Wooden

In recent years, we've seen wood used in the construction of traditionally non-wooden things like transistors, bicycles and drones. Now, scientists have used the stuff to create a robotic gripper … which definitely has its selling points.

Wood isn’t usually very good at conducting electricity, but now scientists have created the first functional wooden transistor. It’s not the best, and it requires some processing, but it does work and could help make for biodegradable electronics.

Spring may be grudgingly approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, but that doesn't mean we're done with hearing about new forms of winter transport. One of the latest is the eLyly, a wooden electric snow scooter.

The first project from Teenage Engineering was a 2007 art installation comprising 22 wooden dolls that formed a singing ensemble. The absolut choir has now inspired the creation of a smaller collection that can voice a bunch of classic songs.

A lot of work goes into creating wooden objects like furniture, but some scientists are rethinking the process. They've created a wood-based ink that can be 3D printed into flat shapes, which then morph into more complex 3D forms as they dry out.

If you were building a wooden structure by hand, it would be hard to lift the wooden components, place them in alignment, then keep them aligned as they were glued together. That's why a Swiss team is using robots to shoulder much of the workload.

We've long been admirers of the work of Swedish designer Love Hultén, who has frequently paid tribute to the worlds of retro gaming and classic computing with beautiful hand-crafted creations. Now he's back with the bizarre Voc-25 chatterbox.

Wood campers have become trendy in Germany over the years, and there's a new player in the market. Holzmobil imagines a more sustainable breed of road travel, debuting with a MAN 4x4-based motorhome with all natural wood construction.

​Although wooden-frame bikes may not be a common sight out on the street, they're plentiful at events such as the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. So, what makes one stand out THERE? Well, it helps if it's made in a non-traditional manner – which is the case with Normal Bicycles.

​Although used-up wine barrels can be turned into items such as planters, wineries generally just throw the things out. Lance Rake isn't a fan of such wastefulness, so he's developed a new use for the barrels. He wants to turn them into cruiser bikes, one of which he's already built.

We've already seen wooden-bodied electronic devices such as computers, keyboards and video game systems, so why not a quadcopter drone? That's just what SirTeen's Aerowood is, and you put the thing together yourself.

Love Hultén has an impressive eye for detail and all of his hand-crafted retro tributes are unquestionably gorgeous. His latest work, however, is the stuff of childhood nightmares. Mr Typo is a wall-mounted speech synthesizer that can be manipulated by poking his eye or punching his teeth.​