many of this year’s pavilions use movement and narrative structure to spatialize national values.

Mario Cucinella Architects’ Italian Pavilion reinterprets the Renaissance ideal of the Città Ideale

the structure reveals a collection of public spaces such as a piazza, teatro, and giardino

France Pavilion by Coldefy and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati

staged as a three-act theatrical encounter with nature

exhibits illustrate how design bridges the gap between human and non-human life across the planet

Kengo Kuma’s Portugal Pavilion takes a sculptural approach

William Mulvihill captures the facade’s intricate suspended ropes and recycled fishing nets

the pavilion houses two exhibitions, with one tracing Portugal’s longstanding maritime connection with Japan

Designed by AMDL Circle, the Nordic Pavilion

bringing together Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

treated with natural oils and pigments, the dark-hued exterior draws from traditional preservation techniques

Mocano Pavilion is staged under the theme Take Care of Wonder

Serbia Pavilion, titled Floating Forest

inspired by a natural formation in Belgrade where a wooded island meets the city at the confluence of two rivers

Saudi Arabia’s pavilion by Foster + Partners offers a more urban response

UAE draws from Emirati building traditions while integrating Japanese wooden construction technique

designed with elements such as palm gravel — an agricultural byproduct

the Uzbekistan Pavilion, designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER and NUSSLI

built from a kit of prefabricated wooden elements, the pavilion is designed to be relocated after the Expo

water is an important metaphor in the Belgium Pavilion

it unfolds across three levels representing the states of water: solid, liquid, and gas

 

project info:

 

name: Expo 2025 Osaka

photographer: William Mulvihill | @williamulvihill

location: Osaka, Japan

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After MKBHD collab, here’s JerryRigEverything dream phone designed for Nothing

Nothing has a true flagship phone due for release soon, but we don’t have a confirmed date. Carl Pei and company have been keeping things guarded closely. When it does drop, the Nothing Phone 3 will be missing the glyph interface that the British consumer electronics manufacturer has been possessive about in the past iterations. It will, however, have a triple camera array including a telephoto lens, a bigger battery, and for the first time, a price tag tipping past the $1,000 mark.

How that’s going to fair in Nothing’s favor is only for time to tell. But before that, here is a chance to gawk at a dream phone that a design studio has brought out in anticipation. And it could perhaps be one of the most durable, non-rugged phones of all, at least if it ever goes into production.

Designer: Tektura Studio

Nothing is known for its bold marketing antics. Just recently, the company released a video titled “We made MKBHD’s Dream Phone,“ in collaboration with a famous tech influencer, Marques Brownlee (MKBHD). The video is about MKBHD’s idea of a conceptual “dream phone,” which Nothing rolls out with a detailed cost breakdown of building such a smartphone.

In continuation, the Tektura Studio idealized another phone in the Dream Phone Series for Nothing. This time, conceptualizing what JerryRigEverything would want as a phone. For the unaware, Zach, better known as JerryRigEverything, has this video channel with over 9 million subscribers. He is known for his mesmerizing videos wherein he rips phones apart to review them inside and out. Most reviewers are restricted by companies from taking the review units apart, running durability tests on them, or breaking the phones. But Zach does it all, sometimes on review units generously sent from companies like Nothing and OnePlus, and sometimes by buying his own devices and opening them up to see their durability and repairability.

The animations of a Nothing Dream Phone Series x JerryRigEverything reveal a personalized device with functional features that the YouTuber values the most. The phone stays true to Nothing’s clean, futuristic aesthetic while being filled with hidden elements in the construction that put the repairability and durability of the phone in the top tier. The render images by Tektura Studio depict a raw, lab-like environment you can find in JRE’s videos, including a picture with his iconic scratch tool that he runs over the body of each device under his scanner.

The detailed imagery of the JRE dream phone depicts the idea of how it will go under the tools and undergo immensely stringent durability tests to prove its mettle of being worthy of Zach. The innards are compactly positioned in the top half of the phone, with the camera array running down its middle like the spine. The lower half of the device is occupied by the removable Li-ion battery.

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Dust Order sculptural collection brings classic design and modern sustainability together

Just because a piece of furniture is deemed minimalist, it doesn’t mean that technology, sustainability, and innovation cannot play a role in it. In fact, it can incorporate various themes as long as the design is well thought of and the materials that will be used to produce it are also taken into consideration. This newest collection from Roc H Biel is able to take inspiration from classical architecture while also using the latest technology to create something that would appeal to those looking to bridge the past and the present (and even a bit of the future) into the furniture that they’re bringing into their space.

