Sunlight Where You Need It

SunnyBot is about the size of a large desk lamp and is equipped with an on-board mirror that continuously adjusts to reflect the sun’s rays on a chosen area. It is integrated with a dual-axis microcomputer that’s powered by a row of solar cells and comes with an optional feedback system. The device redirects 7,000 … Read more

Food Synthesis – From Soy or Soylent Green?

NASA just threw a $125,000, six-month grant at a project by Anjan Contractor, a mechanical engineer at Systems and Materials Research Corporation in Austin to develop a working prototype of his proposed universal food synthesizer. The feedstocks for this device, including all the carbs, proteins, macro, and micro nutrients are in powder form. Does placing … Read more

21st Century Acquisquishin’ is Alive and Well

First, they asked Monsanto what their ideal future looked like in fifteen to twenty years. Monsanto executives described a world with 100 percent of all commercial seeds genetically modified and patented. Anderson Consulting then worked backwards from that goal, and developed the strategy and tactics to achieve it. They presented Monsanto with the steps and … Read more

Formlabs Form 1 3D Desktop Printer

Most 3D printers use a technique called extrusion, through which the printer melts plastic and lays it down in layers to create a 3D object. But the Form 1 features stereolithography, which uses a laser to cure liquid resin into microscopic layers, resulting in much more precise creations. For $3,300, the Form 1 package includes … Read more

Cornell Students Build Sustainable House in Nicaragua

Over winter break, Cornell students began building an affordable and environmentally sustainable model house in Nicaragua. The students, who are part of Cornell University Sustainable Design — an organization that promotes sustainability through design — traveled to Nagarote, Nicaragua to build the house. The house will serve not only as a home for a family, … Read more

Growing Soybeans and a Supreme Court Case

When a farmer grows Monsanto’s genetically modified soybean seeds, has he simply “used” the seed to create a crop to sell, or has he “made” untold replicas of Monsanto’s invention that remain subject to the company’s restrictions? The question is now headed to the United States Supreme Court. “The current intellectual property environment of transgenic … Read more

Home Based Manufacturing & Recycling

The Filabot brings a miniature recycling plant to your desktop, grinding down everyday plastic waste and transforming it into ready-to-use material for your 3d printing. Water pipes, drink bottles, plastic wrappers and Lego bricks can be fed into the machine which grinds, melts and extrudes the plastic into a filament of either 3mm or 1.75mm … Read more