Pump

While there are already garments which cool or warm their wearer via circulating liquids, those garments tend to be equipped with cumbersome, noisy pumps. An experimental new system, on the other hand, uses interwoven tubular fibers as pumps.

Among other items, serious canoeists are advised to carry an extra paddle (in case they lose one) and a bilge pump (in case their boat gets swamped). The Paddle Pump is designed to make things simpler, by combining both tools in one device.

Soft-bodied robots move via pneumatic "muscles" that are selectively inflated or deflated. And while the muscles themselves may be soft and squishy, they're usually hooked up to hard, unwieldy pumps. A new pump, however, is both small and flexible.

When it comes to portable bicycle tire-inflating devices, hand pumps require a lot of effort, while CO2 cartridges are single-use only. The aluminum Choka bike frame offers an alternative, by doubling as a compressed air tank.

Invented by siblings Joe and Christine Edell, the AirLock is both a tire pump and a cable lock.

Portable, cordless air-compressors aren't new, but they're often bulky, limited in scope and ugly. In response to these issues, a team of engineers and product designers fro Hong Kong has come up with the Norshire Mini. A compact, minimalist, multi-function pump/compressor for the iPhone generation.

​While people are fairly fussy about things like bicycle tire pressure, they tend to be a lot more blasé when it comes to inflating basketballs – even though a ball's pressure can greatly affect its performance. The Innoflate Perfect Pressure Needle is designed to help … by whistling.

​Founded in Italy in 1917, Silca was the first company to put an air gauge on a bicycle tire pump. Now based out of Indianapolis, the manufacturer has sort of come full circle with its Viaggio Bluetooth-equipped floor pump – it's taken the gauge back off, and put it on the user's smartphone.

​For nursing mothers who don't wish to be tied down to a non-portable breast pump, there are already wearable versions that can be slipped under a bra. Women's tech company Elvie is taking things a step further, by announcing what it claims is the world's first silent wearable breast pump.

​Serious cyclists typically carry compact hand pumps with them on long rides. Using such a pump to inflate a completely flat tire from scratch, however, can be an arduous process. That's why the foot-operated Stompump was created.

When a cyclist has to change a high-pressure tire at the side of the road, pumping it back up using a compact hand pump can be quite the hassle. An alternative was unveiled at Interbike this week, however – the pocketable miniFumpa battery electric pump.

Thanks to gravity, fluids flow downwards following the path of least resistance. Now researchers at Brandeis University have mixed biological molecules into a substance that marks the first steps towards developing a self-propelling liquid, that could flow free of human or gravitational influence.