Dust Order is a sculptural furniture collection that reinterprets classical architectural elements through a modern, sustainable lens. Centered around a chair and a modular desk system, the collection draws direct inspiration from the ornate Corinthian columns of ancient Greek and Roman architecture, known for their elaborate details and symbolic grandeur. Roc H Biel reimagines these historical forms by stripping them down to their essential components and infusing them with contemporary design language. Through careful exploration of visual weight, structural rhythm, and ornamental balance, they transform familiar classical motifs into something entirely new. He also challenges conventional materials and production methods by using upcycled beech wood dust and 3D printing technology, giving the collection a distinctly modern and environmentally conscious edge

Designer: Roc H Biel

The collection looks imposing and heavy at first glance with its stone-like and sand-cast appearance. But actually the pieces are light and circular, made by compacting and stacking beech wood dust and adding 3D-printed columns with a bonded mix of magnesium with it. The three-piece system gets a stone-like appearance to the chair while the geometry shifts from octagon to circle to square while the modular desk system transforms into various configurations. You can also use it as a stool, bench, side table, and even a dining table.

This thoughtful combination of ancient aesthetics and cutting-edge processes results in a furniture collection that is not only visually compelling but also deeply symbolic. Dust Order invites users to reflect on how form, function, and sustainability can intersect without compromise. It challenges the notion that tradition and innovation must be at odds, offering instead a harmonious blend of both. Roc H Biel’s work does more than just furnish a space. It provokes a conversation about design’s evolving role in a world increasingly aware of its past, present, and environmental future.

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Thin bending tube offers a chair and side table concept that looks a little sus

Chairs have always been the quiet guardians of our daily routines, providing a steadfast foundation with barely a second thought. Most people take comfort in how reliable they look, from the sturdiest wooden thrones to the wobbly-legged relics hiding in the corners of cafes. But sometimes, a design comes along that throws all those expectations out the window, daring us to question what we really know about sitting down.

One look at the Wire Chair concept and you can’t help but wonder if you’ve stumbled into a visual prank. The entire piece is supported by a single, thin metal tube that loops and bends to hold up a plywood seat and a compact side table. It’s a daring illusion, almost like catching a magician’s sleight of hand. Surely it can’t possibly hold a person, right? Still, the charm is undeniable, especially if you enjoy furniture that teases the eye and the mind.

Designer: Joao Teixeira

What makes the Wire Chair even more intriguing is how it completely discards the usual approach to chair construction. Instead of patching together separate legs and braces, this design relies on a solitary, 30mm diameter tube to do all the heavy lifting, or at least pretend to. That tube curves gracefully, providing the main support for both the seat and the attached table, creating a kind of visual harmony that’s rare to see in typical furniture pieces.

And then there’s the seat itself, a neatly cut plywood slab that fits snugly into the curved metal, its edges echoing the tube’s own gentle bends. There’s a suggestion of a small storage nook hidden in that embrace, just waiting for a book or a tablet to be tucked out of sight. The seamless transition between the chair and table gives the whole concept a sort of balanced whimsy, as if the two elements were always meant to be joined at the hip.

Yet, for all its playful cleverness, the design invites more than a fair share of skepticism. The tube’s slenderness leaves you second-guessing how much weight it could actually support, and the absence of crossbars or extra bracing does little to inspire confidence. It’s the kind of chair that looks like it belongs in a modern art gallery, daring visitors to sit down just to see what happens next.

Of course, as a concept, the Wire Chair is free to flirt with the limits of practicality. It plants a seed of inspiration for fellow designers to pick up and reimagine, perhaps with reinforcements or clever engineering tweaks. There’s something irresistible about a piece of furniture that both attracts and unnerves, making us all wonder if stability can be redefined without sacrificing style or function.

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milan’s porta romana olympic village nears completion with built-in student housing legacy

Milan Olympic Village by SOM in Porta Romana nears completion

 

With just months to go before the opening of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Milan’s Olympic Village nears completion within the vast redevelopment of the former Porta Romana railway yard. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the village is set to host over 1,300 athletes during the Games before transforming into Italy’s largest publicly supported student housing complex (find designboom’s previous coverage here). The project responds to the pressing housing needs of the city but also highlights the role of large-scale events in driving long-term urban transformation.

