Carlo Ratti Associati

The system-specific quadcopters will feature a multi-color LED panel on their underside

Drones

Flying Drone Blanket will charge and launch swarms of quadcopters

Although it's getting more common to see swarms of illuminated drones being used for aerial light shows, simultaneously charging and launching all of those drones can still be tricky. That's where the Flying Drone Blanket is intended to come in.

Playscraper would rise to a height of 90 m (300 ft) and consist of eight stacked tennis courts

Architecture

Sporty skyscraper concept stacks 8 tennis courts on top of each other

Carlo Ratti Associati serves a slice of bonkers blue sky architecture with its "Playscraper." Also referred to as the Tennis Tower, the sporty skyscraper would stack eight tennis courts on top of each other to reach a height of 90 m.

The Scribit Pen can be used by hand, or in CRA's wall-drawing Scribit robot

Environment

Scribit Pen is claimed to be world's first fully compostable marker

Although pens may not be a huge source of landfill waste, it still hurts the environment when they're simply thrown away. That's where the Scribit Pen is designed to come in, as it's claimed to be completely compostable.

CURA took just weeks to turn from a conceptual idea to a prototype ICU that's currently installed in Turin, one of Italy's hardest-hit areas during the COVID-19 pandemic

Architecture

Shipping container-based ICU goes from concept to hospital in weeks

We recently reported on a plan to use shipping containers to create ICUs to aid in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. A few weeks later, the conceptual design has been turned into a prototype unit installed in a temporary hospital in Turin, Italy.

The first CURA prototype is currently being constructed in Milan

Architecture

Shipping container-based ICU being developed for COVID-19 treatment

We’ve reported on shipping containers being used for lots of different projects, but CURA is an example that could save lives. It involves transforming the metal boxes into easily transportable intensive care units to treat patients with COVID-19.

The Feel the Peel juice kiosk will be travelling across Italy over the next few months

Good Thinking

Juice kiosk creates cups from its own orange peels

A new juice kiosk recycles its own orange peels into the cups used by the customers.

Each drone was equipped with a paint tank and a spray nozzle

Drones

Swarm of drones spray-paints crowdsourced graffiti mural

A couple of years ago, design firm Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) unveiled Paint By Drone, a system that utilizes quadcopters to spray-paint artistic graffiti onto outdoor walls. Well, the tech has now been used to create a crowdsourced work of art, applied to a wall by multiple drones simultaneously.

Construction of Vitae will begin later this year

Architecture

Mixed-use office building brings a little countryside to the city

Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) is planning to bring something of the Italian countryside to inner-city Milan with its Vitae project. The eye-catching building will host research facilities, offices and a restaurant, and will be covered in greenery, including a vineyard.

Users will be able to hail the Guido vehicle, and order their drinks, using an app

Robotics

Robotic bar could soon be hailed like a drink-making cab

It was six years ago that we first heard about Makr Shakr, a robotic bar that can reportedly mix one Googol (the digit 1 followed by 100 zeroes) drink combinations. Now, its designers are planning on installing the tech in an autonomous vehicle that users can hail whenever they want a bevvy.

Scribit will be the subject of an upcoming crowdfunding campaign

Robotics

Scribit robot could soon be drawing on your walls

A couple of years ago, design firm Carlo Ratti Associati showcased a system in which drones were used to draw images on walls. It was very clever, but perhaps not something that could become a commercial product. The company's Scribit wall-drawing robot, however, is intended to be just that.

The unnamed skyscraper will rise to a height of 280 m (918 ft)

Architecture

Singapore skyscraper will burst at the seams with greenery

Italy's Carlo Ratti Associates (CRA) and Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have collaborated on an interesting new skyscraper currently under construction in Singapore. Rising to 280 m (918 ft) the building will be jam-packed with greenery, and feature trees jutting out of its facade.

Construction is expected to begin next year, with completion slated for 2023

Architecture

Tomato factory to feature walls made from glass tomato sauce jars

Carlo Ratti Associati has taken a novel approach to designing a new factory for Italian tomato firm Mutti. It features a visitor's center with walls made from glass tomato sauce jars – tomatotecture, if you will – as well as a terrace allowing the public to watch the tomatoes being processed.