Nottingham Trent University

Nikian Aghababaie says his low-cost kit will allow families in harsh climates to cultivate vegetables using 90 percent less water

Good Thinking

No dirt no problem: Low-cost kit grows plants in mid-air

Technologies developed to grow without soil might not only help with future space missions, but could also prove pivotal in feeding the developing world. For Nikian Aghababaie, this is exactly where he drew inspiration for a new approach to growing veggies without soil and with minimal water.

The plastic counterweight (right) could save around 45,000 tonnes of CO2 each year in the UK, while also reducing transport fuel consumption by nearly 184,000 liters

Around The Home

Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin

Washing machines can be heavy appliances. Very heavy. Some of that weight is due to concrete blocks that help keep the machine stable during spin cycles. Researchers have developed a plastic counterweight to replace the concrete, which is hollow and light until delivery and then filled with water.

Flat-bed knitting technology allows heating wires to be woven directly into the fabric of the smart balaclava

Medical

Smart balaclava would help athletes avoid chest infections in the depths of winter

If they don't mind looking a bit like a Mortal Kombat character, a new electric balaclava featuring a built-in heating area around the nose and mouth would let athletes keep training like a champ in the cold while lowering the risk of contracting chest infections.

The Hive at Kew Gardens in London is a new installation inspired by recent research on bee communication

Architecture

Bees help shape experience inside The Hive

Coming to London’s Kew Gardens is an installation from sculptor Wolfgang Buttress. The Hive is a light-, sound- and vibration-emitting structure controlled by the activity of bees in an actual beehive on the garden’s grounds.

Sensors right in car seat textile could be used to monitor heart rate and detect when a driver is falling asleep

Automotive

Heart rate-sensing car seats could alert sleepy drivers

Falling asleep at the wheel is extremely dangerous both for the driver, and for others sharing the road with them. Researchers are working on a solution to this threat. They're doing it with sensors in a car seat that detect the driver's heart rate, and alert the driver if they start dozing off.

Heath Evdemon has designed a new kind of wind turbine based on reciprocating motion that's currently being scaled up into a full-size prototype with the help of the Future Factory project

Environment

Versatile Wind Harvester breaks from traditional turbine design

Heath Evdemon has designed a new kind of wind turbine based on reciprocating motion that's currently being scaled up into a full-size prototype with the help of the Future Factory project.