 

Located between Via Ripamonti and Corso Lodi, in the Fondazione Prada district, the disused Porta Romana scalo was once a vast infrastructural void dividing Milan’s southern sector. The site is currently undergoing one of the most ambitious regeneration initiatives in Europe, coordinated by COIMA SGR and its institutional partners through the Porta Romana Fund. The wider redevelopment began in 2005 as part of the Scali Milano initiative, which sought to convert over one million square meters of obsolete railway land into new urban centralities. The Olympic Village, a key anchor within the masterplan by Outcomist and Michel Desvigne, with landscape input from Elizabeth Diller, marks a milestone in this decades-long process.

Milan’s Olympic Village nears completion | images courtesy of Scalo di Porta Romana

 

 

A fast-track conversion for a post-Olympic legacy

 

As of February 2025, all six residential buildings that make up the Olympic Village have been structurally completed, alongside the restoration of two historic railway buildings: the Squadra Rialzo and the Basilico warehouse, named after photographer Gabriele Basilico. Designed by the international architecture firm SOM with conversion in mind from the outset, the village will be handed over to Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 six months ahead of the Games and returned immediately afterward for transformation into student housing— a record-setting turnaround for an Olympic facility.

 

The future student village will offer 1,700 beds, with 30% at subsidized rates. Thanks to support from COIMA’s ESG City Impact Fund and the Fondo Nazionale Abitare Sociale (FNAS), 450 of these units will be available at an average of €430/month, roughly 25% below market. The development has already been pre-qualified by the Italian Ministry of Universities as eligible for public funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), potentially reducing rents even further for up to 12 years.

the village is set to host over 1,300 athletes during the Games

 

 

A climate-conscious village for future generations

 

The Olympic Village is one of Italy’s most sustainable residential developments to date. Certified LEED Gold, the buildings achieve zero operational emissions thanks to advanced energy systems consisting of no fossil fuels, high-efficiency heat pumps, LED lighting, and a rooftop photovoltaic array producing 1 MW of power. Prefabricated timber facade panels reduce both construction time and environmental impact. Public green areas, designed by Desvigne, are fully integrated into the neighborhood network, promoting walkability and ecological continuity.

 

The internal programming, including fitness facilities, coworking areas, dining, and healthcare, will be converted into community-serving spaces after the Games. This approach ensures the Olympic legacy contributes directly to long-term social infrastructure.

the complex will turn into Italy’s largest publicly supported student housing complex after the games

 

 

Public and private alignment

 

The project is supported by a wide consortium of institutional stakeholders, including Cassa Forense, ENPAM, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Intesa Sanpaolo, and CDP Real Asset SGR. The residential component of the Porta Romana site will also include 320 affordable housing units, covering the housing needs of over 2,500 residents and aligning with Milan’s municipal housing strategies and Confindustria’s national sustainable housing program.

As Italy eyes its post-pandemic urban future, the Olympic Village at Porta Romana stands as an example of infrastructure designed to serve beyond spectacle. 

redefining the role of large-scale events

the site is now undergoing one of the most ambitious regeneration initiatives in Europe

designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

the Olympic Village is a key anchor within the masterplan

converting over one million square meters of obsolete railway land into new urban centralities

a milestone in the decades-long process

six residential buildings that make up the Olympic Village

two historic railway buildings, the Squadra Rialzo and the Basilico warehouse, are restored

the Olympic Village is one of Italy’s most sustainable residential developments to date

 

 

project info:

 

name: Olympic Village Milano-Cortina 2026

architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) | @skidmoreowingsmerrill

location: Porta Romana, Milan, Italy (more info here)

site area: 46,620 square meters

building gross area: 53,380 square meters

 

masterplan: Outcomist

landscape design: Michel Desvigne Paysagiste

landscape advisor: Elizabeth Diller | Diller Scofidio + Renfro | @diller_scofidio_renfro

developers: COIMA SGR, Covivio, Prada Holding

project partners: COIMA ESG City Impact Fund, CDP Real Asset SGR, Fondo Nazionale Abitare Sociale

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This Unique Recessed Handrail Feature, Designed by Adjaye Associates

Saudi Arabia is currently building the largest urban park in the world. At six square miles the King Salman Park, which should be completed around 2026, will be five times the size of New York’s Central Park.

