Patent

An electric sidecar is in the works per a patent application from Honda. The sidecar will apparently have an independent electric motor and be equipped with load sensors to mitigate the otherwise common issues associated with conventional sidecars.

In the 1980s, Honda turned heads with the iconic Motocompo – a fold-out scooter designed to fit snugly in the trunk of the City car. Four decades later, it could make a comeback as an EV range extender you can ride.

Shimano has been granted a US patent on a wireless electronic cleat system for cycling shoes. The system is used to adjust the position of the shoe relative to your pedals as you ride.

Stellantis has filed a patent for a yoke-style steering-throttle-braking type of steering "wheel/control", similar to Tesla's approach to the steering-yoke, but deleting the foot controls altogether. Goodbye brake pedal, goodbye accelerator pedal.

With more than 100 patents, illustrious inventor Lanny Smoot is making history as the first Disney Imagineer to be inducted into the National Engineers Hall of Fame. The only other employee from The Walt Disney Company to do so is Walt Disney himself.

Honda has patented a new type of airbag system for motorcycles, which would rapidly inflate in a crash or fall situation, wrap around the rider's torso in a great big hug, and detach from the bike to protect the rider when the two are separated.

Amazon is understandably keen to make the job of deliveries easier. The latest idea is a new patent for a system where delivery vans would carry items almost to their destination, then send out and direct ground drones to do the final drop-off.

Several effective COVID-19 vaccines have been developed in rapid time but was that the easy part of the process? Are intellectual property protections and for-profit pharmaceutical companies now getting in the way of vaccinating the world's population?

So far, Dyson hasn't made any headphones, but a recently-published patent shows that its engineers are certainly thinking about it. And these cans are designed to provide the wearer with a steady supply of filtered air.

​Almost 5 years after Elon Musk allowed other manufacturers access to Tesla patents without fear of legal action – effectively making them open source – Toyota has announced that it's opening up its vehicle electrification patents to help speed up the development and adoption of electric vehicles.​

If you’ve ever wished for a third hand so you can watch your phone while doing the dishes, Samsung might be answering your prayers in a roundabout way. The company has just been awarded a patent for a “flying display device” – a screen mounted on a quadcopter that follows your gaze.

Right now the Apple Pencil stylus only works with the iPad Pro, but it seems Apple has bigger plans for its pointing device. The company's latest patent shows a new device that's capable of writing on any surface it's pressed up against, and even in mid-air.