Earth houses are based on the interpretation of an environmentally conscious, ecological and progressive architecture. They stand out due to their closeness to nature and allow an experience beyond the usual four walls and their right angles. The earth house concept uses its surroundings as an advantage – the surroundings are not adapted to the… »

A research group, consisting of people from International Rescue System Institute, Chiba Institute of Technology and Tohoku University, has developed a rescue robot named QUINCE. It will be used to collect rescue information in case of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRNE) disasters, including hazardous substance leaks in the underground malls or tall buildings, and… »

Stanford engineers have found out how to simultaneously use the light and heat of the sun to generate electricity in a way that could make solar power production more than twice as efficient as existing methods and potentially cheap enough to compete with oil. Unlike photovoltaic technology currently used in solar panels (which become less… »

Weird movements in the abdomens of freely crawling caterpillars are making headlines in the fields of biology and engineering. The findings from a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including Jake Socha, Virginia Tech assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics, Michael Simon of Tufts University’s Department of Biology, and Barry Trimmer, professor of biology at Tufts,… »

Development of snake-like technology underway at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory is moving the military toward sending more autonomous systems instead of Soldiers on search-and-rescue missions, a top priority in the most dangerous mission areas. Army researchers call it the Robotic Tentacle Manipulator, a developmental project that expands on snake robotics research introduced at Carnegie… »

Within the sludge of wastewater treatment plants is an invisible world teeming with microbes. Here, diverse species of bacteria convert solid and liquid wastes into gases, some of which contribute to global warming. Two Stanford University engineers are developing a new sewage treatment process that would actually increase the production of nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”)… »

The Margarido House, built by Mike McDonald and his wife Dr. Jill Martenson, is located on a steep lot located on Oakland hills. The couple got it after it has passed through several hands from a family that preferred to move rather than rebuild after the previous house got ravaged by fire in 1991. Despite… »

The folks from PixelOptics have invented electronic spectacles that can automatically change focus as you lower your head to read a book, thus making bifocal spectacles obsolete. The product, called emPower!, has been under development for 10 years and looks like an ordinary pair of spectacles. Since they are partnering with many frames manufactures, the… »