The Visitor’s Centre was erected last year. Designed by Adjaye Associates, the firm headed by Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, the structure features rammed-earth walls precisely placed to create passive cooling.

What really caught my eye is this handrail detail that I’ve never seen before:

I poked around and found a couple other examples of recessed handrails (they’re pretty rare). This is at Bloomberg’s Hong Kong office, designed by Neri & Hu:

And this is at a private residence in Toronto, designed by PLANT Architect Inc.:

I prefer Adjaye’s design over the other two. There’s something decidedly unfriendly about the right angle corner the latter two designs present you with.

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Spiral chair slash side table doesn’t use external fasteners or adhesives

When it comes to some pieces of furniture, the simpler it is, the better. That doesn’t mean that there’s no room for innovation of course as the really creative product designers can come up with something new. And since a lot of consumers now are looking for minimalist design and things that can be shipped flat-packed and are easily assembled, there’s room for designers to experiment with materials and designs that are different from the usual. This includes new concepts for chairs which are a necessity for most spaces but are also one of the best kinds of furniture to play around with design-wise.

The Fastener-Free side table by Marc Senar is one of the results of a designer that has thought about eco-friendly and user-friendly pieces of furniture. It’s a multi-functional piece that you can use as a chair or stool, a side table, or even as a book or magazine stand. The entire thing is made from sheet metal and it doesn’t have any external fasteners or adhesives which gives it some environment-friendly benefits. The “beautifully engineered” spiral made from metal locks into place as it forms and the cover or seat locks everything in as you assemble it. Based on the renders, there deoesn’t seem to be much assembly needed, which is good news for instrucions-averse people.

Designer: Marc Senar

Even when not using screws or weld points, this piece of furniture is able to be sturdy enough to hold various things, including humans. The simple spiral design with round holes and the monochromatic yellow color adds to the minimalist aesthetic that some people are looking for. The design also facilitates flat-pack shipping, reducing transportation emissions and packaging waste. The simplicity of assembly and disassembly also means that users can easily relocate or store the table without compromising its structural integrity. This adaptability aligns with modern living needs, where flexibility and space-saving solutions are highly valued.

This cross between a chair and side table stands as a testament to how modern design can be both innovative and responsible. It challenges conventional construction methods by embracing simplicity without sacrificing functionality or durability. By merging aesthetics, sustainability, and versatility, Senar has created a piece that resonates with today’s conscious consumers, those who value design that not only looks good but also does good. It’s a bold reminder that even the most unassuming objects can inspire a rethinking of how we build, live, and interact with our space.

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Linki Autonomous EV Bots Concept Turn Every Parking Spot Into A Charging Nook

With electric vehicles zipping around everywhere these days, it’s starting to feel a lot more normal to see charging cables instead of gas pumps. Whether you’re a longtime EV owner or just EV-curious, it’s hard not to notice that more people are plugging in instead of filling up. The quiet hum of motors has replaced engine noise, and every new EV on the road is a little sign that things are changing.

But as cool as it is to drive past gas stations without a second thought, the reality of keeping an EV charged is still a bit of a headache. Most of the time, charging stations are in short supply and tucked away in corners you wouldn’t normally park in. More than once, you’ve probably found yourself circling a lot, hoping for that one precious charging spot to open up. The Linki Autonomous EV Charging System is a new concept that wants to flip the script, making the charger come to you instead of the other way around.

Designer: Yuxuan (Krystal) Zheng

One of the biggest frustrations for EV drivers is the weird game of musical chairs that happens at public chargers. There are never enough of them, and the ones that do exist always seem to be taken, out of order, or just out of reach. That’s the pain point Linki zeroes in on: how do you give everyone a fair shot at charging without ripping up parking lots or building new infrastructure everywhere? The idea started with a simple question: what if you could bring the power to wherever the car is parked, instead of forcing cars to go where the power is?

Linki’s solution is refreshingly practical. The concept imagines a small fleet of autonomous charging bots, each one designed to quietly patrol parking areas and deliver juice to any EV that needs it. These bots are smart enough to navigate around parked cars, find the right vehicle, and hook up to charge it, all by themselves. The whole process is meant to be seamless, so you can just pull in, park, and go about your day while your battery gets topped up by a little robot helper.

What’s especially neat about Linki is how it fits into the flow of daily life. There’s no need to hunt down a designated charger or rearrange your schedule to wait for a spot to open up. The bots do all the work in the background, moving from car to car as needed. If you’re the type who hates dealing with apps, cords, or complicated setups, this concept really speaks your language. The entire system is designed to scale, so whether it’s a giant parking garage or a small lot, the bots can be added or removed as needed.

The thinking behind Linki comes from a desire to make EV ownership less stressful and more accessible. The designer looked at how people interact with charging stations and saw a lot of wasted time and unnecessary hassle. Instead of forcing everyone to play by the old rules, why not rethink the whole process? By focusing on flexibility and convenience, Linki hopes to make the transition to electric driving easier for everyone, not just early adopters or tech enthusiasts.

Of course, as clever as the idea is, there are still plenty of hurdles to clear. Keeping a fleet of charging bots running smoothly isn’t exactly a walk in the park, especially if you’re dealing with lots of cars coming and going. The bots themselves would need to be tough enough to handle real-world parking lots and smart enough to avoid obstacles or mischief. There’s also the question of how to keep the bots themselves charged and ready, plus all the usual concerns about maintenance and reliability.

Still, the potential is hard to ignore. The Linki concept sketches out a future where charging an EV is as simple as parking anywhere and letting technology handle the rest. If something like this ever comes to life, it could mean fewer headaches, more freedom, and a lot more people willing to make the switch to electric driving. For now, it’s just a clever idea, but sometimes the best changes start with a simple question and a fresh way of looking at old problems.

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Caltech Develops Drone That Smoothly Transitions from Flight to Four-Wheeling

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed this ATMO, a quadrotor drone that can transition from flight to driving and vice versa. The housing of its rotors double as wheels, going from a horizontal orientation to a vertical one as it drops to the ground.

ATMO, by the way, stands for Aerially Transforming MOrphobot.

It can also land on inclines:

Takeoff is similarly smooth:

The team says they were inspired by the way birds can transition from flight to ground travel. While there’s no indication that this is the video that inspired them, it does make me think of this popular GIF:

Unlike the duck, ATMO has to figure out how to deal with conflicting directions of thrust during its transitions from one mode to another. In order to achieve the smooth transitions you see above, the researchers had to develop a control algorithm that could compensate for the complexity of the aerodynamic forces. That, they say, was “the biggest innovation” of the project.

As for real-world applications, the research team is looking at commercial delivery systems and explorer ‘bots.

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From Germany, In-Curb EV Chargers

Embarassingly, the U.S. is a laggard when it comes to EVs. Stateside they make up just 7.5% of new car sales. In Europe, the figure is 25%, projected to grow to 60% by 2030; in China, it’s 60% today. We’re getting left in the emissions-free dust.

All of which means new charging station designs and innovations will likely happen overseas. As one example Rheinmetall, a German defense and automotive technology company, has developed this Rheinmetall Curb Charger. In Germany, as in many European countries, they have standards for curb stones. These transition points between the sidewalk and street can be made of natural stone or cast concrete, but have consistent dimensions within municipalities. Rheinmetall’s design follows these standards, fitting precisely within the space for a single curb stone.

The charger is encased in concrete, stainless steel and aluminum, and is completely resistant to both the elements and temperature extremes.

Users do need to provide their own charging cables (in Europe, it’s common for EV owners to carry their own). They interact with the charger, which is connected to the grid via 4G and/or ethernet, via RFID, QR code or app.

It delivers Level 2 charging, which generally adds 20 to 60 miles of range per hour, and can top off a 60 kWh battery in four to eight hours.

Maintenance is straightforward; the components within are modular and can be popped in and out for servicing.

Last year Rheinmetall rolled out four of these for a pilot project in Cologne. After a year of real-world testing, they found the units performed with 99% reliability and were positively reviewed by users.

One potential downside to the ground-mounted design is that infirm or elderly users may find plugging in difficult. In these shots of an earlier design, where the plug flips up, you can see that it still requires bending over to plug in.

Another potential drawback, if you can call it that, is that the design is so invisible that users may not know it’s there. Your standard charging station announces itself by virtue of its freestanding design. Rheinmetall’s design, at least for now, is more of an IYKYK kind of thing. But perhaps one day, at least in Europe, people will look down at curbs in parking areas and expect to see these.